Episode 2
The Next Morning...
Burke Devlin opened the door of The Blue Whale with his left hand as he unzipped his dark-green, spring jacket. Removing the jacket, he walked over to the bar and sat down.
Sam walked over to Burke, reached underneath the counter and brought out a menu. He put the menu down in front of Burke and pulled his ordering pad out of his apron. "Good morning, Mister Devlin."
"It certainly is. Thanks for the tip on that hotel. I don't think I've ever found that kind of luxury THAT affordable. I had a wonderful night's rest." He looked over the menu, then looked back up at Sam. "I'll have the sausage and eggs. Over easy and some of that freshly squeezed orange juice."
Sam wrote down the order, took the menu and put it back under the counter. "Have you had any luck with that problem you mentioned last night?"
Burke smiled wistfully. "I should be so lucky," he replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I don't even UNDERSTAND it. I was on the fast track in the legal department of Kramer Industries down in Boston until just a few days ago. Then I started feeling the urge -- the 'need' to just quit my job, pack up and leave town. And I loved the work I was doing and the people I was working with. But it felt like I had no choice at all in the matter. I HAD to do it. So yesterday I finished packing, tossed everything in my car and didn't stop driving until I ended up here. And now that I'm here, I just 'know' this is where I'm going to be spending my life." He sighed. "Now I need a job."
"Well, the head of Collins Family Enterprises' legal division just retired a few days back and from what I hear, everyone in the department is falling all over themselves NOT to get chosen as his successor. Apparently, the pressures nearly drove him nuts. Or maybe it was just visiting Collinwood one time too many. That place'll spook anyone out. Either way, no one wants it to happen to them. If you think you can stay sane, I'll call Roger Collins and set up an interview for you. He's seein' my daughter and doesn't think I know about it. Hmph. I'm not THAT blind." He smiled cheerfully.
"I would definitely appreciate it, Mister Evans. I don't suppose you know where I can get a street map. Doubt I'll be able to find my way around here these first few weeks without one."
"I keep 'em in stock over by the register. I can get you one now if you want to get a head start on studying it. And call me Sam. That's what everyone calls me."
"All right, then call me Burke. And thanks for all the help you're giving me." He extended his hand over the counter and they shook.
** ** **
Ten Minutes Later...
Maggie shoved open the door that led from the kitchen to the area behind the bar. She strolled briskly over to her father, greeting him with a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning, Dad," she said cheerfully.
"'Morning, Maggie. Have you seen Joe around lately? He never showed up to help me with the garage yesterday and George Patterson's been looking for him too. Joe doesn't think Mike Woodard's the one who attacked Daphne and George thinks he may be in some kind of trouble."
Maggie's stomach clenched violently and her eyes widened as the vision overtook her. Two men in the woods, their backs to her with shovels in their hands. A body thrown in a pit, dirt tossed onto its face before she could identify it.
She exhaled sharply and blinked, startled to find herself back in the Whale. No matter how used to the visions she had become, being jerked back into reality afterwards was still unsettling.
"Something wrong, Maggie?" her father asked.
"I just 'saw' a burial," she replied.
"Joe's?" His voice was concerned and nervous.
"I couldn't see any faces. I don't know." She shook her head, clearing the image from her mind.
** ** **
Later That Afternoon, The Drawing Room of Collinwood...
Roger and Burke sat across from each other, with Roger studying Burke's resume and muttering the highlights to himself. "Accepted into Harvard Law School at...18? Top five percent of the class." He looked up from the paper. "Mister Devlin--Burke, why haven't you gone into private practice with these credentials?"
Burke thought about giving him an understandable explanation, but settled on the truth instead. "Simply put, Mister Collins, I'd be bored in private practice, no matter how much better I'd be financially. It just doesn't hold the same thrill for me that working for a business does."
"Passing a chance at six figures from fear of boredom almost makes you odd enough to be a Collins," Roger responded with a chuckle. "And Sam Evans said your urge to leave Boston was so uncontrollable it might as well have been supernatural. Well, you'll find that the unnatural is rapidly becoming the norm here in Collinsport." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Burke. "If the salary and benefits there are to your liking, you can start tomorrow."
Burke unfolded the paper, read it and smiled. Still holding it in his left hand, he stood up and extended his right hand. "It's gonna be a pleasure working for you, Mister Collins."
** ** **
Meanwhile, In Dr. Hoffman's Room...
Julia sat at her desk, writing in her journal. Next to her left hand, a paperweight slowly began to slide towards the edge. She heard the scratching sound it made on the desk and glanced away from the journal, her eyes looking for the source of the noise. Those eyes widened as she watched the slide accelerate until the paperweight slid completely off the desk, hovering a moment in mid-air before falling to the ground. A book flew past her face, crashing into the wall. A test tube flew into the opposite wall, between the windows, and another one poured itself out of the floor. Maintaining as much decorum as she could muster, Julia left the room at high speed.
** ** **
30 Minutes Later, In the Hallway of Collinwood's West Wing...
Vicky walked along the dusty, damp hallway of the West Wing, calling David's name. The last time she had been here was when she followed Sarah's ghost to her diary. She stopped short and sniffed the air. 'That's odd,' she thought, 'where's that kerosene smell coming from?'
She walked forward to where two doors stood directly across the hall from each other. Opening the door on her right, she looked inside and saw that no one was there. Stepping back out into the hallway, she went to check the opposite room, but stopped when she saw the figure of a child in white out of the corner of her right eye. Vicky turned to see the ghost of Sarah Collins standing further down the hall, pointing at a door that was on Vicky's left.
Victoria half-jogged towards Sarah, but the child vanished. Vicky turned to her left, opened the door and went in. There, standing in front of an antique table, was David. On the table were a half-gallon can of kerosene with a nozzle on its top, a book of matches, a piece of chalk and a figure of straw in the shape of a man. Around the figure, drawn in chalk, was an inverted pentagram.
In a zombie-like monotone, young David mumbled some words Vicky could not quite hear as he picked up the canister or kerosene.
"David, NO!!" she yelled before he had the chance to begin pouring out the contents of the can. He dropped the can, shivered, then looked up at Vicky.
"Miss Winters? What happened?"
"You missed your English lesson," she replied, telling him only half of the truth. "Now let's go. We can't have you missing your history lesson too."
** ** **
10:00 P.M. That Evening...
Barnabas stood beneath a tree on the grounds of the vast Collins family estate, in the part of the woods closest to the great house. He looked to the mansion, knowing instinctively that he was standing in a direct line from Carolyn's bedroom. With his eyes red and his fangs extended, he reached out for her, willing her to come to him.
In her room, she heard his summons and rose from her bed. She threw open her windows and stepped out onto the grounds, following the voice in her head. He was waiting for her beneath that same tree. When he stretched out his arms to her, she fell instantly into his arms. They kissed, and for a brief moment he found the strength to resist his bloodlust. But the moment passed quickly and he sank his fangs into her neck. In the distance, dogs howled.
** ** **
Collinwood, 11:00 P.M....
Roger sat in the drawing room reading a complete collection of the poems of Edgar Allen Poe. Turning the page, he heard a loud knock at the door. He waited a minute, but no one answered it. He swore, then looked down at the cover of his book. "If that's The Raven, I'm moving to Alaska," he said with a half-smile as he stood up, entered the Great Hall, went over and opened the front door. The book fell out of his hand and his jaw dropped all the way open.
"My God! Laura."
** ** **
Simultaneously, At The Blue Whale...
A man, with an oval face and dark black hair that was pulled up into a ponytail, walked up to the pay phone outside the restaurant, dropped in a quarter and punched in the number for Collinwood.
"Hello," he said, unbuttoning the first button on his grey trenchcoat. "Is Elizabeth Stoddard in? No, don't wake her. In the morning, would you tell her that her cousin Quentin Collins, Daphne's father, called and I will be by around noon. Thank you."
Quentin smiled the contagious kind of smile that could spread across a crowded room in seconds. After over twenty years away, he had come home to make up for leaving his daughter behind. He was sure that he would see her tomorrow.
** ** **
The Old House...
Barnabas was sitting in a chair, reading through Sarah's diary. A strong breeze blew the pages through to the end. His eyes widened as new writing flowed across the page. "Oh, my brother," it read, "the danger has not yet passed."
To Be Continued...
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