An otherwise bright clear day at the great house of Collinwood is overshadowed by a dark and evil cloud as a centuries old curse has once again come to terrorize the members of the Collins family. A possessed, crazed man is in custody at the Collinsport jail. Under the influence of the warlock, Judah Zachary, this day he has brought a great horror upon the family. A horror which promises to be only the beginning of many more to come.
Gerald Fenton paces back and forth in his cell. A look of nervousness and fear are etched into his face. He grabs the bars of the cell and shouts out to be heard. "I want to try calling my lawyer again!" The outer door opened and the deputy came in. "You just tried ten minutes ago. You tried ten minutes before that. Why don't you give him time to get to his office?" the deputy asked. Fenton looked about impatiently, and then said, "I have rights, you know! I'm entitled to call my lawyer! If you don't let me make that call you will be very sorry!" The deputy shrugged and said, "Alright, but don't get all uptight with me when he ain't there again." The deputy unlocked the cell and led him to the outer office. Fenton hurriedly picked up the receiver and dialed the number. After a moment he then said, "Miss Parker, I really need to talk to Mr. Halliburton! It's very urgent that I speak with him!" There is a pause as he listens, then he said, "When he comes in tell him it's very important that I talk to him. I've been arrested and I need him down here as soon as possible!" He listened for her reply and said, "Thank you Miss Parker." The deputy then led him back to his cell and locked the door. The deputy then turned to go. As he was ready to close the door he said, "Now don't be calling me back again ten minutes from now. You left your message; he'll get here when he gets here!" With that, the door closed leaving Gerald Fenton alone once again.
Elizabeth Stoddard sat in the waiting room of the hospital anxiously
watching the doors to the critical care wing. Tony Peterson came around the
corner and handed her a cup of coffee. "Here, drink this. It's probably
going to be a while before we hear anything." He said trying to bring some
measure of comfort to her. "Joe said Gerald Fenton shot him. Why? Why did he
do it?" she asked. Tony put a hand on her shoulder and said, "We may not
know why until a preliminary hearing is held. My guess is that what
Halliburton was trying to tell him finally sunk in and he was acting out of
desperation. Halliburton did say he was being irrational about the whole
thing. I guess he just snapped." The waiting room door opened and Barnabas
and Stokes entered and came over to her. "Willie gave us your message Mr.
Peterson, thank you for letting us know." Barnabas said as he then turned to
Liz. "Elizabeth, we came as soon as we heard. Do the doctor's know anything
yet"
"No, the waiting is just so awful!" she said standing now. "Dr. Hoffman has
gone back to see if she can find out anything or be of some help. I'm so
sorry Elizabeth." Stokes approached and said, "Let me also extend my deepest
sympathy as well, Mrs. Stoddard. We were with the deputy when he got an
emergency call. We had no idea that the victim was your brother." Elizabeth
looked up with a puzzled expression and said, "What kind of involvement do
you have with the police, Professor? Barnabas?" She asked. Barnabas then
replied, "My dear Elizabeth, I must confess we were on another of our
treasure hunting excursions. We read of a court case from years ago, and we
were researching the old police records for additional clues. I'm afraid it
turned out to be a total waste of time." Elizabeth looked troubled and
replied, "Why do I have the feeling this is somehow connected to the
research you're doing on our family history? I would very much like to know
more about this research you're doing since it seems to involve the family
now, but I can't think of that right now. All I can think of is Roger back
there in that room. Is he dead, is he alive? Poor David! I didn't even have
time to tell him.." Stokes laid a hand on Liz's arm and reassuringly said,
"I'll phone Miss Evans and have her bring him. Better yet, I shall go to
Collinwood and bring them here myself." "Thank you, Eliot." She said looking
at him with gratitude. The big double doors opened and Julia Hoffman stepped
through. All eyes were now upon her as they awaited some word of Roger's
condition. Barnabas rushed to her and said, "You have some word for us,
Julia?" Julia Hoffman's eyes dropped to the floor. (Three dramatic notes
sound)
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Julia Hoffman stood with her eyes cast toward the floor. A look of terror came across Liz's face as she said, "Oh no. He's dead!" Julia replied, "No. He's isn't dead yet, but the doctors don't hold out very much hope for him. He will survive if he can make it through the night. If he does live, he will never walk again, or he may be totally paralyzed. The T9 and T10 vertebrae were shattered by the bullets. We can't know until we see what tomorrow morning brings." Liz grabbed Julia by the shoulders and in panic said, "Are you saying he could be a vegetable for the rest of his life?" Julia replied, "That is only one possibility Mrs. Stoddard, as I said, we must see if he even makes it through the night. At that point we'll have a better idea of what lies beyond that. For now, all we can do is wait."
Gerald Fenton sat on the bunk in his cell. He stands up suddenly and paces
back and forth a couple of times. He looks at his watch and a look of
desperation crosses his face. He grabs the bars and shouts at door,
"Deputy!" The big door opened and the deputy walked in saying, "Alright,
alright, your lawyer is here. Pipe down, will ya?" Trevor Halliburton
entered the doorway. "You can leave us now, deputy." he said the deputy
closed the door leaving the two men alone. Fenton grabbed the bars with his
eyes wild and crazed and said, "You gotta get me outta here!" Trevor
Halliburton looked back at him in scorn and said, "Are you kidding! You
killed a man in front of a room full of witnesses. You have no job or means
of support. You are a likely candidate for flight. No judge would grant bail
in a case like this." Fenton reached through the bars seizing Halliburton
by the lapels and shouted, "So what are you going to do?" The cold steel
eyes of Judah Zachary glared back at Fenton. "I do not plan to do anything.
This kind of case is not my expertise. You will be appointed a public
defender who will represent you. You went beyond any chance of my help when
you committed a cold blooded murder." He said coldly. Fenton tightened his
grip on Halliburton's lapels and screamed, "So you're just gonna abandon
me?" Judah emerged to take full control of Trevor Halliburton. He looked
directly into the frightened eyes of Gerald Fenton and said, "If you do not
release me this instant, you will forfeit your life here and now!" Gerald
Fenton again coming under the complete control of Judah Zachary slowly
released Halliburton and stood again with the blank stare. Judah's eyes
glowed as they pierced Fenton's soul. Then Judah spoke. "When I leave
through that door, you will remember that I told you from the beginning that
your case was hopeless. You will remember that it was you who insisted on
continuing to pursue it, and that I repeatedly told you to forget it. That
you could not let it go. You are alone Gerald Fenton! Alone! Alone!"
Halliburton straightened his lapels and walked out the door closing it
behind him. The glassy dazed look left Fenton's face as the awful horror and
hopelessness became a sudden reality to him. Grabbing the bars he squeezed
them until his knuckles turned white. His eyes became wide with fear. In
desperation he screamed, "Help me! Somebody HELP ME"
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The coffee shop at the Collinsport hospital was almost empty. Only Liz,
Barnabas, and Tony Peterson were there. All sat quietly not knowing what
else to say. Everything that could be said had been said already. The clock
on the wall now read 8:45 PM. Maggie Evans entered the door, followed by
David, Quentin, and then Stokes brought up the rear.
"Have you heard anything yet, Mrs. Stoddard?" Maggie said as she came over
next to Liz.. "No. Julia says we won't know anything conclusive until
tomorrow morning." She said patting Maggie on the arm. David ran into Liz's
arms saying, Oh Aunt Elizabeth!" Quentin placed a comforting hand on the boy's
shoulder and asked, "Do they know who's responsible?" Elizabeth looked up
and nodded. "A former disgruntled employee named Gerald Fenton." She said as
she embraced David. Quentin registered recognition and said, "Yes, I believe
I've seen him frequenting the Blue Whale. He always seems to almost have to
be carried out. Do they know why he did it?" Barnabas stood and motioned to
Quentin and said, "Come with me outside Quentin. Liz has told me the whole
story; I'll explain it to you there." Quentin followed Barnabas and Stokes
out into the corridor. "Ok, I know you had some reason for calling me out
here besides telling me what this is all about. Let's have it." Quentin said
expectantly. Barnabas then replied, "No Quentin, I assure you the only
motive was to give Liz a little more privacy with David. I simply felt it
would be more appropriate to explain it to you out here rather than having
her go through all of it again. It seems that Gerald Fenton was discovered
pilfering company funds for his own use and falsifying the company receipts
to cover his tracks. Roger confronted him about and released him from
employment with the company. This was his revenge." I see." Quentin replied.
"Now maybe you can explain something else to me, Barnabas. I know something
else is going on. You, Professor Stokes and Julia have been poking around a
lot lately at Collinwood, and I know you don't do anything without some dark
and mysterious reason behind it. Is there some reason why what you're doing
has to be some big dark secret to even me? I've helped you before with
matters, what makes this any different? Barnabas shot a glance toward Stokes
who stepped forward and said, "I don't really have an explanation why, but I
somehow believe he is unaffected and can be trusted, Barnabas." Quentin
looked back and forth between the men in a confused state and said,
"Unaffected? Just what does he mean by unaffected?" Barnabas looked at
Quentin and said, "Quentin. Do you remember Julia and I telling you about
your ancestor who was also named Quentin, who was framed on charges of
performing witchcraft by a warlock named Judah Zachary?" Quentin nodded and
said, "Yes, and I also remember you said he was cleared and the warlock
destroyed." Barnabas eyes lowered for a moment. He then looked back at
Quentin and replied, "I'm afraid we have had to rethink that position,
Quentin. We now have reason to believe that the spirit of Judah Zachary has
somehow transcended time and is now here in our own century to finish what
he began." Quentin's expression became one of total shock and confusion.
(Three dramatic notes sound)
Elizabeth and David sat side by side in the waiting room. The waiting room door open and Trevor Halliburton entered. He spotted Elizabeth sitting across the room and approached her. "Elizabeth Collins Stoddard?" he asked. Liz looked up not recognizing the man and said, "Yes, I am Elizabeth Stoddard." He extended his hand and said, "You don't know me Mrs. Stoddard. My name is Trevor Halliburton. I want to express my sincerest apologies for what you're going through right now. I can't help feeling partly responsible since it was my former client that put you in this position. I'm truly very sorry." Elizabeth looked up at him and said, "I assume that since you used the term former, that you won't be acting in his defense?" "That's right Mrs. Stoddard, I wish I had sent him away the first day he came to me. If I had any idea things would turn out the way they did, I would have. The man is deranged. I wish I had spotted it earlier. Maybe none of us would be where we are today." Elizabeth stood up and faced Trevor and said, "You can hardly blame yourself for the way events unraveled. I certainly don't hold you responsible in any way. You mustn't blame yourself either." Halliburton shook her hand and said, "Thank you Mrs. Stoddard. That means more to me than you can know. I assure you; whatever relationship I may have had with Gerald Fenton is completely over." The doors to the waiting room opened once again as Quentin returned. Trevor Halliburton turned to see who had entered the room. The instant he saw Quentin Collins standing there, his eyes grew wide with shock. (Long dramatic tympani sounds roll followed by three final dramatic notes)
Elizabeth Stoddard…
JOAN BENNETT
Barnabas Collins…
JONATHAN FRID
Maggie Evans…
KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT
Quentin Collins…
DAVID SELBY
Professor Stokes…
THAYER DAVID
Tony Peterson…
JERRY LACY
Gerald Fenton…
MICHAEL STROKA
David Collins…
DAVID HENESY
Trevor Halliburton/Judah Zachary…
KEITH PRENTICE
Deputy…
JORDAN KEAN
Written By RUSS WILLIAMS
Directed By RUSS WILLIAMS
Story Developed and Created by ART WALLACE
Fashions courtesy of ORBACH'S
Music composed by ROBERT COBERT
Series created by DAN CURTIS Executive Producer