215 - April 24, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[creepy music plays][wind howling]

[narrating]
- My name is Victoria Winters.

Violent intent has many consequences,

as those discover who commit themselves

to carry out such intentions.

[rock music plays]

This man is prepared to do just that.


- Hello, Maggie.


- Hi, Burke,
- Mind if I join you?


- Oh, please do.


- Bring me a drink.


- Well, I haven't seen you in a long time.


- Oh, I've been around. Where's Joe?


- Oh, wish I knew.

I was about to ask you that same question.


- I told him that sundial wouldn't work at night.

He's gotta buy a watch one of these days.


- So you decided to return to the scene of your victory.


- My victory.

Fighting in barrooms is not something I could be proud of.


- Burke, that wasn't just a fight.

What happened was inevitable.

Did something that we all appreciated.


- Well, thanks a lot, Maggie.

That reassures me that I did right.


- Willie Loomis was a beast.

You dealt with him the only way possible.

It was very effective.


- Yes, well, I'm here to check on the effectiveness of it.

I haven't seen him around.


- Neither have I.

Maybe he left, as per your instructions.


- Well, I hope so.

If he comes back... [knocks on table]

I'll have to throw him out again.

[rock music continues]

[creepy music plays]

[rock music plays]


- I think you'll find out

just how effective you were right now.


- What do you mean?


- Jason McGuire just popped in.

[chuckles] He seems to be casing the place.


- Yes, he's alone.
- Mm
-hmm.

Maybe Willie Loomis did leave.


- I don't know. He's looking around.

I don't think he's looking for me.

Excuse me, Maggie.
- Sure.


- McGuire.


- Oh, hello, Burke.


- Oh, seems to me you were trying to duck out on me.


- Oh, no, I'm not ducking anyone.

Why should I?


- Well, uh,

because you know the question I'm going to ask you.


- [chuckles] Oh, do I?


- There's something we, uh, something we have in common
-
-

your shipmate.


- Oh, yes, yes.


- Yes, I haven't seen him around lately.


- Well, then you must be very pleased.


- Possibly.


- Must be a great load off your mind.


- Well, it's not quite off my mind.

I haven't seen him around, but I'm not sure that he's gone.


- Well then, if you don't see him again,

you may presume he's gone.


- Well, I don't like to presume anything.

I like to know for sure.

Has he gone?


- Look, if I told you he was gone,

would you believe me?
- No.


- Well, then what's the point of my saying anything?


- Where is Willie Loomis?


- I don't know where he is.


- What does that mean?


- Just what I said. I don't know.


- Mr. McGuire, don't play dumb.


- I'm telling you. I'm telling you.

I don't know where he is. I haven't the slightest idea.


- When was the last time you saw him?


- A few days ago.
- What was he doing?


- Licking his wounds.

He was pretty shaken up by that beating

you handed him, you know?


- Was he shook up enough to leave town?


- Well, I made sure of that.

He was definitely going.


- But it is possible that he's left?


- Well...

anything's possible.


- Don't be vague, Mr. McGuire.

I would like an answer because it concerns you, too.


- I'm telling you...

he went upstairs to pack.

And when I went up to look for him in his room,

he wasn't there.

And he hadn't packed.


- Would he leave town without taking his things?


- I don't know. Someone took his clothes.

Because a day later, they disappeared.


- Disappeared?
- Hmm.

Willie or someone came back into Collinwood at night

and made off with his clothes.


- So where is he?


- I don't know.

There is... just one thing

that makes me feel he hasn't left town.


- What's that?


- He didn't have any money. At least none that I know of.


- Well, you can't get far without that.


- Well, he could always thumb a ride into Boston

and get a ship there.

But he knew I was going to give him some money.

You know, at least enough to keep him till he shipped out.


- And he's not the type to turn down a handout.


- That's what bothers me.

He knew he only had to wait about five minutes

for me to give him that money.

But he didn't wait.

Or wouldn't wait. I don't know.

Vicki, she was the last one that saw him.

She saw him leaving the house.

I just can't figure it out.

I've checked every boarding house in and out of town.

I don't know where to look next.


- Well, if he comes back here, there'll be trouble.


- There won't be any trouble.


- There will be and I'll make it.

[puts down drink]

[jazz music plays]

[rock music plays]


- Well, everything stands just as it was.

No one knows where the creep is.


- If you can trust a man like Jason McGuire.


- I was considering that while I was talking to him.

The difference between McGuire and his friend is that

it seems that McGuire...

wants to, uh, get on the right side of people.

I don't believe for a minute that he was telling the truth.

But I don't think that he's seen Loomis.

[door slams]


- Hey, there's the long
-lost pride of our sardine fleet.


- I can't wait to see how he's gonna get out of this one.


- [laughs]


- I'm sorry, honey.
- Hi, Joe.


- I was just keeping your chair warm for you.


- Hey, why do you have that expression on your face?

'Cause you're late or because there isn't much of an evening in store for me?


- Oh, no, it has nothing to do with you.


- Well, if you two are gonna squabble,

I'll take my beverage elsewhere.


- Stick around. We may need a referee.


- Sit down, Burke.

No, no squabbles, no referees, just loads of fun.


- Hey, what's the matter?
- Nothing.


- Nothing?

You'd look that depressed if you were gonna tell me

that the boat sank.


- Well, it's not a very good topic for conversation.


- In this place, anything is a good topic.


- It's just
-
- it's not very pleasant.


- Well, we'll tell you when to stop.


- Well, I went out to visit my uncle on his farm today.


- Where's that, Joe?


- Oh, it's just a few miles out of town.

He has... livestock dairy products.

I used to spend a lot of time there when I was a kid.


- You thinking of becoming a farmer, Joe?


- No. No such luck.

Anyway, when I got there, they'd been out all day

searching for a missing calf.

So I joined in with them.

See, my uncle, well, he doesn't lose very much livestock.

He's pretty well fenced in.


- Well, fences have been known to fall down.


- Yeah, these, these were in top shape.

There wasn't a break in them.

No possible place for a calf to get through.

So anyway,

my uncle takes very special care of the young calves,

and this, this particular one he knew was in a place

where it couldn't possibly have, uh, strayed.

He saw it there last night.

Then this morning, it
-
- it was gone.

No traces, just disappeared completely.


- Stolen.


- Well, that had to be the only solution,

but there just
-
- there weren't any tracks.

The police couldn't find anything.


- Did they find the calf?


- Yes, just a short while ago on the other side of town.

It was dead.


- Well, Joe, that's awful.


- What happened?


- That's just the point. Nobody knows.

[Maggie]
- Was it sick?


- No, no, it was a very healthy calf.

Anyway, my uncle had the veterinarian take a look at it.


- What did he find?


- Something very weird.

The calf wasn't actually injured... in any way.

But it had died from a loss of blood.


- What?


- There was not one drop of blood in the calf's body.

[Maggie]
- I don't understand.


- Well, nobody does.

Not only that, there wasn't a drop of blood

in the entire area where the calf was found.


- Well, how could the calf have gotten there

if it didn't have any blood?


- The police think that somebody must've dumped it there.

[Burke]
- How could it lose its blood?


- Well, the veterinarian says

it seems to have been expertly drained.


- Drained?


- Yes, he's examining what he thinks

are two very small puncture marks on the throat.


- Why would anyone want to drain the blood from a calf?


- And...

what would anybody do with it once they had it?


- There has to be a rational explanation for it.


- So far, there hasn't been.


- Has anything like this ever happened around here before?


- No, never, there hasn't been a livestock theft in years.

Why
-
- why go to all the trouble of draining the blood

and then just dumping the most valuable part?


- Well, maybe, whoever it was who did it

couldn't dispose of it the way he'd planned.


- Yeah, that's possible.


- Well, anyone who's gonna steal a calf

knows what he's gonna do with it before.

You don't steal a calf, carry it around,

and then try to unload it.


- Hmm.

Burke.


- I see him.


- Some people just never learn no matter how tough it is.


- Well, then the lesson will just have to be repeated.


- What are you gonna do?


- You want me to go with you?
- No, no, you stay here, Joe.

Loomis?

Loomis!


- What is it?


- It took a lot of nerve for you to walk in here tonight.

You might've known I'd be here.


- I
-
- I didn't think about it.


- Why not?


- I don't know.


- Do you remember the last thing I told you?


- Yeah, I think so.


- What was it?

What did I say?


- You said you wanted me to get out of town.


- You're still here.


- I know.


- Loomis, you didn't believe me

when I said I'd back up my
-
- my words with action?


- I know you will.


- Then why haven't you gone?


- I won't make any trouble.


- You already have.


- I'm sorry.


- You're sorry?

I didn't think you knew the definition of the word.


- I mean it.


- You mean to tell me that you're apologizing?


- Yes.


- I wouldn't have believed that of you.

I believe you'd come back in here swinging or worse.


- Oh, no. I wouldn't do that.


- Loomis?

Are you all right?


- Yeah.


- We were pretty rough on each other the other night.

You are not... hurt, are ya?


- No.


- What's the matter?


- Nothing.


- Why don't you drink your drink?

You haven't touched your drink.

What is it?


- Leave me alone.

Please.


- Sure, yeah.


- What's the matter?

Everything's all right, isn't it?


- No, your pal's in bad shape.

Something's wrong with him.

Something very strange.


- What do you mean, strange?


- Well, his whole personality is different.

He's shaking like a leaf.


- Willie shaking?


- I think you should get him a doctor.


- Why? He's not that bad, is he?


- Well, that fight. Maybe he hurt himself.

Maybe he fell and hit his head when he went down on the floor.

Maybe he has some internal injuries.


- I doubt that.
- Why?


- Because he was perfectly normal the day after the fight.

Except for a few bruises, he was just his old self.


- Well, he's not his old self now.

Go and see for yourself.


- I will.

Well, don't you say hello anymore?


- Jason.


- Where have you been, kid?


- Around.


- I've been looking for you for days now.

Where'd you go?


- Don't ask me.
- I will ask you, Willie.

And you'll answer.

Now, I want to know what you've been doing.


- Nothing.


- What's the matter with you?

You're not like yourself.
- Nothing.


- Willie, you in trouble?
- No!


- Then what is it?


- I don't want to talk about it.


- You disappear off the face of the Earth,

and you don't want to talk about it.

Willie, have you done something so bad,

you can't talk about it?


- No.
- Oh, come on now.

What are you trying to do, play the mystery man with me?

I happen to know one of the places you went to.


- Do ya?
- Mm
-hmm.

You were in the cemetery.


- How do you know?


- You went into the Collins family tomb.


- No!
- Now, don't lie to me, Willie.

I know you were there.

You got a bad habit of leaving cigarette butts

on the edges of things.


- It wasn't me.
- Oh, come on now.

Don't you think I can add a few things together

and come up with the right answers?

All those questions about the Collins family.

Don't you think I know what that's all about?

Are you trying to tell me that you went into a cemetery

at night just to pay your respects?


- Jason, please.


- You went in there to rob a grave.


- No.
- How could you sink so low?

Do a thing like that to rob a stiff.

Willie... [coughing]

Willie, how could you do such a thing?


- I didn't.
- Oh, come on now.

I know what you're up to.

But I've got to put a stop to it.

Look, I've got the $ right here.

I'm going to give it to you,

and you're going to get out of town.

Come on, let's go outside so I can give it to you.


- No.

[whispering]
- Willie...

bucks.


- I don't want it.


- You need it.


- I'll be staying here.


- I don't know what the story is.

All I know is something's happened to him.


- Are you still determined to kick him out of town?


- Well...

I really don't know.


- Hey, Joe, what's the matter?


- Oh, I'm sorry, I just
-
-

I just keep seeing that little calf lying there,

drained of its blood.


- Look, you can't stay here.


- Please, I can't help it.

Now, don't make it any rougher than it is.


- What can't you help?!
- Nothing!


- I don't know. I can't figure you out.

You're in trouble, boy, big trouble.


- Please, will you leave me alone?


- I don't know.

Just don't...

What is that on your sleeve?


- Nothing.


- There are specks of blood on your sleeve, Willie.

Willie...

why are there specks of blood on your sleeve?

[creepy music plays]

[announcer]
- "Dark Shadows" is a Dan Curtis Production.