238 - May 24, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[narrating]
- My name is Victoria Winters.

The search for the missing girl continues.

She seems to have vanished into thin air,

but she is hidden in a place

where no one would think to look.

A place close by...

a place where she is to play her part

in a diabolical fantasy.


- The evening paper just came.

There's a picture of Maggie on the front page.


- Does it say anything that we don't already know?


- No, it just describes the search.


- I phoned Mr. Evans to see if there was anything I could do.


- How is Joe taking this?


- I saw him yesterday down on the shore

when they were dragging the water for Maggie's body.

His face looked so sad and so drawn.


- Do you think they'll find her?


- Ever since it's been in the papers,

the sheriff's office has been deluged with reports about her,

but they've all turned out to be false.


- Well, until she is found

I don't want either one of you

to go out of the house alone at night.

If Maggie has been kidnapped,

I have a feeling that whoever is responsible

won't leave it at that.

♪♪


- But, Mrs. Stoddard, no one knows

that she has been kidnapped.

According to the doctor,

Maggie could still be in a sort of sleepwalking state.


- If she was sleepwalking,

someone would have found her by now.

No, I'm sure she's been abducted and is being held somewhere.


- I wish we didn't have to stay in.


- It's a precaution the sheriff is asking everyone to observe.

He doesn't want any woman walking alone at night.


- Well, I wish he'd find her.


- Well, until he does,

you're not to go out alone.

Is that understood?
- Yes.


- Yes, Mother.


- I think dinner will be ready in about an hour.

[Carolyn]
- All right, Mother.


- This place is really becoming a prison.


- Carolyn, let's go out and get some fresh air.


- Who needs fresh air?


- Oh, come on, let's go for a walk.


- Where to?
- Oh, around the grounds.

Maybe down to the old house.


- The old house?
- Yes.


- Why there?
- To see the progress that Mr. Collins is making.

He said we could come down anytime we wanted to.


- Well, I'd love to see it.


- Well, come on, let's go before it gets dark.


- Yes, I'd hate to be caught in the dark down there.

We'd better not be gone too long.

I don't want Mother to worry about us.


- It'll only be a minute, I think he'll be surprised.

[knocking on door]

I hope he's here.


- It must be at least degrees colder down here.


- That's because we're nearer to the ocean.

[knocking on door]


- Maybe he's not there.


- Maybe he's upstairs or around back.


- Oh, Vicki, let's... let's make it some other time.


- No, wait just one more minute. [knocking on door]


- All right, Vicki, at least we got the fresh air we wanted.


- All right.

[door creaking]


- Vicki, the door.


- Someone is there after all.

Hello?

Mr. Collins?

Willie?

Hello?


- No one there?


- No one there.

I guess my knocking must have jarred the door open.

Mr. Collins!?

Mr. Collins?
- Vicki, they're not in.

Let's go.
- No, wait.

Let's go inside and see if we can't find them.


- You can't just walk into a place.


- Mr. Collins said we could come whenever we want to

and we're not exactly strangers.
- Yes, but this is his home now.

It isn't David's playground any longer.


- Come on.

I really want you to see how it has changed.

And he did invite us.

Come on.
- Vicki, please!

Don't go in there.


- Mr. Collins!

Willie?


- Vicki, you'd better come back out here.


- No, Carolyn,

I want you to see the difference in here.


- Vicki, please!

I don't know.


- Well, what do you think of it?


- Is it the same place?


- Look at the furniture, how it's all been all fixed up.

And the chandelier.

Look how the crystals sparkle.


- Oh, it is beautiful.


- It used to be such a haven for spiders and cobwebs.


- That's certainly the way I remember it.


- And the interesting thing is that most,

if not all of this work, has been done by Willie.


- Well, he certainly deserves credit for this.

And I must say, Barnabas has very good taste.

The draperies and the way the room is set up.

It's quite good.


- Oh, Carolyn, look at this.

It's the portrait Mr. Evans is doing.


- Oh, yes.


- It's very interesting, the way it resembles

the portrait in the foyer at Collinwood.


- I'd say they were almost identical.

The pose and
-
-

and look at the way he is holding his hand with the ring.


- Do you know, it could almost be the same man

as seen by another artist.


- Yes, it could.

I wonder what else he's done.

I wonder what's upstairs.


- I haven't the faintest.
- Oh, let's take a look.


- Vicki, this place is not a museum.

You can't just walk in and out of here.


- Well, in a way, it is a museum.

It's a house that's been restored by a man

who's an authority on the period.

Now, he takes great pride in his work

and I'm sure that he wants us to enjoy and appreciate it,

so I'm going upstairs and you can stay here if you like.


- No, I'm coming.

I don't want to wait down here alone.

But you promise you won't open every door in sight?


- I promise.

Carolyn, look!


- Oh, how beautiful.


- Why, this seems to be the only room on the floor

that's been restored.

I guess he is just doing them one at a time.


- Oh, Vicki, look at this bed.

I'd love to lie down on it but I wouldn't dare.


- It's so strange to see a room like this

in the midst of such dust and decay.


- There's been so much work put into the room,

even more than downstairs.


- [gasps] Carolyn!

A portrait of Josette!


- I wonder why it's hanging in here?


- Oh, David's going to be thrilled

when he hears about this.


- Actually, it seems to fit better in this room

than downstairs.

More like it's... a part of the room.

Vicki!

Look at this.
- What is it?


- Look at this hairbrush.


- It's so old.

It's in perfect condition.


- And the comb and the mirror.

Everything a woman of that century could want.

Everything is so perfect.

Down to the smallest detail.


- Even the perfume container has liquid in it.

Carolyn...

I
-
- I recognize this perfume.

It's jasmine.


- Vicki, what is it?


- It's probably just the wind.


- What are you doing in here?


- Just looking.
- You shouldn't be in here.


- Mr. Collins said that we could come here whenever we wanted to.


- He didn't mean for you to be in here.


- You've done a beautiful job, Willie.
- Yes, Willie.

We're very impressed by your talent

at being able to restore and refinish things.


- You haven't touched anything in here, have you?


- Not really.


- Nothing is supposed to be touched in this room.

Everything has to be just...

These have been touched!


- Willie, we were just admiring them.

You've done a wonderful job in fixing up this house.

I'm sure that Mr. Collins must be very pleased.

I see that you have rehung the portrait of Josette.


- Huh?

Yeah.

Yeah, we hung the portrait.


- What will this room be used for?


- Be used for?

Well, I don't know.

Just
-
- just a room to be looked at, I suppose.

[Vicki]
- Won't anybody be staying in it?


- No, no one will stay in it.

[Carolyn]
- Oh, it is such a shame for a room like this to be idle.

Any woman would love to live in it.


- No one's gonna stay in it.


- Which room is Mr. Collins'?

This seems to be the only one in any condition to live in.


- It's being fixed.
- Well, which one is it?


- You'd better get going now, it's getting dark.


- Willie, there are far more polite ways of asking a person to leave.


- I haven't got time to be polite and neither do you.


- What do you mean?


- I mean it's gonna get dark soon and you should be home.

Now, you had better get out of here now, right away.


- All right.


- These stairs were so rickety, now they're solid.


- The whole house seems to have taken on a new strength.

Oh, Willie?

When you see Mr. Collins,

will you tell him how impressed we are

with the progress he's have made?


- You can tell him yourself.


- Oh, Mr. Collins.

We came by to see you.


- Miss Winters, Miss Stoddard, what a pleasure to see you.


- Hello, Barnabas.

We came to see how the restoration was coming along.

And I must say, I'm absolutely amazed at what you've done here.


- Well, I am so happy you like it.


- Oh, I love it.


- You see, it's a reaction like that

that makes me feel it's all been worth it.


- That room upstairs, it is just exquisite.


- Oh, then you've seen the room.


- I've never seen such a feminine room in my whole life.


- Yes, it's brimming with femininity.

Well, I'm delighted you describe it that way.


- You restored it so accurately, haven't you?


- It is precisely the way it was originally.


- How extraordinary.


- Down to the most meticulous detail.


- I was wondering, whose room was it?


- That room belonged to Josette Collins.


- I knew that was Josette's room.


- Oh, how did you know that?


- By the perfume.

Jasmine.


- Yes, it was her favorite.

It merely enhanced a very feminine woman.


- That room is so complete.

It's almost is as though she's living there.


- Yes, I dare say she very well could.


- Uh...

they
-
- they better get going now.

It's getting pretty dark out.


- Mother doesn't want us to be out after dark

because of what's happened around town.


- Oh, yes, I meant to ask you.

Is there any word of Miss Evans?

[Vicki]
- No.


- And they have no idea where she could be?

[Vicki]
- Not at all, but they're still continuing to search.


- Oh, I do hope they find her soon.

She's such a nice girl.

Well, I'm sorry I wasn't here

to give you a guided tour.


- Perhaps next time.


- Yes, there should be more to see next time.


- Well, I expect we should go now.


- Will you be all right going home?


- Oh, yes, I'm sure we will be.


- Oh, Mr. Collins,

there is one thing I'd like to ask you.


- What is it?


- That story that you told us the other night,

the one about the young woman

who committed suicide on Widow's Hill.


- Oh, yes.


- Who was she?


- Josette Collins.


- Josette?


- Then that's the true story of Josette's death?


- As accurately as it was recorded.


- It was a terrible story.

You made it very vivid in my mind.


- I hope it didn't disturb you.

[Vicki]
- Could I ask you one more question,

if you don't mind?
- Please do.


- Well, her lover,

the man who followed her to the edge of the cliff,

who was he?


- Well, to my knowledge,

very few, if anyone, knew who he was.

I doubt if it was ever recorded.


- Would be interesting to know that.


- Yes.

Very interesting.


- Gossipy, but interesting.

[chuckles] Well, good evening, ladies.


- Good night, all.


- Good night, thank you.


- Willie.

That was a very pleasant visit.

They are very charming young ladies.


- Yeah.


- You always get upset

whenever anyone talks to me, don't you?


- I can't help it.


- You'll learn.

You'll learn.

And now you will complete the arrangements

for our dinner guest.

[Elizabeth]
- But I didn't want you to go down there,

particularly with that Willie Loomis around.


- He's not all that bad.


- Well, he'll do till somebody worse comes along.


- Mother, you should see the wonderful things

that have been done to that house.


- Well, I have seen some of it.


- But you haven't seen the room upstairs.


- It's been restored exactly the way it was

when the house was built.
- Right down to the last detail.

And you'll never guess whose room it was.

Josette Collins.
- Really?

Well, that's interesting.


- David's going to be awfully happy to hear

that her portrait is hanging there.


- I can't for the life of me

think why he would want to restore Josette's room.


- And now, Willie, it's time to show our guest in.

♪♪

Ah, Josette, my darling.

Welcome.

♪♪

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