626 - (Alexandra Moltke) - An early dusk over the great estate of Collinwood, as if the night is trying to cover what has happened here-for an afternoon that started with the highest hopes for happiness has ended in tragedy. The guests assembled for a wedding have all left the house knowing that wedding may never take place. The would-be groom has run frantically to a deserted graveyard to find a grave nearly 200 years old--a grave which may be his own.
Liz removes Vicki's veil and places it away. Vicki sadly wonders if she will ever marry Jeff.
Jeff opens Peter Bradford's coffin; he and Roger observe that it's empty. Jeff is horrified, Roger, perplexed.
Jeff sifts through the dirt on the bottom of the coffin, then closes it. Roger tells him it doesn't mean a thing, the coffin has been there 200 years--how do you know it belongs to you? Jeff is sickened, unable to pay attention. It's a fantasy that I'm as real as you are! he tells Roger--touch me!
Roger does, reluctantly, but finds he's holding warm, living flesh. Grave robbers, insists Roger. I must face it, says Jeff--I know the truth. If you must believe it, then Vicki must, too, says Roger soberly. As Jeff heads off to tell Vicki, Roger stops him--what life can you offer her? He asks the young man. Jeff kneels at the empty coffin, opens it and slams it shut with an incoherent sob. NO! he cries, and flees.
Vicki wonders to a sympathetic Liz why wedding dresses are packed away in boxes--to keep them for daughters, she supposes. Vicki frets why Roger hasn't come back. Liz insists it's Jeff you're worried about. If Roger hadn't found him, he'd be back by now, says Vicki, who wants to go to the cemetery. Jeff doesn't want you to go, protests Liz. Vicki agrees, remarking, I don't know who to send the Collins history book back to--a mysterious woman named Eve who traveled through time--she carried the book into the past and left it in 1795 in the courthouse--here it is--I want to understand. Liz advises her not to think about it--you might never understand. Vicki sees a note about something printed in the book, swearing it's true--Rev. Trask's, handwriting, faded from age--she was there when he wrote it. Liz closes the book and tells her not to look at it. Why not? asks Vicki--it happened to me, didn't it--where's Roger? she wonders--why doesn't he return with Jeff? Vicki begs Liz not to keep anything from her. Liz suggests she lie down and goes downstairs to make sure neither man has come back, leaving Vicki staring at the book. She takes it into her hands and sits down in a chair with it. She reads, about the governess being convicted of witchcraft and hung by the neck until dead. This echoes in her mind. She hears a heartbeat over the thunder, and the scene fades to a noose outside the jail. She remembers the gallows, jail, staring out the window at the gallows, waiting for her. . .for her. . .for her. . .her face is reflected in the noose, a scary vision.
The gallows, remembers Vicki, she could see them through the window. She goes to Peter who tells her he loves her--that's all that matters--I always will. They are coming for her. Peter tells her that, as she traveled through time to find him, the only good thing that has happened to her, somehow, he will find her, too. It's time. A man carrying a torch walks past, opens the door. He beckons to her. Peter reminds her that he will find her somehow, remember that. Vicki promises to remember. Remember. . .remember. Vicki DOES remember, in the present, here and now. There's a knock at the door, it's Liz. She comes in with Roger. Vicki asks about Jeff. Roger explains that he left him at the cemetery. At Peter's grave, guesses Vicki. Roger tells her I advised Jeff against coming back--what good would it do? They arrived at the decision mutually, says Roger. That he agreed not to come--how frightened and hurt he must be, says Vicki--I want to see him. Liz says she can't help him now. I must, insists Vicki. She begins to grab clothing from the closet. Roger looks lost.
Thunder and lightning fill Peter's room. Eve comes in and turns on the light. She looks at a picture of Vicki and angrily slaps it back down on the table. She hears someone coming in and smiles in anticipation, fixing her hair. Someone opens the door. "Jeff?" she calls--"are you trying to frighten me?" Eve IS scared. She knows he's out there. She walks toward the door, telling him she will make it all right. A man enters the dark room--ADAM! YOU! she whispers. "You will make it all right," he says cruelly, stalking her, his face filled with anger. She tells him not to touch her. He continues, "You will make it all right for him!" Yes, she admits. Never for me, asks Adam--this is where you are when no one can find you--this is where you are--with HIM! She tosses her head at him. Yesterday, you made me happy, Adam reminds her--that was a lie, wasn't it? She doesn't reply. He grabs her, again demanding to know if it was a lie. She struggles, finally spitting, "Yes it was a lie!" He releases her. Tauntingly, she says, "I love HIM, not you! HIM! Now you get out of here!" Adam is terribly hurt, but Eve can't resist finishing him off: "I can't stand the sight of you. I've always hated you. Every time you've touched me, I've pretended it was someone else--every time!" Why? he demands. She orders him not to come any nearer. He asks why she hates him so. "Because, you were pieced together!" she cries, disgusted.
"You're scarred! You are ugly! UGLY! UGLY!" Eve's face swims before Adam's eyes, and he advances on her, undoubtedly more angry than he's ever been in his life. Here was this woman, supposedly his mate, telling him what he'd always told himself--that he's ugly!!!! Seeing his unmitigated fury, Eve runs, but he grabs her. In the lightening-streaked fork of the room, they struggle, Adam falling to the floor, Eve screaming, as he strangles the life out of her and then stands over her body, surveying his handiwork.
Jeff returns to his room, having made circles on a New York on a bus schedule. He enters his room and turns on the light. Surprisingly, everything is in its place. Jeff looks at Vicki's picture, then takes his suitcase from under the bed. He starts throwing his shirts into it. There's a knock at the door. He takes Vicki's picture and puts it in his suitcase, too. Vicki calls to him to let her in. He hesitates, but does so when she says she knows he's in there. He lets her in, reluctantly. She spots the suitcase and says, "You're going away." Where? She checks the bus schedule and sees New York. Everything will be different there, you think, points out Vicki--what will you do? It doesn't matter, he says bitterly. Yes it does, she insists. Why? he asks, do you want to keep track of me--the amazing new phenom--the ghost who breathes?--your favorite freak? Vicki orders him to stop that. I was always Peter Bradford to you anyway, he adds. You were, she admits, and I accepted it as you will. No, says Jeff, I won't, ever. You must, she says. He guesses she's right, he's got no choice. There's something else you have no choice about, she says--me. He continues packing. I never want to see you again, he says. She accuses him of being deliberately cruel, trying to make her angry enough so she will leave--I won't--we can still get Judge McClain to marry us tonight.
He advises her to start a life that's real. She tells him he's the only real thing in her life, he knows that. He gets upset. Don't, he says--don't make this impossible. Why can't we spend our lives together? she demands. "Our lives?" he asks incredulously--what kind of life will we have? She came back to the past 3 months, six? How long will he have here? How long before he has to return? How long? Vicki neither knows nor cares. Jeff says she had better, because he might go to sleep and never wake up. Anyone can say that, says Vicki. Jeff says he isn't anyone, and he could leave her with no warning. When people meet, fall in love and marry, says Jeff, they look forward to years together--and children--that's the way life is, and I can't be part of it because I'm not real. He holds up his hands--"The sad case of Victoria Winters and Peter Bradford," he laments, touching her face. He orders her back to Collinwood. She swears to follow him, and, opening the closet door, he tells her to get out. He sees what's in the closet and quickly shuts the door, grossed out. He again tells Vicki to go, but she opens the closet door and sees the dead Eve lying there, eyes wide open in terror.
NOTES: I didn't realize Adam dispensed with Eve this soon, but it means we will shortly be seeing him exit, and that doesn't distress me at all. The whole Peter-Eve thing was silly, anyway, a bizarre plot device that made no sense.
I really did care if Peter/Jeff and Vicki got together the first time I saw this, but I actually thought Roger Davis a cute guy and a nice boyfriend for Vicki, at least in 1795. He became too irritating once he came to present day, and boring. I think Vicki can do lots better!
Eve was very convincingly dead; Marie Wallace's eyes didn't even blink. That's got to be hard to do.
627 - (Grayson Hall) - The terror of a violent thunderstorm hangs over the great house of Collinwood, but in a rooming house on the outskirts of Collinsport, a greater terror waits for a young man and a woman--a terror that is only moments away.
Jeff kneels and takes the corpse's pulse. He shuts Eve's wide-open eyes and tells Vicki she's dead. He closes the closet door and helps Vicki to sit down. That's Eve, he says, the woman I told you about. She asks if he didn't...
Of course I didn't says, Jeff. What's she doing here? Vicki asks, but Jeff doesn't know that or who killed her. Someone framed me, he says. Vicki wants to call the police, but Jeff needs more time to think of who did it and why. The police will accuse me; and I won't be able to convince them otherwise--I'll have to confess knowing her, and the reason I broke off our engagement. Jeff gets more and more unnerved, fearing they will think him guilty or insane. He tugs at his clothing uneasily. Vicki agrees it looks bad, but the worst thing he can do is wait--she begs him to call the police. He agrees, but he wants her to return to Collinwood--I don't want you involved. Too late, she says--I will see you through this. They hug. Jeff picks up the phone, dials the operator. He asks for the police.
Woods - Adam, exhausted, drops to his knees and leans on a rock. He regrets killing Eve; now he has no one, he's alone, with no one to help him. Nicholas will never help him when he learns what he did to Eve. Adam runs into Angelique, who says she wants to help him. He backs away from her, saying he doesn't want her help or anyone's even after she tells him she knows he killed Eve. She realizes he's desperate and scared, and she's the only one who can help him. Eve was evil, agrees Angelique--that's what Nicholas wanted--he knew Eve was secretly seeing Jeff. No, denies Adam, Nicholas is my friend!--he did everything for me. He gave you a mate that deceived you, spits out Ang-- Nick was the one who brought Danielle Roger to the experiment--not Leona Eltridge, but a treacherous woman who lived in the 18th century--Nicholas brought her back from the grave because she served his nefarious purposes, and never considered Adam his friend--he used you, as he uses everyone. Adam is rocked by this, hurt. He isn't sure, he says, but Ang tells him if he lets Nicholas go on using him, he's little more than a slave. He asks why she's telling him this. She answers that they must work together to escape Nicholas--I need your help--when Nicholas learns that Eve is dead and that Jeff Clark killed her, exactly what Ang wants him to think, it will fit in well with her plans--go back to the house, orders Ang, pretend nothing happened--pretend to be shocked, grief-stricken, when you hear about Eve. In the meantime, I will prepare for Nicholas departure. Adam isn't sure. . .he needs time to think it over. We have little time, warns Ang.
Hospital - A man peers into Joe Haskell's room from the outside. A nurse comes in and asks Joe if he wants anything, and if he'd like to rest. Joe, depressed, says yes, so she turns off the light. Joe hears someone turning the doorknob. A man enters his room. Who is it? asks Joe, and sits up in bed, horrified. "No!" he cries. "You're dead! You're dead! Tom Jennings!"
Joe's visitor isn't Tom Jennings, but Chris, Tom's brother. The nurse bursts in and Chris assures her Joe is OK, he just thought him someone else when he first came in. Joe realizes he made a mistake and tells the nurse all is well. She leaves. Chris apologizes for scaring Joe--why are you in the hospital? Asks Chris. Joe explains that they can't figure out what's wrong with him, but it's nothing serious. Chris just got into town, and is sorry they couldn't find him when Tom died--I'm never in one place very long. He asks how Tom died, what killed him. Joe is evasive--it's a mystery--I was with him when he died, but he couldn't tell anyone anything, he was mostly unconscious and didn't make much sense. Chris asks about the bite wound on Tom's neck, saying there are no animals in that area that attack humans--what caused the marks? Joe has no idea. A mystery, nods Chris--do you think Tom was murdered?--the police found no evidence of murder, but I think my brother died under unusual circumstances and I want to satisfy my curiosity about it. Rather late, isn't it? points out Joe. Never too late for inquiries, responds Chris, who has already seen Patterson and plans to see friends, co-workers, doctors, including Jeff Clark and Nicholas Blair. Joe asks if he's seen his sister, Molly. No, says Chris, seeming ashamed--how is she? She fell to pieces when Tom died, says Joe, she needed you, Chris--she's at Windcliff--Dr. Hoffman had her taken there for treatment--losing the only person in the world who cared about her was too much for her, she's been in a state of shock ever since. Chris didn't know, and he clearly feels guilty. Julia comes in to see Joe; when she spots Chris, she lets loose with a blood-curdling scream, "Tom, no!" She covers her mouth in horror. Joe assures her it's Tom's brother, Chris. Chris apologizes for startling her. Julia heaves a sigh of relief and introduces herself. Ah, you were one of the people I wanted to speak to, says Chris. I don't have the time, says Julia--I must return to Collinwood. He offers to take her there so they can talk on the way. Julia asks Chris to wait outside, but before he goes, Chris tells Joe he wants to speak to him at greater length. After Chris leaves, Julia asks Joe why he didn't tell her Tom had a brother. Joe explains he didn't figure he'd show up. Julia feels he must be very upset he wasn't notified of Tom's death. Joe says he tried, but Chris isn't an easy man to locate.
He moves around and never stays in one place. We went through high school together, explains Joe, and Chris was always a very bright guy--went on to college to study architecture--something happened--nobody knows what, but whatever it was, it changed Chris' whole personality. He dropped out of school, started going up to the mountains, alienated all of his friends, and finally disappeared from Collinsport--didn't come back even when his parents died--I sent a letter about Tom's death, but Chris claims he didn't hear about it until after the funeral--now Chris has come to investigate Tom's death. Joe advises Julia to speak to Chris and tell him to leave town. Unknown to both of them, Chris is standing outside the window of Joe's hospital room, rain wetting down his hair.
Julia and Chris return to Collinwood. She thanks him for the ride. She reluctantly agrees to answer more questions and invites him into the house. She tells him she didn't know Tom well at all, but he feels her reaction says otherwise. I examined him at the hospital, she admits. You told me you weren't on the staff of the hospital, Chris says. Julia explains that she's in research, and asked to see his unusual wounds. What about that wounds? asks Chris. Julia says it appeared to be an animal bite. What kind? He asks. Julia doesn't know. Chris doesn't seem to believe her. She turns the tables and asks why he's here to investigate Tom's death now that it's two months since he died. Evading, he says he isn't always easy to reach. I thought you came to see your sister, says Julia. Chris understand she took Tom's death hard. She explains Molly is at Windcliff, her hospital, and is getting good treatment--she needs someone close to turn to, and her brother is that person. Chris says the life he leads is all wrong for his sister, and seems angry that it's so. She asks what kind of life he leads. I move around a lot, he says, making a living the best way I can.
Coldly, Julia sums it up, "You don't have any responsibilities and you don't WANT any responsibilities, is that it?" I'll go see my sister first thing in the morning, he says, bidding her a curt good night and stalking out. She heads upstairs. Thunder booms.
Vicki comes tearing in, looking for Roger. We must wake him, she says--Jeff's in jail, a woman was murdered in his room--he didn't do it, but the police won't believe that--he met the woman a few times, and her name is Eve, but he didn't know her last name. "Eve," repeats Julia, her face clouding over, and asks Vicki if there's anything she can do to help. Vicki wishes there were; she has to get Jeff out of jail. Julia advises Vicki to go get Roger, then turns, goes downstairs and heads out the door.
Angelique descends stairs. She lights a red candle and says if she succeeds tonight, Nicholas will return to darkness, and perhaps the Master will lift this curse of darkness from me. She calls to the Prince of Fire, and all the dark creatures of nature. She hears the wind rushing in her ears as she summons her Master, calling him forth from the mouth of the dragon, and beast, and false prophet, from the subterranean rivers of blood. In the name of every evil spirit, she calls, her eyes widening, I invoke you to appear to me now. . .now. . .now! She is suddenly surrounded by flames. "No don't destroy me!" she cries. "No, you can't destroy me!" But, consumed in flames, she screams shrilly.
NOTES: What's this? Is the Master pissed off at Angelique for her efforts to become a witch again, for helping to ruin Nicholas' plans? What awaits our pretty vampire in the pits of hell?
We have new characters--the mysterious Chris, who looks like Tom's twin (but they're just brothers who look exactly alike). Chris moves around a lot and can't keep his little sister, Molly (don't get used to the name, that's going to change very soon). Julia already seems furious with him for neglecting his sister. Apparently, Molly was staying with the now-dead Tom and has no one else to take care of her.
Poor Adam. He considered Nicholas his friend, thought Eve loved him, and now he's learned that he's been wrong about everyone in his life. If he thinks he can trust Angelique, he's got another thing coming, and it's good that he's being cautious.
This is the changing of the storyline we're watching here. What's about to come is really quite interesting, and for some people, a favorite storyline.
Love, Robin
