SCENE 4
Maggie reread the letter telling of Laura's death. She had been preparing to open the Blue Whale when Roger came over to tell her the news. Though Roger had never been good showing his feelings, she knew he must be torn up inside about this. He had long ago given up the idea that his marriage would succeed, but somewhere deep inside him, he still loved his wife.
The date of the fire caught Maggie's attention. "Six days ago. The night I had my vision of a fire. I suppose this explains what that was about."
Roger grimaced. "Yes, I suppose it does. Maybe it also explains my late-night painting that evening as well."
"It could. I've always believed you have undeveloped psychic ability. That's why you can assist me so well, like when we had the seance. Perhaps the painting is your power's way of manifesting itself." Maggie frowned. "Though it's a pretty sophisticated display for someone without any knowledge or training." She shook her head. "I guess it doesn't really matter now, though."
"No, I suppose it doesn't." Roger turned away from her. "I haven't told David yet. There's no telling how he's going to take it. He was very close to his mother you know." He could feel tears welling in his eyes.
Maggie sensed his pain. She came up behind him and put a hand on his back. "Roger, you know how I felt about Laura. But I'm still sorry for you. I know how hard this must be."
Roger turned around. He stared searchingly at her, able to see she was sincere. Without a word, he embraced her tightly, almost desperately. A single tear fell down his cheek.
Suddenly, they heard the front door of the bar open. With a reflex born of keeping their relationship a secret for so long, they separated in an instant. Roger wiped his eyes, as Maggie turned to see who the intruder was. "Oh, sheriff, hello. What can I do for you?"
Roger started at the mention of the sheriff and turned around. "Hello George," he said flatly.
Sheriff Patterson took in the scene before him. "Hello, Maggie. Roger." He took off his hat and held it at his side. "I just came by to see your father, Maggie. Is he here?"
"No, he's not, Sheriff," Roger interrupted nervously. "What did you want to see Sam for?"
The sheriff shot him a look and said to Maggie, "I came in last night, and he was feeling a bit under the weather. Wanted to see if he was doing any better."
"No, he's laid up pretty bad with the flu. He'll live, but right now I think he would prefer to die and get it over with."
George grinned at her, then looked over at Roger. "What you doing here so early, Roger?" Something like suspicion crept into his voice. Maggie silenced George with a hand on his arm.
"Roger got some upsetting news today." She handed George the letter she still held. "He just came over to let me know."
Patterson took the letter and read it quickly. It was obvious when he read of the death of Laura Murdoch Collins, for he quickly looked up, shocked. He stepped to Roger. "I'm sorry for your loss, Roger. I didn't know Mrs. Collins very well, just from the case before you two left town, but she seemed like a good woman."
Roger swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the door. "Thank you, George." He felt the need to get away. The last thing he wanted was for the sheriff to be thinking about the incident involving him and Laura. One good thing was that he hadn't been able to see Sam Evans. "Maggie, I need to get back to Collinwood. I just wanted to tell you about this. I'll talk to you later." He made a hasty departure.
Maggie watched him leave, wondering why he had rushed off. It was George's voice that made her turn away. "So Laura Collins died in a hospital fire six days ago. Sounds like we know what your vision last week was about."
She pushed Roger from her mind for the moment. "Yes, it does. Though why I saw it, I don't know. I've never even met Laura. Unless it's because of my connection to Roger."
"And just what is your connection to Roger Collins, Maggie?" he asked nonchalantly.
Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "Roger and I are friends, George. That's all." Maggie began to wipe down the bar. "Stop being such a policeman all the time."
"Sorry, Maggie. Can't do that. It's what I am." He leaned against the bar. "Somehow, I don't think you're terribly upset about the passing of the late Mrs. Collins."
It took a second of consideration before Maggie decided to tell him the truth. "I'm not. In fact, I'm relieved that Laura Collins is dead. And I'm glad to know what my mysterious vision was about." She headed toward the back room.
"Ayeh. Except for one strange thing. By all accounts, burning alive is a horrible death." What he said next made Maggie stop uneasily, her blood running cold. "So why was Laura laughing in that vision you had?"
SCENE 5
"Say that again." Richard listened on the phone, his "uh-huhs" and "um-hums" punctuating every so often. When the commentary on the other end finished, he looked over his shoulder at Liz sitting on the couch. "Why in the world…?" He was cut off.
After listening a little longer, he came to a decision. "Okay, look. Get all the financial records together and bring them to me here in Collinsport tomorrow. We'll have to go over them thoroughly and see what needs to be done. I'll see you then. Good-bye." He hung up the receiver. Richard thought about the information he had just heard. Still puzzled, he went back to Elizabeth. "Liz, do you know a man named Stuart Bronson?"
She looked up at him, considering. "Only by reputation. He's a banker in Boston, isn't he?"
"Yes, and one of the most powerful men in the banking industry. And you've never met or had any business dealings with him?"
"No." Liz stood up. "Why? What's going on, Richard?"
"I don't know. That was Frank on the phone. The manager of your bank in Bangor is a close friend of ours. Apparently, Stuart Bronson talked to him, and was asking a lot of questions about Collins Enterprises."
A frown formed on Liz's face. "What kind of questions?"
"Mostly about mortgages and loans that they hold for Collins Enterprises. Since any company's debts are a matter of public record, he gave him the information, but called Frank to let him know." Richard took a seat. "I'm sorry to drop this on you today, after dealing with the news of Laura's death, but I'm concerned about this. It looks like someone may be trying to take over Collins Enterprises."
Elizabeth sat down, stunned. "But why? I mean, it's certainly done well for my family, but in the scheme of things we're hardly a major player."
"I think you are depreciating Collins Enterprises somewhat, but it's still a mystery to me." Richard stood and picked up his briefcase. "Anyway, Frank is coming down tomorrow so we can start preparing, just in case."
Elizabeth walked him to the door. "Thank you, Richard. I do appreciate how much help you give this family."
He flashed her a boyish grin. "It's my pleasure, Elizabeth." He kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow after Frank and I work out a plan." Richard opened the front door. "Oh, and Liz? We must consider that the attack on Collins Enterprises may be personal. If you can think of anyone who might want to put you out of business, it would help us to know who we're up against." With that, he left Elizabeth Collins Stoddard standing in the foyer, wondering who might hate the Collins family that much.
SCENE 6
The foyer of Collinwood seemed empty and desolate to Victoria when she came in. Maggie had been happy to let Jeff move in that evening. She had been worried because there wasn't much furniture, but Jeff said it was fine with him.
Then Maggie had told her the news that Laura Collins was dead. Vicki had come home immediately. She knew she should be here to help with David. The little boy was extremely sensitive, and they might need her help with him. She also wanted to talk to Roger about something else, if possible.
Just then, Roger came down the stairs, reading a book. He didn't see her immediately, so she called to him, "Roger."
He looked up. "Hello, Vicki. You're home early."
"I just talked to Maggie."
Roger took off his glasses. "I suppose she told you about Laura."
"Yes, she did. I'm so sorry." She touched his arm. "How is David taking the news?"
He sighed. "We haven't told him yet. My sister and I decided to wait until tomorrow." Roger looked at her. "We'd appreciate your help with that, Vicki. You are very good with him, and he seems to like you." He grimaced. "Unlike his feelings toward me."
Vicki gave Roger a sympathetic look. She wanted to say something to reassure him, but knew it would be useless. What Roger said seemed to be true. Every time he tried to get close to his son, David pulled away from him. Even Vicki had noticed it.
Roger snapped out of his self-pity, put his glasses back on, and opened his book again. "Anyway, it's still early. Why don't you go back out again? Tomorrow may get tense. You should relax tonight." He turned to go into the drawing room.
"Uh, Roger…" Vicki hesitated. He turned back to her. "There was one other thing I wanted to ask you about, if it's okay."
He closed his book again. "What's on your mind, Vicki?"
"I was wondering if you have any openings at the office."
Roger cocked an eyebrow at her. "Thinking of changing occupations on us, Miss Winters?"
Vicki giggled. "No, it's for a friend of mine. He quit his job tonight, and I thought I might be able to help him out."
"Well, I can't promise anything," Roger smiled a bit, "But send him by the office and I'll see what we can do."
Excited, Vicki practically kissed him. "Thank you, Mr. Collins. I'll tell him to go in tomorrow. His name is Jeff Clark." She calmed as she thought of something. "And I had better warn you, he looks a lot like Joe Haskell."
"Oh, so that's what this is about." Roger smiled at her. "Liz told me about the young man who had so enthralled you. I look forward to meeting him."
Just then, the front door opened. They both turned to see who it was. Vicki felt uncomfortable when she saw it was Barnabas coming in. They hadn't seen much of each other since she had rejected his marriage proposal last week. She felt bad about that. He had accepted her answer like the gentleman he was, and now she was practically ignoring him.
Barnabas may have felt the same way, as he was brought short upon seeing her. "Good evening, Roger." He looked at Vicki, acknowledging her presence with a simple, "Victoria," but his dark eyes seemed to devour her. But he quickly turned back to Mr. Collins. "I was hoping to find Julia here. Is she in?"
"No, I'm afraid she's out right now, Barnabas." Roger sensed the tension between the other two in the room. He didn't understand it, but it was certainly unsettling. "Should I send her over to the Old House when she comes in?"
"It is nothing so important it can't wait until tomorrow. But thank you for the offer. Besides, I will be going to bed soon. I find I am tired so much earlier in the evening than I used to be."
The phone rang, startling everyone slightly. Roger answered it. "Hello?" He listened for a moment. "As a matter of fact, he's right here. Hold on, I'll put him on." He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Barnabas, it's for you."
Barnabas took the phone, slightly surprised. Who could be calling him here? "Hello?"
The voice on the other end sounded strained. "Mr. Collins, this is Dr. Lang. Can you come here right away?"
With a glance at the others, he replied innocuously, "I suppose that would not be a problem. Is something wrong?"
"Hopefully not, but I need to talk to you as soon as possible, and I don't want to do it over the phone. Please come as quickly as you can."
Now Barnabas became worried. "I will be right over. Goodbye." He put the receiver back on the cradle and turned back to Roger and Victoria. "Pardon me, but something has come up. Have a good evening, both of you."
"Good night, Barnabas," Victoria said, trying to show him she had no hard feelings toward him.
Barnabas struggled with something to say to the woman he loved, but his usual glibness deserted him. He left Collinwood without a word.
