Subj: Dark Light -- 23
Date: 6/5/99
From: Flashman

Chapter 23-Josh and Reva in Collinsport

Josh and Reva awoke at 7:00 a.m., showered, and dressed. They both wanted to get an early start. From their Rand McNally road atlas it appeared to be a long drive from Boston to Collinsport. Probably close to four hours. Both wanted to get there as soon as possible. The first person they would try to locate was this Maggie Haskell woman. Josh and Reva wanted to check out her story and hopefully find out more about the cashier's check for $25,000.00. They hoped that she would put them in touch with David Collins. Even if she refused, he should be easy to find. Collinsport wasn't very big, according to the map.

They checked out of their hotel, got into their rental car, and headed north out of Boston on I-95. After driving for about an hour the cell phone in Reva's purse rang. It was Laura Murdoch. She informed them that her sister had suffered a serious heart attack the night before and that she was leaving town to be with her. Not to worry, she was leaving Marah and Shayne in the care of Matt and Vanessa Reardon with instructions not to let them go anywhere with Cassie. You can't be too careful since she's involved with Barnabas Collins, Laura had said.

Reva had agreed and thanked Laura for keeping her informed. Give my love to your sister, Reva had said, and there the conversation ended. Funny, thought Reva. Laura had never made mention of a sister or any other relative before. In fact, other than where Laura had said she had worked neither Josh nor Reva knew anything about the woman. Oh, that doesn't matter, thought Reva. Laura's just a private person. Some people are like that. Besides, Reva knew Laura would never allow any harm to come to Marah and Shayne.

The Lewises continued their drive up I-95. Through New Hampshire and then into Maine. Finally, they pulled off I-95 at the Brunswick exit and got onto of U.S. Highway 1. A brief section of Highway 1 was four lane but it soon became a two laner. On and on Josh and Reva drove. Through the various small towns the road went through. Wiscasset, Waldoboro, Rockland, Rockport, and Camden. When they passed Camden they saw a sign that said--Collinport-25 miles. Soon, they both thought to themselves, we're going to get some answers.

At approximately 1:40 p.m. Josh and Reva saw a sign that said Collinsport City Limits. Just up from the sign, about 200 yards, was a gas station. The Lewises hadn't stopped for any gas on their drive and their tank was nearing empty. They decided to pull in, get some gas, and ask directions.

The gas station was a full-service station. The attendant who greeted them had the name Gary on his work jacket.

"Fill her up, folks?" he asked.

"Yes, please," answered Josh. "Say mister, do you know where the Blue Whale Pub and Eatery is? There's someone there we want to see."

"You're not looking for Harry Johnson, are you? He's not in any trouble, is he?" was Gary's reply.

"No, we're looking for a woman named Maggie Haskell," said Josh.

"Whew. You see, Harry Johnson is my pop. He's the bartender there. I figured maybe you were bill collectors or something. You see, my pop has a tendency to bounce a check every now and then," explained Gary Johnson.

"We want to see Maggie Haskell. I understand she's the owner," said Reva.

"That's right," replied Gary who then proceeded to give Josh and Reva directions to the Blue Whale Pub and Eatery.

As the car pulled out of the gas station Gary Johnson rushed inside to call his father at the Blue Whale. Willie Loomis had been right, Gary thought. He had called Gary earlier in the morning and told him to keep an eye out for any strangers passing through town. Especially a man and a woman asking for directions to Collinwood or the Blue Whale. Those two fit the bill exactly. What a lucky break, he thought.

Gary reached his father at the Blue Whale and gave him a description of the two strangers who had stopped for gas. He told his father that when they left the Blue Whale he was to call Willie Loomis at Collinwood and inform him what they had asked about. No, he had no idea what was going on but Willie had promised him $20.00 for any information. He'd better cut me in too, Harry Johnson said. Willie would be in the main house all afternoon, Gary informed his father.

Maybe Willie had gotten into some trouble when he suddenly left town. Gary had called David Collins at his office earlier that day. David had promised to reimburse Gary for his time spent watching Collinwood. Gary was getting paid twice for that job. Willie had given him $300.00 and now David Collins said he would cough up a few bucks. Those suckers. Get every dime out of life you can, his old man always told him.

Still, the two people had asked for Maggie Haskell and had made no mention about Willie Loomis. Gary had no idea why Willie wanted him to keep an eye out for strangers. That old rummy could be secretive at times. He hoped Willie was in serious trouble. Maybe David Collins would finally fire Willie's ass. If that did happen, Gary knew he would be first in line for Willie's job. Not that it paid all that much. David Collins was as tight as a tick. But there was one fringe benefit. The new nanny at Collinwood. Her name was Christine Keel. Boy, did she have some titties. Gary Johnson couldn't wait to go a few rounds with her.

As Gary was thinking this, Josh and Reva pulled into downtown Collinsport. They noticed a parking lot and decided to park there. Collinsport didn't appear to be all that big. They parked the car and set out on foot. The town itself, while it did appear to have many charming old houses, didn't look like much. Probably went downhill during the Reagan years of the 80's, Reva had said. Josh agreed. Both he and Reva were die-hard Democrats.

The Blue Whale was only a couple of blocks away from the parking lot. It was down near the waterfront. Josh and Reva entered the place. There were two people sitting at the bar. They looked like old, retired boozers. Another man, wearing a suit, was sitting at a table reading a newspaper. There was a half-empty plate of food on his table. Behind the bar stood two people. A cute young woman, probably in her early twenties and a rough looking man in his fifties with scars on his forehead. Probably that guy at the gas station's father. Josh and Reva could see the resemblance. They walked up to the bar.

"Excuse me. My name is Reva Lewis and this is my husband, Josh. We're here in Collinsport looking for a woman named Maggie Haskell. We understand she's the owner of this place."

"Yeah, she owns it but she's not here right now. She's over at the Collinsport Bank and Trust. She's got a meeting this afternoon about a loan. Gonna redo this place," the bartender replied.

"Sir, would Maggie Haskell have just gotten some money recently? Maybe a cashier's check for $25,000.00," inquired Josh.

"You must be psychic or something, mister. That's what happened. Just yesterday afternoon. It came by overnight delivery. How in the world did you know about that?"

"Mister...," said Reva.

"Johnson. The name's Harry Johnson."

"Mr. Johnson, we're from Springfield in the midwest. A bank in Springfield drew up that cashier's check for her. It was drawn up by a man named Barnabas Collins," informed Reva.

Harry Johnson laughed, "Lady, I don't know where you got your information from but Barnabas Collins sure as hell never sent Maggie no cashier's check. He's dead as a doornail. Died 25 years ago."

"Did you know this man Barnabas Collins?" asked Josh.

"Sure did. My mom used to work as a housekeeper up at Collinwood. That's the big estate here in town where the Collins family lives. They pretty much run this town. I worked there too for a little while as a chauffeur until I got into some trouble."

"Can you describe this Barnabas Collins to us? What did he look like, the man you knew?" asked Reva.

Harry Johnson's description fit the Barnabas Collins Josh and Reva knew in Springfield to a tee.

"And you're sure this man is dead? Could he have had a son, maybe a son no one ever knew about?" asked Reva. This man was giving her the same story Maggie Haskell had given over the telephone on Sunday.

"Maybe. You see, he came here in Collinsport in the late 60's from England. Very mysterious kind of guy. He might have had a kid from the years he lived over there. Wouldn't surprise me none. Barnabas Collins was always quite the ladies man. Used to have all kinds of snatch hanging over him."

Well the guy is crude, Josh and Reva thought, but in his own crude way he's made things a little clearer. The Barnabas Collins currently in Springfield was probably a son no one in Collinsport had ever known about. At least a son who was unknown to Harry Johnson and Maggie Haskell.

"Tell me, Mr. Johnson, was Maggie Haskell ever involved romantically with Barnabas Collins?" asked Reva.

"Now don't you be gettin' no dirty ideas about Maggie. She's a nice lady. Hell, she and her late husband, Joe gave me a job here when nobody else would. You see, I have a prison record. Maggie's first class all the way."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson. I never meant to imply anything bad about her. I'd just like to know what her relationship with Barnabas Collins was. You see, I'm positive that a man I know as Barnabas Collins, whomever he may really be, had that cashier's check drawn up and I want to know why," explained Reva.

"Well lady, Maggie and this Barnabas Collins guy were close friends many years ago. I don't know if they were ever lovers and I never asked that of Maggie. I do know that she and a woman named Julia Hoffman scattered his ashes into the ocean at his funeral. His body was cremated, you see."

Josh spoke, "What about this Julia Hoffman woman? Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, mister," replied Harry Johnson. "I sure do. Eagle Hill Cemetary."

Harry Johnson chuckled at his crude wit. Both Josh and Reva felt they weren't going to get much more information about Barnabas Collins from this guy. Besides, they were both getting hungry.

"Mr. Johnson," said Josh. "Would you mind if we wait here for a little while in case Maggie Haskell returns?"

"No problem, mister. You guys want me to fix you something to eat? We got plenty of beer, too. Just opened a new tap."

Josh and Reva said yes. Harry brought them both sandwiches and beer. Both sandwiches were quite good with generous portions of meet. Guess that old reprobate isn't too bad in the kitchen, they thought.

After fixing the sandwiches Harry Johnson stepped outside and left the waitress in charge of the bar. He went to a payphone on the corner to call Willie Loomis at Collinwood. This info he had gotten from those two strangers sounded pretty good. That old drunk Willie had better cough up some dough when he came in tonight. If he didn't Harry would water down his drinks or maybe call the cops if Willie happened to be driving. Harry knew that Willie had lost his driver's license because of a DUI.

Josh and Reva finished their food and drinks. They decided to have another beer. Even the beer in this place was good. It was cold and served in tall, frosty mugs. The waitress brought them their beer. Her name tag said Buffy.

After being almost finished with their second beer Josh and Reva saw a red-headed woman walk into the bar. She appeared to be in her fifties. Still very attractive looking, though. Instinctively, they both knew that this woman had to be Maggie Haskell. She was talking to Harry and Buffy behind the bar. The jukebox was playing so they couldn't overhear any of the conversation. Then Harry pointed to their table and the woman walked towards them.

"Good afternoon, folks. My name's Maggie Haskell. My bartender tells me that you're from out of town and seem to know quite a bit about that cashier's check I got yesterday."

"Yes, Mrs. Haskell. I'm Reva Lewis and this is my husband, Josh. I'm the person who spoke with you on the phone Sunday afternoon."

"You're the one! Good grief! I thought the whole thing was some kind of practical joke until yesterday afternoon when I got the check. I've just come from the bank. The check is legitimate. The money is mine free and clear. What in the world are you two doing in Collinsport? Don't tell me there's been a mistake," said Maggie.

"No, Mrs. Haskell. No mistake. If your bank says the check is good, it's good," replied Josh.

"There's just one thing. Your wife said on the phone that the check was drawn up by Barnabas Collins. That's why I thought the whole thing was a joke. Like I told you Sunday, he's been dead for 25 years. But today my banker said the check was drawn on the account of an Alan Spaulding from Springfield. It's still pretty mysterious. I've never heard of a man named Alan Spaulding before," she said.

Well Josh and Reva sure as hell had. They then proceeded to tell Maggie Haskell the entire sordid and mysterious story. How the mysterious Barnabas Collins had arrived in Springfield a short time ago and what he had done there. He had breezed into town, gotten power of attorney over Alan Spaulding's assets, and had seduced Reva's sister. There was also a murder in Springfield that Barnabas Collins had a connection with. It involved a woman named Harley Spaulding.

"Harley Spaulding! That's the third time I've heard that name in the past three days. The first was Sunday when I was in church. A friend of mine named Daphne Harridge said a woman by that name had called her up asking about Barnabas Collins. Then yesterday morning, a detective from Springfield named Levy called asking about the same cashier's check you mentioned on Sunday. Since I hadn't received it at the time I told him I knew nothing. Maybe I should call him back, he gave me his number," said Maggie.

"Mrs. Haskell, do you mind if I ask you some personal questions?" asked Reva. "About your relationship with the man you knew as Barnabas Collins."

"No, Mrs. Lewis. Go right ahead. Right now I'm just as confused as you seem to be," was her response.

"Were you and Barnabas Collins ever romantically involved?" asked Reva.

"No, we were never lovers in the sexual sense. We were very close friends, however. He helped me many times especially after my father died in 1968 and when I had a nervous breakdown a few years later. I guess you could say he was like a devoted older brother."

"You said on the phone that Barnabas Collins had no children but your bartender told us earlier that Mr. Collins came here from England in the 60's. Is it possible that he could have fathered a child over there and that man is the one who is in Springfield today?" asked Josh.

"It's possible, I suppose. Barnabas never said much about his life before he came to Collinsport. There just might be a son. Maybe he somehow got wind of my situation and decided to help me out financially due to the fact that his father and I were close friends. I've got a lot of bills. Medical mostly, from when my late husband was sick."

That had to be it, Josh and Reva agreed. However, they still hadn't learned much more than they had before arriving in Collinsport. Josh opened his wallet to pay their tab. He had a picture he kept there. Reva had insisted he keep it there as a reminder.

Maggie Haskell saw the photograph. A spark of recognition came over her face. That was a photo of the girl who had been in the bar several nights ago. The one Willie Loomis had hit on.

"Mr. Lewis, let me see that photograph," she said, pointing it out.

Josh removed it from his wallet and handed it to Maggie.

"Mr. Lewis, I've seen this woman. She was in here almost two weeks ago. It was about 10:00 p.m. She only stayed about an hour. The reason I remember her was that she had a desperate look on her face. Almost like a hunted animal. I've never seen anyone look as desperate as she looked that night," said Maggie.

"Come over here, Harry," commanded Maggie. "Isn't this the woman who was in here about two weeks ago? The one Willie hit on."

Reva and Josh both turned pale as a ghost. The woman in the photograph was Annie Dutton.