Subj: Dark Light -- 27
Date: 6/14/99
From: Flashman

Epilogue

Nearly two weeks had passed. Barnabas Collins and Alan Spaulding sat in the CEO's office of Spaulding Enterprises. Alan had recently returned to Spaulding as CEO and Chairman of the Board. It was at the invitation of his board of directors. Phillip, mourning the loss of Harley, had begun hitting the bottle hard. He had decided to step down from his duties at Spaulding.

Police still had few clues regarding Harley's death. From his contacts at police headquarters, Alan learned that police now suspected Harley's death was the result of a bungled burglary attempt. There had been a rash of burglaries in Springfield recently.

Alan had appointed Barnabas as Executive Vice-President at Spaulding. Barnabas had brought in Cassie as his secretary. They had moved into Spaulding Manor. Barnabas had sublet his house to Bridget Reardon, Nola Marler's niece, who had recently returned to Springfield from Minnesota after ending her relationship with Dylan Lewis, Reva's son from her marriage to Billy.

When the entire affair with Reva and Annie had concluded Barnabas had confessed the entire deal to Cassie. Much to his surprise, Cassie had sided with him. You only did what you had to do, she had stated. I'm glad you won because I want to be with you always, Barny Warny. God, he still detested that nickname.

Laura Murdoch had returned from Palm Springs to stay with Josh Lewis and his children. She had disposed of Billy Lewis in Palm Springs. Didn't even have to kill him, at least literally. Laura had smuggled in a quart of Scotch to Billy at the Betty Ford Clinic. He had downed it all in one sitting and had died of acute alcohol poisoning. Nothing was in the Scotch, Laura had sworn. An autopsy had proven her correct.

Laura had gotten her lamp back from Annie when they met up in Palm Springs. She had been overjoyed to find out that Annie and Beth had made Reva their stooge. Willie Loomis had called Barnabas the week before from Palm Springs. He said he was having the time of his life out there. He had met a rich divorcee named Sally Spectra who had taken a fancy to him. She owned a fashion design company and wanted him to move to Los Angeles with her. According to Willie, Sally Spectra had stated that she would take care of him for life. Barnabas told Willie to go for it, as the expression goes nowadays.

Beth Raines had gotten lucky too. She also met a rich fashion designer. His name was Eric Forrester. She had put him under her power. He had six children by two ex-wives. The first ex-wife was a real meddler but Beth informed Barnabas that she could handle her. She was once again going to be Cinderella at the ball.

Annie Dutton had split up with Beth after a few days in Palm Springs. She didn't want to hinder Beth's progress with Eric. Annie and Reva had gone to Los Angeles where Annie had met up with an old friend of hers from nursing school named Sheila Carter. She and Sheila had decided to go to a place called Genoa City, Wisconsin. Sheila Carter had some scores to settle there much as Annie had done in Springfield.

Annie revealed that she had turned Sheila into one of the Undead and that Sheila despised Reva. Hell, she's tougher on Reva than I am. Sheila was married to a psychiatrist but had decided to leave him because she said he bored her. Sheila also had a friend named Mike Guthrie who would travel with their little group to Genoa City. Mike was an old lover of Sheila's who would do anything for her. He hadn't even been bitten by her.

Barnabas had also gotten in contact with David Collins back in Collinsport. He informed David that when the Lewises had returned to Springfield they had reached an agreement with Annie and himself and that Annie had left town. Barnabas promised David that he would never return to Collinsport or make any attempt to harm David's family. David had agreed to the arrangement. Barnabas felt that the only reason for this agreement was because David didn't want word somehow getting out that he had known about Barnabas for 25 years and had done nothing to destroy him during that period. The Collins family honor must be preserved at all costs.

Josh Lewis had been committed to County General Mental Hospital. When Annie and Beth had carried off Reva Josh had acted like a raving lunatic. He said that vampires had taken away his beloved Reva. No one in Springfield would believe him. Everyone figured that Reva had simply decided to pack up and leave him. She'd always been flighty, the town busybodys said. Josh's sister, Trish, had signed the commitment papers. The children were staying with the Reardons. Laura Murdoch had moved in with them to help out.

Lewis Oil had been left is disarray. Their stockholders had voted to merge with Spaulding. Alan had been elated. After all these years he had finally crushed those hillbillies. He stated to Barnabas that perhaps they could hire Josh as a flunky when and if he ever got out of County General.

As the two men sat in the office Alan noticed the melancholy look on Barnabas's face.

"What's the matter with you? You ought to be pleased. We've won. We've crushed Lewis Oil. My dreams have come true and you, you've got more power than you could have ever dreamed of in that hick town, Collinsport."

"Yes, you're right, Alan. It's just that I feel there is something missing. Something I can long for but can never achieve," replied Barnabas.

What's that? You've got everything. Money, power, a good-looking woman who adores you. What else could you possibly want?" asked Alan.

"Something much simpler than those things, Alan."

"Like what?"

"To be able to watch a sunrise. To be able to smell the freshness of the morning dew. To be able to live life as a normal man."

"Good Lord, Collins. You've got it made now with all the powers you possess. And you're immortal. My God man, you can never die," said Alan.

"I once thought as you do. Over two hundred years ago. Immortality, I said then. What a glorious thing that would be. To be able to live for eternity. Well, I've lived on this earth since 1760 and trust me, this immortality business isn't the least bit glorious.

"I've been hunted like an animal. I've never been able to find love or happiness and as long as I remain one of the Undead I'll never be able to find eternal peace. You're lucky, Alan. You can do those things I just spoke about. I never shall as long as I remain what I am."

Alan looked at Barnabas and for the first time felt sorry for him. He had thought several times about asking Barnabas to turn him into one of the Undead so that he too could be immortal. Now, he decided once and for all against that idea. What Barnabas Collins had lived through was no kind of life for anyone. Anything was better than that awful lifestyle. Still, Barnabas had Cassie Layne. Perhaps he could find love.

"What about Cassie Layne? She dotes on you. You can certainly find love or something like it with her. Why don't you turn her into one of the Undead and you can both live together for eternity?" asked Alan.

"Because Cassie is a gentle soul at heart. She would detest being one of the Undead," replied Barnabas.

"But look at Annie and Beth. They both relish being what they are. Maybe Cassie would too."

"I don't think so, Alan. Annie and Beth are both bitter, vengeful women. Cassie is not. Do you know what she wants now? She desperately wants a child to replace the one she lost. There's no way I want to father a child by her. Who knows what kind of creature that it would turn out to be?" said Barnabas.

"Maybe there's something I can do to help you. There's all kinds of modern medicines and inventions. We've got a geat research lab here at Spaulding. The guy that heads it up, Michael Burke, is an absolute genius. Maybe you could talk to him. Maybe he could help you," said Alan.

"Tell me more about this Michael Burke fellow," requested Barnabas.

"The guy's a genius. He's doing all kinds of research into genetics and all that stuff. Claims he can clone things. He even claims to have cloned a cat. He says in a short while he might be able to clone a human being.

"Besides, didn't you say that a woman named Julia Hoffman once briefly cured you? Maybe Michael Burke can find her notes and take it from there."

"Yes, she did. But the entire process was formulated by a man named Eric Lang. Julia simply applied his notes and procedures," said Barnabas.

"What about this Eric Lang guy?" asked Alan.

"He's been deceased for over thirty years. I wouldn't know where to begin to look for any research notes the man may have kept."

"But surely Julia Hoffman would have had some notes from when she applied this Lang's research," said Alan.

"I already thought of that, Alan. When I spoke to my cousin David last week he stated that all of Julia Hoffman's papers were destroyed when she died. At her own request."

"But this Eric Lang must have stored his research notes somewhere. There's got to be something we can find," said Alan. "I'll tell you what let's do. We can see Michael Burke tomorrow night. You can tell him your story and give him everything you know about this Eric Lang."

"But what if he refuses or what if he decides to expose me? We don't want to start up trouble anew," said Barnabas.

"He won't say anything as long as I'm the one signing his checks. Besides, this guy's one of these mad experimenters, so to speak. He'd relish the chance to try and find a cure for your condition. He'd think it would give him a shot at a Nobel Prize," informed Alan.

"If what you say is true, Alan, then perhaps I should have a long talk with this Michael Burke. Maybe he's heard something of Eric Lang or maybe he can go to Collinsport and find something there. If he's the genius you say he is then perhaps he can develop a cure for my condition on his own," said Barnabas.

"Now you're talking, Collins. That's the spirit. I've got a feeling that Michael Burke can help you. I'll leave a message for him when he gets here tomorrow. I'll tell him you want to hve a meeting with him tomorrow night about a matter of great importance. You can meet with him then."

"I hope that you are right. Maybe I can finally find a cure after so many years. Maybe I can finally live life as a normal man," said Barnabas.

Then Alan's intercom buzzed.

"What it it?" he asked.

"Mr. Spaulding, there's a woman out here to see Mr. Collins. She says she's his wife," was the response from the secretary.

Alan and Barnabas both sat in the office stunned. Alan, because he had no idea what was going on. Barnabas, because he did. So, she had found him at last. He was surprised it had taken this long. His oldest enemy, the one who had cursed him and made him into what he was today, was back.

Into Alan Spaulding's office strode Angelique.


THE END