Subj: Collinwood 2001 Year One Part Six
Date: 3/11/01 11:15:32 AM Central Standard Time
From: N.E. Collins

The Collinsport Inn was the oldest permenant structure in the township of Collinsport. The town had been founded in 1679 by Isaac Collins and the building still bore the original plaque with the same date from the original structure. The second oldest building in town was The Blue Whale, though it had at one time been called The Eagle. It had always been a favorite "watering hole." It HAD served as the only bar in town for many years, and now tonight The Purple Cow would be the tenth such establishment in the area. Rosemary checked and double checked her list of things that needed doing. She owned and operated the inn and she not only had a full house, but the entire first floor of rooms had been rented out to Burke Devlin and he kept her hopping.

Burke Devlin had returned home after he had made some big money down in South America. Just exactly how he had made his money was his secret, but the town grapevine said it was anything and everything from gun-running to drug dealing to gold mining. Burke wasn't volunteering any information into his private financial affairs, and Rosemary really didn't care all that much. Just as long as he paid his bill on time. That was what concerned her the most. If only he wasn't such a royal pain in the ass, she sighed to herself. The man was so anal about everything concerning his diet. She had had to chase him out of the kitchen on more than one occassion and she had had to talk the cook out of quitting a couple of times. Burke had been trying to instruct the cook on the proper preperations for clam chowder. And the clam chowder at the Collinsport Inn was state renowned, and the cook had received awards for her brillant concotion, and here was this man telling her she was doing it ALL wrong. Well, Rosemary thought, it's a good thing this man is worth too much to toss aside. Good for me, that is. She laughed to herself as she went about the never-ending duties of the day.

Burke's busy day had begun earlier. He was on the phone with one of his lawyers, Stierson. This one specialized in cases involving DNA testing. Burke was convinced that David Collins was in truth his son and not Roger's. He believed that Laura Collins had sold herself and his issue to the highest bidder at the time, and he was going to proof it. He was out for blood, Collin's blood. He wanted everything that was theirs. Their business's, their estate, and their reputations. And his son. He HAD to be his son! Why, Roger Collins wasn't MAN enough to produce a male, smirked Burke to himself. He was halfway listening to Stierson as he droned on and on about some legal mumbo-jumbo when he spied Carolyn Stoddard down on the street with a rather timid mousy looking brunette in tow. Ah, he thought, that must be David's new governess. Boy, they sure know how to pick 'em, don't they? Well, no matter. Both Miss Mouse and the Lady Carolyn will fit nicely into my plans. In fact, if I can play the two of them against each other then I'll have two salacious affairs for the price of one. Hehehe. Burke Devlin was a gutter minded lowlife. He could dress himself in the finest silk and smoke the most expensive cigar, but he was what he was...low class and no class.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.