Episode 32: Nine Years

Tuesday, August 9, 1966

My name is Victoria Winters. Here in Collinwood, there is a moment of quiet. Even the wind has subsided, and the threat of a storm is a thing of the past. But there are other storms. The unending chill of fear that sweeps through the silent corridors, always reminding a man of how close he has come to death.

Liz comes home and Roger tells her that David tries to kill him and is now where all criminals belong, under lock and key. Liz is not happy about this.

Roger wants to know why Liz didn’t tell him why David was missing when she called him earlier. He shows her the bleeder valve. Liz wonders how he could have tried to kill Roger.

“All he needed was a wrench.”

Bill Malloy comes to see the sheriff.

He wants to tell him about Burke’s hiring a private detective. Jonas already knows about that. He wants to talk about David.

Roger tells Liz he thinks David might be Burke’s son. He was born almost eight months after Roger and Laura married. They married right after Burke’s trial. Roger always looked at David and saw Burke. And he hated David.

Liz says she’s sure David is Roger’s son.

“Why? Because he’s deceitful, vicious, unpredictable? Because he tried to kill his own father?” (Is that something Roger did? Hmm.) He tells Liz he knows David better than she does. She’s known him two months, and he’s been with David nine years. “And do you know what they add up to, those nine years? This.” Roger holds up the bleeder valve.

Bill admits David has said he wished Roger dead. He admits David doesn’t like Roger. Jonas wants to know if there was an argument. Bill says he was upset about being sent away, to boarding school, he supposes. How upset?

Bill can’t believe what Jonas is suggesting.

Jonas tells him about David picking up the wrench after Burke did. But David’s fingerprint is under Burke’s, not on top of it. Bill says that doesn’t prove David tampered with the brakes.

“No,” Jonas admits, “but it raises a suspicion.”

Bill wants to know what Jonas is going to do about it.

Jonas doesn’t know.

Liz comes down from going to see David. David wouldn’t acknowledge her.

Roger thinks David should be sent away to a special school so he can get some help. What if he tries again? A loose rock, rat poison in his coffee. Liz says David has been surrounded by hate his whole life. She wants to help David.

She admits nothing excuses what David did, but he’s had to live his life with Roger’s guilt. Roger denies having any guilt.

Liz says their family has always stuck together and they’re going to do it this time too. Roger will not treat David like a criminal. He’ll leave him alone and let Miss Winters and her give him the love and attention he deserves.

Before Roger can reply, Jonas is at the door.

He wants to talk about the accident.

Liz tells Jonas that it turned out the valve fell off by itself. It was loose. It had been loose several times in the past. Their caretaker just told her.

“What you mean is you want me to drop the case.”

So he does. He’s going to go home and take his wife to a movie. Before he goes, he adds, “Oh, Mr. Collins, give your son my regards, will you?”

After Jonas leaves, Liz tells Roger she had no choice.

“We all have a choice, Liz. It’s what we do with it.”

She had to protect David.

“You protected a monster, Liz.” And someday, he says, she will regret it.

 

        Cast, In Order of Appearance

Victoria Winters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexandra Moltke

Roger Collins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Louis Edmonds

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bennett

Bill Malloy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Schofield

Jonas Carter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michael Currie

Fashion by Ohrbach’s

Directed by John Sedwick

Story created and written by Art Wallace