Friday, September 16, 2016

Episode 60: The Portrait of Betty Hanscomb



Friday, September 16, 1966

My name is Victoria Winters. Collinwood at night, its towers a dark mass against a threatening sky—a symbol of a mystery I cannot solve. A mystery that brings me to a cottage not far from the waterfront. A cottage that might hold the answers I’ve been waiting so long to hear.

Vicki and Maggie arrive at the Evans cottage for dinner, Maggie carrying two bags of groceries. Vicki admires Sam’s paintings. 
She finds one of a woman who looks a lot like her.
Maggie wonders what will happen if Vicki finds her answers and they’re not what she wants to hear. Vicki says anything is better than not knowing. Look at Maggie. She can look at her father and know who he is. She knows him.
Maggie wonders if she does.

Burke comes in to bother the sheriff about arresting Roger.

Maggie says she’ll name Vicki champion potato peeler when she writes her autobiography. She asks Vicki what the kitchen is like in Collinwood.
Spooky, like the rest of the house. “Well, you see every time you open the door of the oven, you’ve got to be really careful, because there’s this old witch standing right behind, ready to push you in and make a meal out of you. 
And on top of the stove, instead of burners, there’s open fires and huge cauldrons on top, and you have to stir and stir.”
“Double, double, toil and trouble.”
“No, actually, it’s just a kitchen. It’s bigger than yours.”
Maggie notes that she’d never set foot in Collinwood. Has Vicki ever seen a ghost? Vicki tells her about the possible ghost she saw during the thunderstorm.
Maggie says she thinks the trouble started about ten years ago, not a couple of hundred years.
Vicki asks if she means Burke’s trial. Ever since she came there, people have been talking about it but not telling her what happened.
Sam arrives home.

George shows Burke David’s chart. They try to figure out where Bill hit the water. Burke says he isn’t going to let Roger or Sam get away with murder. George says if Burke tries to take things into his own hands, he will throw him in a cell and forget there ever was a key.

Sam and Vicki visit. Vicki tells him about her search and shows him the portrait. Does he remember who the model was?
Sam says it’s hard to remember after twenty-five years. Betty Hanscomb, that was it. She left town and died before Vicki was even born, so she couldn’t have anything to do with this.
Maggie asks Sam to tell Vicki about Burke’s accident.
He doesn’t want to, but finally tells them Burke was drunk, hit someone with a car, and was convicted for manslaughter.
They want more details. Roger’s wife was in the car.
It started in a tavern, on the Bangor road. Laura was Burke’s girl until Burke introduced her to Roger. They were all drunk. They drove off together. Burke insisted he hadn’t been driving. Roger and Laura testified it was Burke.
The phone rings. It’s the sheriff, warning Sam to be wary of Burke if he comes around.
Sam tells Maggie to lock the door, and they’ll sit down to eat.
Burke arrives and asks if they have room for one more.

        Cast, In Order of Appearance

Victoria Winters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Moltke
Maggie Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Kathryn Leigh Scott
Sheriff George Patterson. . . . . . . . . . . . Dana Elcar
Burke Devlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitchell Ryan
Sam Evans  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Ford


Fashion by Ohrbach’s
Directed by John Sedwick
Story created and written by Art Wallace


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