" Get out of my house." " We don't want no trouble." " Just give us the baby." " This is none of your business!" "We're making it our business!" "Hey, lady, why don't you make up your mind?" "Lauren, I'm sure you know that what you described is a classic anxiety attack." "Of course I know that." "But why?" "Why all of a sudden out of nowhere?" "And why only when I go out?" "You're very nervous about the new book." "Could you be resisting the public exposure?" "After seven years with you, are you actually suggesting that I am publicity shy?" "Lauren, I'm not suggesting anything." "I'm asking." "Well, we already know that I am an uptight, neurotic, creative, brilliant nutjob." "Am I going completely crazy now?" "Lauren, you are not going crazy." "Then what the hell is it?" "It's called agoraphobia." "Of all the lousy phobias, trust me to come up with one I've never even heard of." "Lauren, it is curable." "Total relaxation is the key." "Your jaw is loose, ...free of tension." "You can barely feel the weight of your own body." "Now that you are completely relaxed, ...you will begin to feel yourself rising." "You are very calm." "There is no pressure." "You are now taking your keys and bag." "You are now opening the door." "You are in the hallway." "Now lock the door and return the key to a pocket where you can readily find it." "You are now descending the stairs." "You are completely calm." "You are at the bottom of the stairs." "You are now passing through the lobby door." "Now you are walking calmly down the street." "No, I'm not, you asshole." " Who's there?" " I got your delivery, ma'am." "If you want it, you better open the door." " Hi." " Hi." " How are you?" " I'm fine." " I got worried when you didn't ring back." "I couldn't imagine where you could be." " That's a coincidence." "I was trying to imagine the same thing myself." "Ah, so, you was doing the visualization, Fräulein." "Oh!" "So awful." "I feel like such an idiot." "You will take your medicine and you will love it, ...and you will hug me and kiss me and ravish me, and you will love it too, nein?" " Seriously, how's it going?" " Oh, I don't know." "It seems like bullshit, but I guess it's working." "When you rang the bell, I just opened the front door." " You did?" " Mark, please don't be patronizing." "I may be sick, but I am not retarded." "Lauren, what is it?" "You really seem tense today." "Well, you yourself said that agoraphobia is aggravated by cities and crowds and noise and all that stuff." "So I've been thinking." "Maybe I should try to get away, uh, get out of the city." "You think you're ready to make that kind of a trip?" "Who knows?" "If I can get from the building to the car, Mark said he'd drive me." "What made you choose Dover Falls anyway?" " I had a dream." " Bullshit." "You can't even remember your dreams." "It sounded quaint." "Quaint, my ass." " Quaint like Peyton Place." " Oh, gee, I hope so." ""Troubled, uptight writer goes to small, sleepy town..."" ""...in search of peace and inspiration."" ""Instead, she finds an erupting volcano of lust and passion."" "And perhaps love." " You know I love you." " Yeah, like a big brother." "That's my problem." " Well, now that you've gotten us lost..." " Mark, watch out!" "Well, now look who's gotten us stranded." "We're not stranded, silly." "Come on." "Let's just take a break." " Don't you think we ought to be heading back soon?" " It's all right." "We've got plenty of time." "The real estate agent isn't expecting us till 2:00." "Oh, it is so lovely here." "Yeah." "The Loch Ness monster thinks so too." "I think he heard me." "Lauren, what now?" " Where do you think you're going?" " Come on." "We've been driving for hours." "I just wanna stretch my legs." "Besides, you need the exercise." "Uh-oh." "Here come the jungle." " Mark." " Okay, I'll shut up." "Hey, there's a house up there." "Okay, Lauren, fess up." "You knew exactly where you were dragging me." "You're really clever, you know that?" "Conning me all the way through the bramble bush." "Lauren?" "Lauren, where the hell are you?" "Mark, I've never been here before." " Oh, sure." "It's all a big coincidence." " No, no." "I mean it." "It... it's not a gag." "Well, how gullible do you think I am?" "There she is, ...the frightened girl in the foreground." "The brooding, mysterious mansion in the background." " All we need now is a light in the window." " Mark, I'm not kidding." "I've never been here before." "All right." " Well, maybe the illustrator knew the place." " No, he didn't." "He drew the cover from my descriptions in the book." "He even thought it was a bit too fanciful." "Well, he's not very well-informed." " A house of this kind is..." " Mark, that's not the point." "How oblivious can you be?" "I know this house." " Oh, so you finally admit it." " No." "I..." "I mean, I saw this house or..." "I imagined it all the time I was writing the book." "I described it exactly." "Well, then you had a déjà vu, my dear." "Or maybe you saw it in a picture in one of my books." "Believe me, an octagonal house of this kind is certainly rare enough to merit a write-up." "Mark, look." "What?" "Someone was at that window." "Hello!" "Hello!" "I don't think anyone's living here." "Someone is in there." "Yeah, well, they're not receiving any visitors." "It's unusual that a house of this type is still standing." "Most of them were torn down." "Did you also know that" "Well, now we know who lives here." "Anybody home?" "Hello!" "You know, Lauren, we really are trespassing now." "Whoever you saw could come down here with a shotgun and blast us away." "You think all country folks are gun crazy." "City folks too." "I smell perfume." "Yeah, well, I smell trouble." "Hello!" "Anyone home?" "Now I suppose you're gonna tell me that this looks familiar too." "I don't know." "Vaguely." "I can't tell." "Mark." "Come here." "Someone must be here." "But they were right there- a pack of cigarettes, ...and there was a lit one going." "Lauren, I think we'd better be going." "I am not imagining things, you know." "But, Lauren, we're supposed to be at the real estate office at 2:00..." "Look, I'm going upstairs." "Are you coming with me?" "For someone who has trouble leaving her own house, ...you sure don't mind barging into someone else's." "Look, is anyone here?" "I'd really like to talk to you." "Well, whoever it was, he must have been trespassing too." "He probably thought we were the owners and took off." "My considered opinion is it was a bat in the belfry." "You know, this would be a perfect place to write." "That's a novel idea." "Hey, maybe I could rent it." "Are you crazy?" "You wouldn't last one clay alone in this house." "Why?" "I have always been fascinated by these houses." "I've written so much about them, it already feels like home." "Lauren, there's only so far you can make life imitate art." "Never mind art." "I love this house." " And I love you." " Love me, you love my house." "Oh, shit, I give up." "Come on." "Let's go." "Well, if you're absolutely sure, Miss Cochran, ...I doubt my grandfather would object." "He probably doesn't even remember owning the house." "Have you always lived with him?" "No." "I only came back last spring." "The project I was working on ran out of funds and I was forced to take a leave of absence, so to speak." " Oh?" "What's your field?" " Physics." "Quantum physics." "Grandfather promised to make a hefty contribution to the project if I came home and lived with him for a year." "Grandfather?" "Daniel, come over here." "I have some guests with me." " Miss Cochran is going to rent the house, so..." " Fine." "Fine." "Go ahead and make the arrangements." "I just bought it." "It's mighty ingenious." "How do you do, sir?" "You know anything about pistols, Mr. Cochran?" "Felton's the name." "And not much." " Just what they do." " Well, that's a start." "Why hasn't the girl married you?" "You've got character." " Grandfather..." " It's quite all right, Colonel." "He does have character, and so do you." "You're everything your grandson said you were." "Is that so?" "I suppose you're one of those liberated, ...progressive..." " Grandfather!" " What is it?" "Is it his heart?" "It could be a stroke." "Seems kind of pointless to rent such a big house with so many rooms and use just one for both bedroom and office." "Frank said he couldn't get the electricity running upstairs." "Anyway, I like it this way." "It's like my apartment." "It's cozy." "Well, you certainly are a creature of habit." "Do you think it's abnormal?" "No." "Not at all." "What made you say that?" "Oh, I don't know." "I was reading about agoraphobes who spent their whole lives imprisoned in one room." "Some really bad cases never even leave their beds." "Ah, cut it out, Lauren." "You-You're practically cured." "In any case, you're being perfectly sensible, ...and this is definitely the best room in the house." "Get a load of this." " Oh, it's gorgeous." " It's gauche." "But it's just what you need up here." "That nail's loose." " It's very becoming on you." " Ta-da!" "What the hell was that?" "Yeah." "That's that, miss." "Got the toilet working." " Jesus." "Is that what that was?" " That's right, mister." "You flush a toilet ain't been used in years, and the pipes let you know it." " God, I thought the whole house..." " You should have thought sooner, miss." "Don't know why you'd want to go and stay in a place like this." "It seems downright unsmart to me." "It's a beautiful old house." "Well, like they say, beauty is in the eye of the... whoever." " Yeah, that's what they say." " I guess I'll be going." "Oh, Frank, one more thing." "When you flushed the toilet, the window in the sitting room cracked." "It must have been the vibrations." "There ain't no pipes near the window." "I'll have a look at it, but it'd be a while before I can fix it." "The nearest glazier's 30 miles away." " Charming fellow, isn't he?" " He's not so bad." "He's just typically suspicious of city folk." " Oh, hi." " Hi, Daniel." " Hi." "How's it going?" " Good." "We're getting it together." "How's your grandfather?" "He's pretty much the same." "He still can't speak." "But the doctor says eventually he should improve." "That's common with a stroke." "I spoke with the telephone company." "They said it would take about a week to get the lines up." "So if you need to make a call, there's a pay phone at the general store." "Okay." "That'll be fine." "Oh, Mark." "Ooh, we better get going." "You're gonna miss your train." "Yeah, okeydokey." "Oh, you, uh, leaving already?" "Yeah." "I have a meeting in the morning." "Why don't I give you a lift?" "I'm going that way." " Well, that's great..." " Oh, no, that's okay." "No, no." "That's a good idea." "It'll save you a trip." "I really appreciate all your help." "I'm just sorry that things couldn't be better." " Don't be sorry." "I've got the patience of a goat." " I know." "Look, I'll take care of me." "You just take care of you." " And you call me as soon as you get a phone." " I will." "Okay." "Mark, you know you're free to..." "I know I'm free." "I'll miss you." "Oh, I'll come up for a visit real soon." "Plus we have to go back to the roots of the trouble." "Dr. Webb, don't you understand what I'm saying?" "I had a dream and I remembered it." "After all these years, the first night in that house, ...and I remembered my dream for the first time." "Go on." "I'm listening." "But weirder than the dream itself or remembering it, ...I had a dream, and when I woke up, it happened." "It actually happened." " Coincidence." " Precognition." "And I think it's related to that house." "Really, Lauren, I'm surprised at you." "No sooner do you have a dream..." "Then let me surprise you a little bit more." "I also think that that house may be haunted." "I think that in your search for inspiration, ...you may have sacrificed your wits." "Now, listen to me." "A vivid dream can be quite baffling, especially for you, ...and particularly the moment of awakening." "But what you had was a dream, just a very confusing dream." "Listen, I've got a patient waiting." "So why don't you drive in next week and we'll talk." "Look, you always said it was crucial for me to remember my dreams." "And it finally happened here, not in New York." "I want you to come here." "You said you might." "I said I might, if I had the time." "But, Lauren, you really can't expect me to drop everything..." "Seventy-five bucks a week for seven years?" "That's 27 grand I've dropped on you." "You're being superstitious and asking the impossible." "Not impossible." "Perhaps inconvenient." "If you can't do this for me, ...then it's obvious to me that you don't really give a shit." "I don't know how I can go on seeing you." " I'm sorry you feel that way." " So am I." "All right." "Let me see what I can do." "This weekend?" "I'll try." "I promise." "If it looks like I can make it, I'll call Mark for directions." "Now I really must get off." "Oh." "Hello, Frank." "Did you get that window glass?" "Nope." "This ain't the big city, you know." "Things take time." "Time's money." "Doesn't the colonel pay you for your time?" "Yeah, he pays me all right, ...but he don't pay me to rush." "I don't like shakedowns, Frank, ...and I don't think your boss does either." "That bastard." "Is anyone there?" "Is anybody there?" "Wait!" "Dr. Webb." "Help me." "I'm up here!" "What you doing up there?" "Hooking up an antenna?" "Couldn't you make it up here in the country without a TV?" " Help me." " Lauren." "Don't try to move." "I'll be right up." "Please." "Lauren." "Open your eyes and don't be afraid." "I'm almost there." "Lauren, open your eyes and look at me." "I can almost touch you." "Open your eyes and look at me." "I really wish you'd change your mind and stay at my house." "At least until you're feeling better." "If I leave now, I'll never have the guts to come back." "Well, maybe you shouldn't." "Daniel, my life is already filled with unsolved mysteries." "If I run away now, it'll just be one more." "So what's one more?" "There's no point in torturing yourself." "Daniel, I have got to work this out." "Not every patient has her doctor's death on her conscience." "It wasn't your fault." "It was an accident." "That girl was insane, a crackpot." "Crackpots don't disappear into thin air." "And it wasn't an accident." "Daniel." "Do you think this house could be haunted?" " By painted ladies?" " I am serious." "Let me put it this way." "It may come as a surprise to you that a physicist could even contemplate the existence of paranormal phenomena." "But you admit to the possibility." "I admit the possibility of the unknown." "I admit that science is only beginning to understand its own discoveries." "But I do not believe in evil spirits or painted phantoms in windows." "If you are really a scientist, you will help me find out." "Frank?" " Frank?" " Yes, ma'am?" "How long have you been here?" "Not long, ma'am." "Daniel sent me over." "Said there'd been an accident." " I knocked, but there was no answer." " How'd you get in?" "Got keys to all the colonel's houses." "That's just great." "Frank?" "Frank, when you were in the house, did you come in my bedroom?" "No." "Are you sure?" "My memory ain't that bad, ma'am." "I ought to know if I did or if I didn't." "I knocked all right, but you didn't answer." "I think you're lying." "You can think whatever you like, ma'am." "Now, what would I wanna come into your bedroom for?" "To type on my typewriter, that's what for." "Ma'am, I don't even know how to type." "Even if I did, why would I wanna?" "Just to annoy me, that's why." "I know you don't like me." "Think I don't know how you burnt my manuscript the other day?" " You know, your childish pranks..." " Now, hold on, lady." "I ain't sayin' I like your kind, and I ain't sayin' I don't, ...but I got better things to do than type on your writer." "And I'll tell you something else, ma'am." "I think you're just plain nuts." "You know, touched in the head." "Uh, Frank?" "Frank, I..." "I'm sorry." "I really am." "I, uh..." "I guess I've been under a lot of strain lately." " I'm sorry I accused you." " That's all right, ma'am." "Really, Frank, it was wrong of me." "Why don't you come in and have some coffee with me?" "I'd really like to talk to you." "All right, ma'am." "I guess I could use some coffee." "I have some ham and cheese." "Would you like some lunch?" "Nope." "This gasoline keeps me running." "Frank, you've worked for the colonel for a long time, haven't you?" "Long enough." "Then you would know about this house." " I ain't made no study on it." " I know, but, uh..." "Have you seen anybody around here lately, uh, on the grounds?" " Oh, no, thanks." " Like who?" "Like a girl with red hair." "Nope." "Why do you ask?" "Oh, I don't know." "I thought I saw her." "Seems like you see a lot of things." "You know something?" "Seems mighty strange for a woman like you to bury yourself up here all alone." "A woman like me?" "Don't play dumb with me, lady." " You know what I mean." " I'm not sure that I do." "Holier than thou, huh?" "Invite me in for some coffee, huh?" " Since when has your kind ever wanted my company for coffee, huh?" " Cut it out!" " I know what you want and you're gonna get it." " You're drunk!" "You little bitch." "Now you're really gonna get it." "I didn't do it." "I didn't do it." "It wasn't me that did it." "It was Abby." "Abby done it." "I didn't do it." "It wasn't me that did it." "Abby done it." "Abby done it." "I didn't do it." "Abby was the one." "Abby done it." "It was Abby did it." "Abby done it." "I didn't do it." "No." "Oh, hi, Daniel." "What can I do for you?" "There's a busted boiler over at the McCluen house, and I haven't been able to locate Frank." "Gee, last time I saw him was yesterday on his way over to Miss Cochran's." "Yeah." "I sent him there, but he should have been finished." "Well, you might try over at Abner Welles's place." "Two of them might be sleeping off another drunk." "Now that's an idea." "What a shame." "The accident?" "Oh, I hope it wasn't that nice young man I met with Miss Cochran." "No, it wasn't." "I suppose she'll be leaving Dover Falls now." "She never should have rented that house." "Mrs. Beasley?" "Do you happen to remember who used to live in that house?" "Oh, I don't recall any rentals in that house since the '50s." "Then nobody stayed very long." "Not so I remember anyway." "But what about before that?" "Well, during the war, it was common knowledge it was, shall we say, a house of ill repute." "Do you mean to tell me my grandfather ran a brothel?" "Oh, no, certainly not." "It was run by a woman named..." "Florence?" "No." "Florinda." "Florinda Costello." "Rumor had it that Florinda Costello's was quite a place." "It drew most of its clientele from an army base that was nearby but some of the locals would sneak up there too." "I remember my mama breaking dishes over Papa's head when he'd come home drunk and smelling of cheap perfume." "Right around the time the war ended, the house closed down." "My mama said the girls had probably moved someplace else where the pickings were better since the army base had emptied out." "Good riddance too, she said." "Maybe Papa wouldn't be under such evil temptation now." "I remember Frank staying drunk for a week at that time." "He was a pretty wild boy." "But Mama blamed it on patriotic enthusiasm and the influence of his best friend, Abner Welles." "Abner!" "Don't bust my door down, boy!" "What the hell you makin' such a racket?" "Gettin' my chickens in an uproar." "I'm sorry, Abner." "I thought you might be asleep." "What the colonel send you here for?" "He didn't." "I'm looking for Frank." "Well, he ain't here." "He owes me some money, so naturally he ain't been around lately." "Okay, if he should stop by, would you tell him I went to the octagon house to look for him?" "Why would you be lookin' for him over there?" "The house was rented recently, and he was doing some repairs." "Rented?" "You-You mean you went and rented that house to somebody?" " The colonel know about that?" " What's it to you?" "Didn't the colonel tell you nothin'?" "Abner, if you mean that the house was a whorehouse, I already knew that." "Yeah, he told you what happened to Leland." "What does that got to do with anything, Abner?" "I've always known my father was killed in the war." "If it ain't one hell a tall tale, Danny boy." " Meaning what?" " Meaning Leland wasn't killed in no war." "He was only wounded." "As a matter of fact, he wasn't even here when your ma got pregnant." "He was overseas." "What the hell are you driving at, Abner?" "Danny boy, you see these here chickens?" "They knows who their mamas is, ...just like you know who your mama is." "But I can't prove who their papas is." " You son..." " Hey, hold it, boy." "I'm real sorry I upset you." "I thought you wanted to know the truth." "I guess I was real mistaken." "Huh?" "Danny boy." "You see Frank, you tell him to get his ass over here with what he owes me, you hear?" "Hello." "Uh, is Daniel in?" " I'm afraid he's out doing errands, miss." " Oh." "Do you think I could use the phone?" "It's really important." " Certainly, miss." "I'm sure that would be all right." " Thank you." "Thank you very much." " The phone's right there, miss." " Oh, thank you." "Brandon Associates." "Uh, yes." "This is Lauren Cochran." "May I speak with Mark Felton, please?" "One moment, please." " Lauren, how are you?" " Oh, terrible, Mark." "Just awful." "I have either gone completely nuts or that house is haunted." "Haunted?" "Dr. Webb has been killed, and I've been attacked." " I don't know what..." " Lauren, what are you talking about?" "I'm not even sure myself, Mark." "All I know is I have got to get out of here." "Frank!" "Lauren, listen to me." "You're much too upset to try to drive all the way back here alone." "I'll leave work right now, and I'll be up there as soon as I can." " But, Mark..." " Just do what I say." "Try to calm down and go back to the house and wait there for me." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Now promise me." "You'll wait, okay?" "Okay, I promise." " Please hurry." " I will." "Bye-bye, honey." "I'll see you soon." "Good-bye." "And thanks." "Would you like to leave a message for Daniel, miss?" "Oh, uh, just tell him to come over to the house as soon as he can." " Joseph." " Yes, miss?" "Do you know who Abby might be?" "Abby?" "No, I don't think so." "Um, someone that Frank would know." "Oh, you must mean Abner Welles." "He has a farm around here, if you could call it that." "Do you think you could give me directions?" "Well, I could, but I don't know if I should." "He's not a very friendly man." "Frank!" "That you, you son of a bitch?" "Figured you show up when I'm takin' a crap!" "Uh, Mr. Welles, it's not Frank." " Who the hell are you?" " Uh, Lauren Cochran." "Cochran." "Which way did it run?" "Uh, I..." "I'd like to talk to you if I won't be disturbing you." "Yeah." "You gonna talk standing' or sittin'?" "What's on your mind?" "Uh, Frank mentioned you." "Um..." "You see, urn, I'm writing a novel, and it's set here in Dover Falls, ...and he thought that you might be able to help me." "Frank said that?" "Aren't you two good friends?" "Well, we ain't sweethearts." "You really a writer?" "Yes, and I need a little background material, ...maybe a little history of the... the area." " This ain't no chamber of commerce, lady." " No." "But, uh, he thought that maybe you could tell me about the house, ...you know, the old house near Estes Pond." "Oh, he did, did he?" "You do know the house?" "I might." "What of it?" "Uh, Mr. Welles, um, ...do you think that house could be haunted?" "You the fool that went and rented it?" "Uh, yes." "I guess I am." "You sayin' it's haunted?" "Not exactly." "I'm asking if you think so." "I ain't thought about it." "Well, um, do you know who the initials, uh, ...C.F. or F.C. might stand for?" "Why did you ask that?" "Well, I just found these candlesticks in the house, and I thought maybe I could..." "Lady, what you really come here for?" "I told you." "Uh..." "Um..." "I'm a writer, and..." " I'd say you're lying." " But Frank said you might..." "Frank didn't send you here." "Yes, he..." "No, he didn't." " I thought..." " You thought..." "You thought what?" " Who..." "Who really sent you here?" " No one." "No one sent me here." " You're lying!" " Let's just forget the whole thing, okay?" " I'm sorry." " You got nothin'." "You're gonna tell me or I'm gonna beat it out of you." "No!" "Let me in!" "I'm gonna kill you, you bitch!" "Where are you going?" "I'll kill you, you bitch!" "No!" "I'm gonna kill you!" "Please!" "Oh, God!" "Please!" "No!" "Please!" "No!" "Please!" "Lauren." "Lauren, it's Daniel." "It's me." "Oh." "What in the world is going on?" "What's happening?" "Don't just stand there, man." "But, sir, how..." "How could you?" " How could I what?" " Try to take your life, sir." "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Joseph." "I fired to get your attention." "Then you're not wounded." "No, I'm not wounded, you idiot." "It's my heart." " Now call the doctor." " Yes." "And hurry." "You know, it is quite possible that I am completely insane, ...that I imagined everything I just told you." "I have all the earmarks of a certifiable lunatic." "Yes, you do." "But I'd say Abner's the lunatic." "You didn't bite your own ear, did you?" "Daniel, listen to me." "I have been in analysis for years." "I am terrified of men." "Who knows?" "Tomorrow I just might imagine that you've attacked me." "So you've been in analysis." "So what?" "But why didn't you come tell me about Frank?" "Do you know what an agoraphobe is?" "Yes." "I think so." "Well, you're looking at one." "I thought I was cured, ...but after Frank attacked me, I had a relapse." "I just couldn't leave the house." "So you're a little screwed up." " Aren't we all?" " A little screwed up?" "Daniel, last night I lost all touch with reality." "God, how I hate that expression." "That's the trouble with those damn head shrinkers." "They've got you all running around chasing your tails, looking for reality." "What are you physicists looking for?" "Black holes in space." "Anyway, you keep talking like that about psychiatrists, ...and I just might imagine that you killed Dr. Webb." " Imagine what you like." " I will." "Good, but in the meantime, I'm going over to that barn and I'm taking you to my house..." " ...where at least you'll be safe." " Oh, no, you're not." "I'm staying here and waiting for Mark." "I'm not sure I'll be safe with you anyway." "You know what?" "You're too damn crazy to be crazy." "What the..." "Damn." "What the hell." "Damn." "What the..." "Mark, is that you?" "It's Daniel." "Peace?" "Am I imagining things now?" "Uh, no." "I don't think so." "Well, neither will you." "Abner is dead." "And that's one lying son of a bitch the world won't miss." "Am I supposed to be relieved?" "My sanity proven by a man's death." "Lauren, it was obviously self-defense." "I called Sheriff Curtis and told him what happened." "It's only a formality, but you'll have to stick around for a coroner's inquest." " And Frank?" " No one's seen him." "We figure he's hiding out." "And planning his next attack." "I doubt he'd show his face around here again." "And from the looks of what happened to Abner, I'd say he's made a wise decision." " I don't think that's very funny." " I'm sorry." "I didn't mean it like that." "I think you've waited around here long enough for that friend of yours who doesn't show." "My grandfather's had a relapse." "I've gotta get back." "Come with me now?" "No, you go ahead." "Uh, I promised Mark I'd wait for him here." "But will you do me a favor and call his office?" "I am really worried about him." "I don't know what's happened to him." "I'll be back as soon as I can." "If I bring another flower, do we get another kiss?" "I'll let you know after my next dream." " How is he?" " He's been asking for you." "The doctor's with him now." "Oh, and, Daniel, ...a man named Mark Felton called with a message for Miss Cochran." "Seems he was expected last night, but his car broke down and he's waiting for repairs." "He said to tell her that he'd be there as soon as he could." "He seemed quite worried about her." "Yes, I know." "Thank you, Joseph." "Where the hell have you been?" "At the house near Estes Pond." "That girl again?" " Don't you like her?" " Like her?" "What the hell difference does that make?" "Do you know anything about her, who she is?" "Now, Grandfather, you're not gonna tell me she's royalty, are you?" "I'm serious, Daniel." "There's no time left for jokes." "You know where she came from, what she wants?" "Mark." "Mark, where are you?" "You've seen me before." "But where?" "Perhaps in your dreams." " But how could I?" " There's no way you could have understood." "Come with me." "Perhaps now you will." "Yeah, what Abner told you yesterday was no lie, son." "Your mother did run off with another man soon after Leland was sent overseas." "Then you're not really my grandfather." "Oh, you're the closest thing I had to a relative." "That's why I wanted you to come home." " Did Leland know about me?" " No." "When he came back from the war, she was gone." "What about the house?" "What did Abner mean about the house?" "I was so alone." "Then I met Florinda." "Rented her that goddamn house." "If I hadn't, ...things might have turned out differently for Leland." "Hey, Florinda, ...is Princess Rose working tonight?" "Mm-hmm." "Sure." "She's upstairs with her steady beau." "Didn't you know?" "Ooh, my, my." "Lucky Leland." "Hey, hush up, you jealous bitches." " What we got to be jealous of?" " I'll tell you what, honey pie." "Leland wants to marry her." "Take her away from the good life." "Well, he is a regular Prince Charming." "Mm-hmm." "And you're gonna marry me, ain't ya?" "Like hell he is." "He ain't that stupid." "I always had big plans for Leland." "When he came home, ...well, I could see he wasn't the same." "Never would be." "He'd been badly wounded." "Came back with a metal plate in his head." "Just hung around the house." "Did nothing but sit and stare into space." "No ambition, nothing." "I guess it was my fault because I sent him to Florinda's.., ...put some spunk back into him." "Seemed harmless enough." "Well, I heard he'd gone and got infatuated with one of the girls." "I damn near keeled over when he came and told me he intended to marry her." "He didn't even care she was a whore." "He loved this Rose Henderson." "That's all that mattered to him." "Grandfather?" "Oh, he was my only son." "Try to understand." "I couldn't let him go and marry a whore." "And they were also familiar?" "All of them." "I've seen all of them in my dreams ever since I got here." "Hey, wait a second." "I'm just dreaming again." "Of course I am." "This is exactly the same." "I'm just having another one of those dreams." "Are you?" "Wasn't something different?" "Think, Lauren." "I don't know." "Maybe..." "Maybe a little." "What is going on anyway?" "What was it, Lauren?" "What was different?" "All right." "Someone was missing." "Who?" "Who was it?" "Why are you bothering me?" "Why don't you just leave me alone?" "Of course I'm dreaming." "Oh, Leland, that fool of a boy." "He went and got Rose pregnant." "And Florinda came to me." "Begged me to allow the marriage, and I wouldn't hear of it." "I told her to get rid of the girl or I'd close down the house." "Well, she refused." "She swore if I tried, ...she'd drag the name of LeBrun through the mud." "And she would have too." "So I had Leland committed for psychiatric treatment." "And Rose?" "Well, Rose had her baby, a girl." "When Leland was released, ...he still insisted on going through with the marriage." "Begged me to relent and accept the marriage and my granddaughter." "But the very thought of that bastard carrying the name of LeBrun drove me wild." "Well, Leland was furious with me." "He was living in that house with that girl, ...hating me and getting ready to marry." "The war had just ended, and the whole town was celebrating." "But there was no joy in this godforsaken house." "I hired three of the town's toughest boys to kidnap the baby." "Who were they?" "Abner Welles, Frank, ...Earl Harris." "Those stupid, senseless boys." " Where's the baby, Florinda?" " Get out of my house." "We don't want no trouble with you." "Just give us the baby and we'll go home." "Never!" "Get out of this house!" "This is none of your business!" "We're making it our business." "Rose!" "Leland!" "Rose!" "Leland!" " Wake-up time." " Come on!" "Come on, Leland." "Open that door, Leland." "Open this goddamn door, Leland." "Rosie!" "Open the goddamn door or we'll break it down!" "The baby stays here!" "She's not going anywhere." "So you just get the hell out of here!" "Come on, Rose!" "We ain't gonna hurt you." "We just wanna take your baby on a little trip." "And you tell my father if I ever see him again..." " Open the door, Leland." " I swear I'm gonna kill him!" "Come on, Rosie." "We got a message for you." "Who's out there?" "Who's out there?" "What is it?" "Oh, my God!" "Please, no!" "Don't shoot!" "Oh, my God." "You bastard." "Those crazy boys didn't know what they were doing." "When I got there, ...there was nothing but blood and the screams of that baby." "And Leland?" "I killed him." "I killed my own son just as surely as if I'd shot him myself." "Well, I took the baby." "Told Frank and Abner to clean up the house and dump their bodies in Estes Pond." "Right there, I swore them to secrecy." "Promised to reward them well if they never mentioned a word of it." "There were no survivors." "But the baby." "I..." "I placed her in a home for foundlings." "Your own granddaughter." "Yes." "But that girl, ...that Cochran girl, ...it's she." "It's got to be." "She's come back." "All these years, ...I've tried so hard to remember you, ...to imagine who you were, what you look like." "And even now, when I began to dream in this house, ...still I couldn't make it real." "I could see all the other people, but not you." "I could never see your face." "Mama." "Mama!" "Mama." "Mama!" "You can't touch your mother, not now, not ever." "She's..." "She's gone." "And now that you understand, ...you must leave this house and never come back." " But I want my..." " No, Lauren, it's impossible." "We've avenged our deaths through you." "And now you're free to live your life, ...so... so go now and and let us rest." "No." "I won't." "I won't leave my mother." "Mama?" "Mama." "Mark?" "Daniel?" "Mark?" "Daniel?" "We've avenged our deaths through you." "And now you're free to live your life, ...so go... go now and let us rest." "No, Lauren, you are not going crazy." "Gone, dead, murdered, killed." "Rejection by your mother." "Lauren, it is curable." "Let us rest." "As long as I have been a real estate agent, I have never yet encountered a ghost." "You must leave this house and never come back." "And now you're free." "And let us rest." "And now you're free." "Go now." "Be free." "And now you're free."