21

Victoria Winters receives a letter informing her that a private detective has investigated her background. Bill Malloy confronts Burke Devlin about the accident.
== Synopsis ==
Opening naration
: My name is Victoria Winters. The early morning mist rises from the sea at the foot of Widows' Hill. The great house sits quietly on its crest and the events of a shattering night seem almost like a vague memory of a forgotten dream. But it was no dream and there's no forgetting that a man had almost been killed.
Teaser
In the Collinwood kitchen, Victoria and Carolyn eat and talk about recent events. Carolyn wants to think it was just an accident, but Vicki insists it was not an accident and it might happen again.
Act I
Vicki tells Carolyn all about the visit with Burke Devlin at his hotel room last night.
Bill Malloy calls on Burke at his hotel room while Burke is having his morning coffee. Bill tells him he wants to talk to him about attempted murder.
Act II
Burke again says he has no interest in the Collins family, but Bill does not believe the let bygones be bygones story. Bill tells Burke about Wilbur Strake who checked into the hotel two weeks before Burke arrived, and checked out a few hours after Burke arrived. Bill says Strake claimed to be a real estate agent interested in properties in town, but he wasn't. Bill says he was a private detective and he worked for Burke.
Act III
At Collinwood, Elizabeth gives Vicki a Special Delivery letter from New York that had arrived that morning.
In the drawing room, Elizabeth is getting more phone calls from reporters. Carolyn still has a hard time believing Burke can create problems for the family. Vicki enters the drawing room and tells Elizabeth she needs to read the letter she received.
Act IV
The letter from Miss Hopewell at the foundling home talks about how a private detective named Wilbur Strake had been asking questions about her, and about her new position at Collinwood and why she was hired. Elizabeth tells Vicki she has already explained why she was hired, and she does not know who Wilbur Strake is. Vicki wonders if Burke hired him, and if so, then it's possible Burke thinks there is something in her past that could hurt the Collins family. Elizabeth says she doesn't want to talk about it any more.
At his hotel room, Burke tells Bill that he uses a private detective like Strake to find out about possible business investments. He tells Bill to leave. Burke then makes a phone call to New York, to a man named Bronson. He tells Bronson to catch the next plane to Bangor. Things are starting to happen and he wants to move fast.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Burke: Why are you so interested? Roger was in the car, not you.
: Bill: Let’s get somethin’ straight, Burke. Anything that touches that family interests me. Anything!
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: Elizabeth: Carolyn, I remember how difficult it was for you. When you went to school and came home crying because the children made fun of you. ‘Carolyn’s mother is a witch.’
== Dramatis personae ==
* ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
* ← Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin →
* ← Frank Schofield as Bill Malloy →
* ← Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard →
* ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* First episode directed by John Sedwick. This is also the first episode to be directed by someone other than Lela Swift.
* This episode begins with a shot of the ocean rather than Collinwood. Along with 1, this is one of only two episodes that doesn't open with a shot of the big house.
* The door to Burke's room gets a number "24" on the outside beginning with this episode.
=== Story ===
* When she was younger, Carolyn would come home from school in tears after children would call Elizabeth a witch.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* As Malloy and Burke talk about the threats Burke made when he was convicted, the camera goes out of focus briefly.
* A dark shadow appears on the couch behind Burke while he sits.
* As Vicki comes into the drawing room with the letter from the foundling home, the shadow of the boom mike can be seen on the drawing room doors.
* Vicki says that the letter is from "Miss Hopewell," but the character was previously called Mrs. Hopewell.
* When Vicki and Carolyn are standing at the drawing room doorway, a video monitor can be seen outside the drawing room window.
* When Bill Malloy leaves Burke's hotel room, there is a gap between the doorframe and the hallway wall.
== End credits announcements==
* '' made its debut one year ago with top recording stars performing where the fun is. Come along for a real good time next, here on ABC.
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis production.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 21 on the IMDb
The Collinsport Historical Society - Dark Shadows Diary - Episode 21
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 21: Carolyn's mother is a witch
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 21: 7/25/66
== Gallery () ==
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