Curse of the Crimson Altar

Stop!

Peter Manning...

Peter Manning...

Peter Manning...

I am Lavinia,

mother of mysteries,

keeper of the Black Secret.

Do you know me?

I know you.

Do you know why you're here? I do.

Are you ready to sign?

I am.

Sign, then.

Rise, Peter Manning,

enter our world of darkness.

You know what you have to do.

I do.

The pact is done.

Well, it's not the first time

you've let us down with deliveries, you know.

Only this time, it's cost me money.

Yes. Yes, 1,000 pounds.

Well, I'll tell you one thing,

it'll be a long time before you work for me again.

Well, that settled him.

Money or your life?

It's all right, spring blade.

But how did you know?

Well, I had a look at it this morning.

You don't think I'd have done that with a real dagger, do you?

What's it used for?

Come here, my child, and I will tell you.

This is a false bodkin.

It was used in witch hunts. Now...

Ooh.

Now you see, if I'd done that 300 years ago,

you would have been burned at the stake.

Yes. They'd have probably burned you anyway.

Yes, you see, if a witch hunter

could stick this into a woman without drawing blood,

then she'd be branded as a witch.

Do you think this actual thing was used?

Yes.

Yes, without a doubt.

Well, what else did Peter send?

There's a letter.

Shall I read it? Yes.

This is nice. What's the date?

1650...

It's a lovely piece.

These usually come in pairs.

Is there another one?

What does he say? I don't understand this. Listen,

"Dear, Bob, the good stuff is getting harder than ever to find.

"See what you can get for the two pieces.

"I haven't been feeling all that well and intend to cut this trip short.

"Will be back on Tuesday. Peter."

Well, what's wrong with that?

Look at the date, it was written on the ninth.

Yes, that was what? 10 days ago.

Not like Peter to be ill.

Tell you what, ring this number, 0264122.

0264122... 122.

Right.

Greymarshe.

It's funny.

What?

It's what you might call my family seat,

my father was born there.

His family lived there for generations.

Hello... Who should I ask for?

Morley.

Is Mr. Morley there, please?

Thank you. He's being called.

Do you know him?

Morley, do you know him?

No, that must be one of Peter's contacts.

Hello, is that Mr. Morley?

Just a moment, please, I have a call for you.

Hello, Mr. Morley,

my name is Robert Manning, I believe my brother's staying with you.

Could I speak to him, please? Manning. Yes.

His name is Peter Manning.

That's odd, because we've just...

You are J.D. Morley of Craxted Lodge?

I see.

Thank you anyway. Bye.

What's that all about?

He says he's never been there. What?

He said he'd never even heard of him.

What are we going to do now?

I think I'll go down to Craxted Lodge and see this Mr. Morley.

Hey, what would you like, sir?

Five, please. Do you want the regular, super or supreme?

Supreme. Very well.

How far is it to Greymarshe, do you know?

Greymarshe, sir? Yes.

You would want to go straight down the road to the end of the crossroads,

and then you turn left then it's first on the right.

Anyway, you'll find a signpost down there.

Thanks.

What are you, down to celebrate, is it?

For what?

It's a celebration, witches' night.

You get rockets, fireworks, bonfires, it's quite a spectacle.

That'll be one pound, and seventy three, sir.

Yes, sir, some witch or the other, they burned there.

Of course, it was outlawed years ago, now,

but the locals still keep up the celebrations.

Yeah? Thank you, sir.

That's all right, thanks.

Thank you very much, sir, very nice of you.

Do you know Craxted Lodge?

What's that, sir? Craxted Lodge, it's somewhere in Greymarshe.

Yeah, I know Craxted Lodge all right, sir.

You get to Greymarshe, you'll find it all right.

Thanks.

Craxted Lodge. Ha!

Hold it, hold it, what's all the panic?

No excitement.

I see naked girls being chased through the bushes every night of my life.

He's got a point, there, but not a very big one.

Say, were you going to take on the four of us?

Well, I hadn't really thought about it.

Well, I think you're very gallant.

To the victor belongs the spoils and that's the game.

Well, thank you, but I'm not really one of the players.

Tell me what's this all about?

It's a rather sophisticated kind of hide and seek.

I see. All good, clean fun?

Yeah, what else? Come on, I'm cold.

Listen, the gates are locked.

How can I get my car round to the house?

Round the back as far as you can go. Okay, thank you.

And, sorry about that.

Now!

One, two, three, go!

Right, you both know the rules, no painting below the belts. Ready?

On guard. Go.

Come on.

Go on.

Welcome to the party.

Would you like a drink? Yes, please.

Are you with anybody? I'm not really at the party.

What? I've come to see Mr. Morley.

I'm sorry, I can't hear.

Mr. Morley!

I can't hear you, you'd better come outside.

Before we go any further, I'm Eve Morley, who are you?

My name is Robert Manning, how do you do?

Morley...

It must be your husband I've come to see.

No, my uncle. Is he expecting you?

Not exactly, no.

Well, you'll find him up the stairs, through the door and on the right.

You will come back to the party?

Well, I'd love to...

Could you? Here. Don't be too long.

I'll try not to be.

Excuse me?

Are you Mr. Morley?

Yes, I am. What can I do for you?

My name is Robert Manning.Manning...

Yes, you're the one who spoke to me on the telephone this morning.

Yes, about my brother, Peter. Yes, I remember.

Well, please come in, Mr. Manning.

Thank you.

Sit down, won't you?

I'm afraid you had a bit of a wasted journey, Mr. Manning.

As I told you on the telephone this morning, I don't know your brother,

and he certainly never stayed in this house.

I wondered if you could help me with this?

Excuse me.

As you can see, it's written on your note paper

and dated 10 days ago.

Yes, it is.

Well, I think I can explain that one. You may not be aware of it,

but my niece has a rather large circle of somewhat peculiar friends.

Any one of them could have taken this paper.

Frankly, I think you've been made a victim of a practical joke.

Not in very good taste, I admit, but then, these things do happen.

See, the odd thing is that

this is my brother's handwriting.

Why, I'm sorry, Mr. Manning, I... I can't explain it.

Well, thank you anyway, hope I haven't been too much trouble.

Certainly not, no trouble at all, I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more help.

Tell me, is there a hotel in the village?

No, there isn't a hotel. There is a pub though, The Red Lion.

I think I'll stay tonight and have a look around tomorrow.

Do they have rooms there? Do you know?

Well, they do, but they're a little primitive.

As a matter of fact, I don't think you'd get in anyway.

This is one big night of the year, here.

However, I've got a better idea.

Why don't you come and stay with us, here? No, I couldn't, really.

Certainly, why not? No problem, this house has got plenty of rooms.

Anyway, I feel a slight sense of responsibility for you.

After all, as you rightly said, that letter was written on my paper.

Well, it's very kind of you.

You sure, it wouldn't be too much trouble?