Rose Red Page #2

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- Wanna call her back? I've the number.|- No. A deal's a deal.

One sensible thing your father said.

Did you tell her it'd be extra|for interviews? EKGs?

- Yes.|- And no x-rays. They give you cancer.

Run and get my bags.|Then you can have your pie.

Office hours are over.|Come back tomorrow! I said office...

Extra credit, Miss Reardon?|I'll do anything.

Look great in a French maid's outfit.

- Come in, you idiot. Close the door.|- All right.

Teach, you are looking good today.

- How are you doing?|- I won't lie. It's been a tough day.

But I have a very important call|to make, so... .

This is the Wheaton girl?|The one you want?

Her sister. If you keep quiet, you can|stay. If not, then go. Get out now.

That's tough talk considering|it's my homestead you wanna explore.

But I'll be good, I swear.|I won't do that. Sorry.

- Hello? Miss Reardon?|- Yes. How are you?

I'm fine, but it's hard to keep|people away from the phone here.

- I'm on my break. Let's make it fast.|- I could call you later.

No, I don't think so. I still live|at home to be near Annie...

...and my father knows who you are|and what you want. He doesn't approve.

Are you saying Annie won't take part?

I'm saying that if I bring Annie|to Rose Red...

...chances are that|I could never go home again.

That's fine, but Annie shouldn 't go|without someone who understands her.

And your parents don't.

My mother is scared to death of her.

And my father... .|Well, I think my father hates her.

What can I do?

There's a school just outside|of Tacoma for people like Annie.

No, there is no one like Annie,|I don't think, but... .

It's a place for autistic teenagers.|A good place.

I might as well cut to the chase.|5,000 isn't gonna be enough.

- For 10, I could make it happen.|- 10,000? Done.

I'll bring the check to you myself|this afternoon. Where do you work?

No, you need to slow down.|I just need to think about this.

My time is short, Miss Wheaton.

Please, call me Sister.|Everyone does.

Mr. Rimbauer has agreed to open Rose|Red over the Memorial Day weekend.

I need to know|if I can count on Annie.

I'm having an orientation|Monday night...

...for the participants here|at the university.

It would be great|if Annie could join us.

If Annie goes to Rose Red, I go too.

That's fine, of course. When can|I know, Miss Wheaton? Sister?

I might be able to scrape up|as much as $12,000...

...if you can make a solid commitment|to the expedition right now.

I can't do that.|Goodbye, Miss Reardon.

- When will I hear from you?|- I'll be in touch.

-Wait, the orientation Monday night? |- I don't know.

I don't think so.

$ 10,000? $ 12,000? I'm thinking|I sold the old family homestead cheap.

You didn't sell it, you're renting it.|For a single weekend.

- I've gotta have Annie Wheaton.|- Why?

I've got a good group but they're|candles. Annie is a searchlight.

If anyone can wake up Rose Red,|it's her.

Waking up Rose Red is not a good idea.

I want Annie. I want Annie Wheaton.

- Hello, dear.|- Hey, Mom. Hi, Dad.

Long day? You look tired.|I'll microwave you a TV dinner.

No, it's okay. I had something|to eat at the restaurant.

Is Annie okay?

- Annie's fine.|- Wearing out her ears again.

And ours. If not "A Summer Place,"|then "Pennsylvania 6-9000."

Same two over and over,|all afternoon.

- Guess she just likes it.|- I know. I just can't figure out why.

Thank God for small favors.

Annie. Annie. Come home.

We're waiting, Annie. We're waiting.

Please come home, Annie. |We're waiting.

Despite what some people may think,|psychic powers...

...telepathy, telekinesis,|precognition, all the rest...

...have no moral gradient.|They are neither good nor bad.

Houses are different.

Shirley Jackson was right.|Some houses are born bad.

Houses like this one.

Houses like Rose Red.

I knew it was big,|but that's enormous!

Well, fortunately for us,|an enormous dead cell.

There've been no overt manifestations|in Rose Red since 1995 or so.

Some houses have their own inner life|which may or may not be conscious.

If there was once consciousness in|Rose Red, it manifested itself early.

Seattle 100 years ago was a different|world. More so than we can imagine.

Survival was an actual issue, |not a TV show.

Fortunes were made|by bandits in tall hats.

You could get out of the way|or you could get run down.

In the year 1906,|you were on your own.

Rose Red was built|by John P. Rimbauer...

... on Spring Street in Seattle...

...as a wedding present to his wife.

He was founder of Omicron Oil Company,|until 1950, the biggest in America.

The trouble with Rose Red started|even before there was a house.

Construction crews worked|24 hours, 7 days a week.

But that wasn 't the problem.

Even before there was a house there...

... that ground seemed|to make people mad.

I mean, literally mad.

He made no effort to get away.

Just dropped his gun|and went to a Seattle saloon.

This is where the police found him.

The teamster's name was Harry Corbin.

He claimed he remembered nothing|from breakfast...

...till he woke up in jail|with a knot behind his ear.

The judge and jury didn't believe him.|He got 25 years.

I think Harry Corbin may have been|Rose Red's first victim.

First male victim.

There's a difference between the way|Rose Red treats the ladies and men.

- What do you mean exactly?|- In time, Nick. All in good time.

John Rimbauer and Ellen Gilchrist|were married on November 12, 1907.

He was 40, she was 20.

By the day they wed, Rose Red had been|under construction for a year...

... and already there had been three|deaths, as well as the first foreman.

Take it up!

One man was decapitated|by a sheet of falling glass.

One fell from a scaffold|and broke his neck. The third...

... choked to death|on a piece of apple.

This is the way Rose Red looked|when it was completed in 1909.

In case your memory needs refreshing,|this is the way it looks today.

It's as if it metastasized.

- It has how many rooms?|- I don't think anyone knows.

You can count 74 on Monday, come|back Friday and come up with 87 or 97.

- That's impossible.|- That's Rose Red, sweetheart.

How many people have disappeared?|There must be an accurate account.

Twenty-three since|the First World War.

I find that impossible to believe.

Of course you do. Anyone would.|But it's true.

Five men and 18 women.

Rose Red has always been|particularly fond of the ladies.

We are speaking of a house|which is dormant.

It better be because $5000|isn't enough if it isn't.

- When was the last disappearance?|- 1972, 30 years ago.

There've been no observable|phenomena since...

- Who was it, the last one?|- We've got a lot of ground to cover...

A woman on the Historical Society's|annual tour. She was with the group.

It wasn 't until the tour was over that|they realized she wasn't with them.

What's that?

They didn 't find her|but they did find her purse.

- Finished?|- Yeah.

Thank you.|The lady's name was Liza Albert.

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