Episode 180 - 3/3/67

Guthrie apologizes, and offers to put the coffin back. The caretaker tells them to let her rest for another day. Joe then smells flowers; Frank asks if it's Jasmine, which Guthrie equates with Josette. The coffin then opens revealing that it is empty. The caretaker says that the body should be in there. Joe asks if the body could have disintegrated after 200 years, and Guthrie says there would have been some remains in the coffin. He says that Josette wanted them to see inside the coffin. The caretaker kneels at the vault and says she couldn't find rest or peace.

Guthrie asks about Laura Murdoch Radcliffe. The caretaker says it's outside by a maple tree past his shed. The caretaker leaves, and Frank says he knows what Guthrie is thinking. He tells him that he's with them. They begin to leave, and the caretaker asks if they're going to the other grave. He says they must be careful; the dead don't like to be disturbed. They promise to come back to re-inter the coffin.

In the graveyard, Frank, Joe and Guthrie look for the grave. Joe finds it, and says, "now what." He explains they need to dig up the grave and open the coffin. Joe goes to look for shovels, and Frank asks his friend what he expects to find. Guthrie confirms that he expects to find nothing.

The caretaker laments that the men left him alone. He says he'd prefer the company of the living. He says he could have told them things about Laura Murdoch Radcliffe. He recounts how she died by fire, and says there was something else he can't remember. He finds his record book on Radciffe's and opens it.

Joe returns with shovels, and he and Frank get working on the grave. Joe stops and asks if they heard something. The others didn't hear anything.

The caretaker finds the record about Laura Murdoch Radcliffe. He mentions the boy, and turns to see Laura Collins. She says she's looking for Guthrie. He says there were three men, one was named Garner. He asks if they are her friends. Laura sees the open coffin and reaches inside. The caretaker says they came to disturb the dead. He says the coffin was opened and Laura Murdoch Stockbridge was gone. She asks what they wanted, and he says they said they were helping the living. She asks if they said where they were going, and he said they were going to the grave of Laura Murdoch Radcliffe. She asked if they were coming back, and he says yes. She says that in that case, she'll wait. She asks what he was saying he found when she came in. He offers to show her the records of Laura Murdoch Radcliffe, and she takes the book.

The three men stand around the coffin which they have dug up. Joe confirms it has never been opened. The start to open the coffin.

The caretaker says he'll show her friends the Radcliffe records when they return. He says it's strange how two women with the same maiden name died the same way, 100 years apart. Laura tells him that she's not afraid of fire. She speaks of its beauty.

At the grave site, they manage to pry the coffin open. It's also empty.

Laura continues to speak to the caretaker, captivating him. He says he feels strange, and looks up and finds her gone.

The men finish re-interring the Radcliffe coffin. Guthrie then says they need to put the other coffin back.

Back in the crypt, Guthrie apologizes for taking so long. The caretaker says that they just left. Guthrie says they were gone for at least two hours, and asks the caretaker what happened after they left.

He leaves to go rest, and Frank finds the record book open. There's a Collinsport Courier newspaper article in the book, but the ink for a portion of an article is missing. Guthrie says that couldn't happen in a closed book. It would require exposure to light—or a fire.

Our thoughts

John: Wow! One minute Frank is laying down the law, the next he's digging up a coffin!

Christine: He and Joe both seemed to get over their reluctance to break the law pretty quickly.

John: Anyone else think that the crypt, and the caretaker with it, were going up in smoke before this episode was over? Surely Laura now knows that the Hardy Boys (Guthrie, Joe and Frank) are on to her!

Christine: She's probably banking on them not being able to do anything about it. They can't really go to the police and say she's a phoenix, after all.

John: So now WE know there's some precedent relating a child to Laura's prior incarnations, but it looks like our merry band of grave robbers will have to hit the Collinsport Library to find a copy of the disappearing newspaper article.

"I never minded waiting, either. The living all have to wait...for death." -Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker

"There's great sadness in fire too, because every fire must die. But the beautiful part is, that another will be kindled, in another place, in another time." -Laura Murdoch Phoenix