Helen's flat
Helen comes back in to find Mrs. Mangel apparently collapsed against the chimney breast. She dashes over to her and asks in concern:

HELEN: Nell? Nell, what is it? Are you ill?
MRS. MANGEL (slowly): In a manner of speaking, yes...

She starts to stand up as Helen asks what it is. Mrs. Mangel replies:

MRS. MANGEL: It's something almost beyond human comprehension. I thought I heard a crying sound; it seemed to be coming from the chimney, and when I looked up there, something was looking back at me...
HELEN: Surely not!
MRS. MANGEL (insists): Something *evil*, Mrs. Daniels. Its terrible eyes bored right into my soul...

Helen moves tentatively towards the chimney breast to have a look, but Mrs. Mangel gasps:

MRS. MANGEL: Don't, Mrs. Daniels, don't! You could disappear forever into another dimension, just like the previous tenants.

Helen tells Mrs. Mangel to stay where she is. She then heads over to the front door and calls out to Tony to ask if he can come up for a second. She turns to Mrs. Mangel and adds that she's afraid they'll have to take the risk of someone disappearing into another dimension! Tony comes up and tells Helen that he's given Bouncer the run of the courtyard. He then asks what's up. Helen replies:

HELEN: We're not quite sure, but we think there's a bird or a possum up the chimney.
MRS. MANGEL (darkly): Well, *you* may think that, but *I* certainly don't. With eyes like those, it could well have been the devil himself.

Helen tells Tony that she hates to ask, but could he have a look? Tony, looking nervous, treads slowly towards the chimney. Mrs. Mangel causing him to jump by gasping:

MRS. MANGEL: Do be careful!

Tony looks tentatively up the chimney - and then smiles:

TONY: Ah - it's *you*, is it?

He puts his hands up the chimney and a few seconds later he reveals a black cat. Mrs. Mangel exclaims that she was scared of a *cat*! Tony says to the cat:

TONY: OK, Satan, you're safe now.

Looking surprised, Helen asks Tony if he *knows* the cat. Tony replies that it lives round there somewhere; he's heard the local kids calling it. He adds that he was so spooked by those ghost stories that he didn't stop to think that Burmese cats can sound like babies crying. Mrs. Mangel comments thoughtfully:

MRS. MANGEL: My exact words were 'it could well be the devil itself'. As it's turned out, I could hardly be more correct - I mean, his name *is* Satan, isn't it!

No. 24
Charlene walks into No. 24 with Jane, telling her that if they can help Scott get ahead a bit, he might get a decent night's sleep for once. She adds that at least tonight's his last night at the supermarket. They head through to the kitchen, where Madge asks how things went. Charlene muses:

CHARLENE: As a gardener, I think I make a good mechanic!

Madge smiles that many hands make light work. Jane then asks Madge if she's seen her nan anywhere. Madge replies flippantly:

MADGE: No, Jane, we didn't have our usual tea and scones this morning! Why - has she gone missing?
JANE: Well, she's gone *somewhere*. Mr. Bishop's getting a bit impatient about his dinner.
MADGE (sighs): Oh honestly, sometimes I could *throttle* that man! He knows he's quite welcome to come and join us, but he's so determined to get his money's worth over there-

Charlene interrupts and tells her mother to calm down: if Harold's silly enough to dip out on her cooking, that's *his* problem. Madge sighs that she supposes so, but she can just picture him sitting at the table with his knife and fork in his hands, waiting for Mrs. Mangel to walk through the door. Jane comments that she thinks all this writing business has improved his appetite. Charlene mutters:

CHARLENE: All this writing business? I can't believe it! Just because Scott gets a bit of a break, old Harold- baby thinks he can pick up a pen and write a story.

She adds angrily that there's only enough for *one* writer round there. Changing the subject quickly, Jane asks where Henry is. Madge replies reluctantly that he's gone out with Sally. Charlene exclaims:

CHARLENE: That's typical, isn't it! Here we are, putting in extra hours to help him out, and where's Henry? He's out having fun with Sally Wells. People make me *sick* sometimes.

With that, she storms off to have a shower! When she's gone, Jane remarks to Madge that she hopes Henry knows what he's doing. Madge asks why. Jane tells her:

JANE: It seems he's not the *only* one interested in Sally Wells. Tony Romeo's chasing after her as well...

Ramsay Street
The next morning, Sally and Tony are jogging up Ramsay Street. They stop halfway up and Tony asks Sally why she came up there. Sally explains that Henry left his wallet in her bag last night; she just wanted to drop it in to him. Tony comments:

TONY: I'm surprised you've got any *energy* left - you didn't get home until late!
SALLY (grins): I didn't know you were waiting up for me!
TONY: I wasn't! I was still awake.

Sally tells Tony that Henry took her to see Mike play with his jazz band - she had a great time. Tony muses that having a bad back doesn't seem to have cramped Henry's style...

Across the street, Mike is sitting on his motorbike outside No. 28. Des emerges from the house and asks him if he could drop home if he gets a chance today, as he doesn't know how his mum's going to cope with Jamie by herself. Mike nods that it shouldn't be a problem. Sally and Tony run over and Sally asks Des how his mum is. He replies:

DES: Fingers crossed, but she seems to be over the worst.
SALLY: Let's hope so.
DES: You and me, both, Sally. You and me, both...

No. 28
Eileen is in the kitchen area, trying to prepare some tea, when Des comes in. He sits down at the table with the newspaper. Eileen walks over to him and asks if she could have another tablet. Des asks her if she really thinks she needs one, as she said last night that she was feeling better. Eileen insists quickly that she *is*, but she just might feel a bit fragile later on. Des sighs, reaches into his jacket pocket, takes out the bottle of pills and hands her one. Eileen says she'll save it for later. She then suggests:

EILEEN: Why don't you leave the bottle on the bench? I mean, in case you're not here. I might never *need* another one, of course.
DES (shrugs): Yeah, all right, you know what you're doing. You seem to be almost off them anyway.
EILEEN (nods in relief): Quite so.

Des puts the bottle on the kitchen counter and sits back down at the table. He then says to Eileen that she *will* be able to cope with Jamie all day today, won't she...? Eileen smiles:

EILEEN: Of *course* I can. I can cope with babies, I can cope with housework, I can cope with *everything*.

Des looks at her happily. Eileen just looks down at the bottle of pills on the counter...

Helen's flat
Helen is sitting with the real- estate agent in her flat. He's holding Satan and remarking that it's the only one of his previous tenants that hasn't disappeared! Helen tells him that Satan seems to think the previous tenant is coming *back*, because he keeps hiding and waiting for her in the chimney. The real- estate agent says he'll take Satan home and have that hole in the chimney bricked up. He gets up and heads over to the front door, but Helen comments as he does so that surely that's only *part* of the mystery: they don't know what happened to Mary Barrett, the previous tenant. The real- estate agent just retorts that he's in real- estate, not the Twilight Zone! He adds that all Ms. Barrett's furniture is in storage, and if he doesn't hear from her soon, he'll have to auction it off. With that, he heads out. Paul rocks up as he does so, and Helen lets him in. He puts his arm round her and says lightly:

PAUL: So... how you going, gran? I bet you're missing all the excitement of Ramsay Street!
HELEN: Oh, I've had enough excitement around *here* for a while!

She then asks how Jim and Beverly are enjoying their honeymoon. Paul explains that it looks like they're going to be spending most of it in Adelaide: they left this morning to take Todd and Katie back, so he and Gail are going to have Lucy while they're away. He suddenly realises that Helen is staring into space, miles away. He calls to her and she comes back to earth. She then explains that this ghost business has really got her intrigued: no one cares what's happened to Mary Barrett and her baby - no one but *her*, that is.

No. 28
Eileen is sitting staring dazedly at the TV, a feather duster in her hand. The front door opens suddenly and Des comes in, carrying Jamie in his basket. Eileen stands up quickly, turns off the TV and says she was just doing some dusting. Des brings Jamie over and Eileen starts fussing over him. As she does so, Des says sadly:

DES: This business with her father, it's a terrible strain on Daph. It doesn't seem fair that you should watch somebody waste away like that.

Eileen lifts Jamie out of his basket and muses:

EILEEN: Oh well, waste not want not, that's what I always say.
DES (blankly): Eh?

Des then says he'd better get to work. He reminds Eileen that Jamie's teething at the moment, so he might grizzle a bit. Eileen replies witheringly that she *has* been through this before. She tells Des to get off. Des kisses Jamie goodbye and heads out. Eileen starts bouncing Jamie on her knee and says to him with a smile:

EILEEN: As if I'd let anything happen to my little Jamie, hm?

Outside the Waterhole
It's lunchtime, and Des and Paul are sitting at a table outside the Waterhole, Des telling Paul that the name 'Mary Barrett' doesn't ring any bells with *him*. Paul explains that Helen seems interested in tracking her down for some reason; he doesn't know why. Changing the subject, Des says he might head back: he was late in this morning, picking up Jamie, and he wants to drop round his place this arvo, and he has a ton of things he wants to do in between. Paul comments sympathetically:

PAUL: Having a bit of a rough stretch, eh?
DES: Yeah, mate. It never rains...

Paul then says that if he and Gail can help in any way, all Des has to do is ask. Des thanks him, but adds:

DES: Things aren't *that* bad - not at home, anyway. Daphne's going through hell with her dad. It's the worst thing about a long, lingering death; you almost look forward to it being over.

Madge emerges from the Waterhole at that moment and asks Des how his mum is. Des smiles that she's getting more like her old self all the time.

No. 28
Eileen is sitting at the table, rocking a crying Jamie in his pram. She's trying to soothe him and shush him, but he keeps on crying. Eileen looks across to the bottle of pills on the counter. She then turns back to Jamie and starts singing 'Rock a bye, baby' - but she finds it a struggle to keep going. Jamie keeps on crying. Eileen takes a sip of tea and looks at the pills again. She then stands up slowly and makes her way over to the counter. She picks up the bottle, unscrews the lid and tips a pill into her hand. She puts it in her mouth and swallows it before shuffling back over to the table and sitting down. She glances at Jamie, but then cries:

EILEEN: No, don't look at grandma like that, Jamie: she's not well; she needs her medicine.

Coffee Shop
Sally is doing some washing- up in the kitchen at the Coffee Shop as Mike takes out a bottle of orange juice from the 'fridge. Sally muses:

SALLY: It's just as well I like to *work* for a living.
MIKE: Yes - and just as well Harold's *gone* back to work for a living.
SALLY: And given up the writing.
MIKE: Well, he's put it aside for a while.
SALLY: What made him decide to take it up in the first place?
MIKE: Oh, Scott got a hundred bucks for this article he did, so Harold thought he'd try his hand at it as well - but he's doing this thing about dogs and I'm just wondering where he got his inspiration from...

With that, Mike heads out to the main shop and starts pouring the orange juice into a jug behind the counter. As he does so, he picks up a sheet of paper lying on the counter and begins to read it. Harold dashes over suddenly, though, and says curtly:

HAROLD: Manners, Mr. Young, manners.

He tries to grab the sheet of paper, but he jogs the orange juice and it spills over the paper. He exclaims at Mike in annoyance:

HAROLD: Oh blast and botheration. What carelessness. I don't suppose it matters to you that this could be worth its weight in ten- dollar notes?
MIKE: Sorry, Harold - I was just interested to read what you were writing about, that's all.
HAROLD (looking surprised): Really? Well, why didn't you say so? There you are!

Harold hands back the sheet of paper as Jane comes into the shop. Mike starts reading the article and exclaims:

MIKE: 'Pests. Vermin. Not unlike rats with collars.'
HAROLD: Hm. Nice turn of phrase, don't you think?

Mike comments that he doesn't think this is very fair. Harold retorts that unsupervised dogs can be the bain of their very existence; in his opinion, they should be taken from their owners and impounded immediately. Jane comments:

JANE: Surely, Mr. Bishop, you wouldn't want *Bouncer* to be impounded, would you?

Mike adds that Harold's just trying to take it out on dogs because he's allergic to them. Harold retorts indignantly that nothing could be further from the truth! Jane tells Harold that a journalist is supposed to present a story with a balanced point of view. Mike adds that he hopes the Erinsborough News has got more respect for its readers than to publish something so obviously biased. Harold stands there looking put- out!

No. 28
Jamie is crying in his pram. Eileen is lying on the couch, fast asleep. Mike comes in and walks over to Jamie, asking him what the matter is. He then realises that he's soaked right through. Mike looks over to where Eileen is lying zonked- out on the couch and he asks her if she's all right. She stirs and mumbles something unintelligible. Mike then tells her that he's going to change Jamie and take him for a walk.

Coffee Shop
Madge is sitting at a table in the Coffee Shop and has finished reading Harold's article. She tells him curtly that she doesn't like it: he's being very unfair to man's best friend and the whole thing is not much more than a bad- tempered whinge. Harold suggests:

HAROLD: Perhaps my rather elegant literary style has eluded you?
MADGE (grimly): Harold, this article has as much style as a one- legged duck! And it paints a picture of the writer that is far from appealing.
HAROLD: An artist is not in the business of making friends.
MADGE: Yes, well, you've certainly succeeded *there*, haven't you? I mean, I've got used to you being mean with money, but it seems as though you're being mean- spirited as well.
HAROLD: It's being *careful* with money that will put me in a position to *marry*.
MADGE: Well, Harold Bishop, by the time you are *in* a position, I might've changed my mind about the kind of man I *want* to marry. So how do you like *them* apples?

With that, Madge storms out, leaving Harold open- mouthed! Sally emerges from the kitchen and tells him that Madge does have a point: so far, no one's liked his article, so perhaps he should start again? Harold, however, retorts:

HAROLD: Absolutely not, Sally. If some people can't control their jealousies long enough to compliment other people on their talents, well, then *they* have got a problem.
SALLY: Why would we be jealous?
HAROLD: Because there are the haves and the have- nots. Fortunately, I *have*. I'm going to borrow a typewriter, type it up and submit it. The Erinsborough News will undoubtedly respond to its perspicacity.

Garage
Charlene is poring over the engine of a car as Tony sits in the corner of the garage telling her what to do. Charlene, however, explains that she went through this routine with Rob Lewis, so she already knows it. Tony sighs that it doesn't seem to matter what he does, lately: there's always a woman one step ahead of him! He adds that Sally beat him home from their morning jog - although it's his own fault, because he's been slacking off his gym work; fully fit, she wouldn't stand a chance. Charlene muses:

CHARLENE: Are you sure you aren't my long lost other brother?! You sound just like Henry: Sally brings out the show- off in him too. Nearly killed himself last time.
TONY: How *are* things between Sally and Henry? They went out last night.
CHARLENE ('innocently'): Oh, did they...?!
TONY: Come on, Charlene, you've got to help out a bit. How serious are they?
CHARLENE (firmly): Look, Tony, in the first place, Henry's love life is *his* business; and in the second place, Sally's the one in the middle of all this, not me, so just lay off, hm?
TONY (sighs): I really blew it by asking her to move in. You should never get involved with your flatmate.
CHARLENE: Says who? Des and Daphne started out as flatmates, and *they* seem to have got pretty involved...

Tony stands there looking thoughtful.

No. 28
The front door opens at No. 28 and Des comes in, calling:

DES: Mum?

He walks over to the couch and finds Eileen lying there, asleep. He shakes her and she stirs briefly. He then looks around for Jamie and heads into the bedroom to find him. Eileen manages to sit up as he comes back and asks her urgently where Jamie is. She murmurs that he's in his pram. Des retorts that his pram isn't even *there*. Eileen says stutteringly and groggily:

EILEEN: It's in the - in the nursery.
DES: I've already checked in there.
EILEEN (groans): I don't know, Desmond.
DES (snaps): What do you mean you don't know? Oh, I get it: you've been on those damned pills again, haven't you?
EILEEN: Don't shout, Desmond - you're giving me a headache.

She struggles to her feet, but Des grabs her arms and starts shaking her, yelling:

DES: What do you think you've been giving *me* lately, hey?

Mike comes in through the front door at that moment, pushing Jamie, and Eileen says to Des:

EILEEN: See, there you are: there's no need to panic. That's what you told me last time.

Des walks over to Mike and asks him tersely why he didn't tell Eileen he was taking Jamie out for a walk. Mike retorts that he *did* tell her; she was a bit sleepy, but he thought she would've heard him. Des, looking back at his mother, snaps angrily:

DES: Only she didn't 'cos she was too doped up on those tranquilisers. You could've told her that the house was burning down and she wouldn't have moved off that couch.
EILEEN (becoming upset): Don't shout at me, Desmond. I mean, perhaps I *did* take an extra-
DES: *Perhaps*? Mum, I left my son in your care, but it seems to me you can't even look after *yourself*.
EILEEN (cries): I *can*, I *can* look after myself - and as for these [she has the bottle of pills in her hand], I don't need these. As far as I'm concerned, you can throw them down the sink.

Des grabs the bottle of pills and says angrily:

DES: OK, I *will* - they've turned you into a zombie for long enough.

With that, he marches over to the sink and tips the pills down it. Eileen stands there looking horrified.