She'll Be Company for You - Recap

Henry Auden attends the funeral of his wife Margaret, but doesn't see the point in feeling any remorse. Instead he is relieved to be free of her. As the other mourners leave, Margaret's friend Barbara Morgan offers him a handful of dirt to throw on the grave, and then suggests they go to his home and Margaret's room, sure that she'll be there. Once there, Barbara goes upstairs and Henry hears the ringing of the bell that Margaret used to summon her husband when she needed things. Henry suggests that drink and leave so that he can get some rest, but Barbara accuses him of being eager to get rid of everything that belonged to Margaret, including her bell. Henry says that the bell is on the mantle next to Margaret's bell, and Barbara says that she didn't ring it when she was upstairs. She asks him of he considered ever being free of Margaret, and Henry admits that he had thoughts but did nothing. Barbara says she'd do anything to have thoughts like that, and Henry says that makes her a more evil person than him. She then proposes to send him her cat to keep him company so he doesn't get lonely in the house.



The cat arrives with a note from Barbara saying its name is Jennet, and assuring him that it'll be everything he needs. Henry calls Barbara to get rid of it, but discovers that she has left on vacation with no forwarding address. The cat goes out to the living room and Henry hears Margaret's bell ring. He drinks himself asleep but wakes up later when his wife's bell rings. The cat has left a dead mouse on the sofa, and Henry covers it over. He closes the drapes on the patio doors, but hears the sound of a large cat growling. A shadow of a large cat passes before the drapes as Henry watches in horror.



The next day, Henry returns home and finds a letter from the housekeeper asking why he hasn't bought food for the cat. Margaret's bell rings and Henry is overwhelmed by the sound and the memories. He staggers out to the kitchen and sees the cat, now the size of a jaguar, leap through the window, shattering the glass. However, when Henry runs to the window, he discovers that it's unbroken and there's no sign of the cat. However, he discovers claw slashes on his hand and a dirty cat print in the sink. Margaret's bell rings again and Henry claps his hands to his ears in agony as the ringing grows loud, and he demands to know what she wants. After a few seconds the ringing stops, but the cat enters the kitchen and settles down. The bell rings again and the cat leaves, and Henry tells it that Margaret can't tell it anything.



Henry dozes off at his office until his secretary, June, comes in to start the morning. She is all business, and Henry asks what happened between them. June tells him that there was never anything between them. She goes to get coffee and Henry starts drinking. When she returns, he insists that there was something between us. June asks if Margaret knew about her, and when Henry admits there wasn't, that there wasn't anything between them. Henry begs her to come home with him, and June asks what she'll give her. He wonders what happened to her, and June says that he never noticed how ruthless she is because he never really paid attention to her, and he casts everyone aside once he's done with them. She tells him that Barbara sent a letter and leaves, and Henry reads it. Barbara talks about how she and Margaret never fulfilled their dreams, and that her friend is with her in spirit. She talks of coming back because something is calling to her.



Back at home, Margaret's bell continues to ring. Henry enters her upstairs room and sees the bell on the dresser. It rings, but when he picks it up he discovers that there's no clapper. The cat roars outside and Henry looks down to see that it is now a full-grown tiger. It enters the house and Henry runs to the kitchen to find a knife to use as a weapon. He hacks up a new letter from Barbara, and then slashes wildly at the plants within the house. The cat runs off into the surrounding woods as Henry hacks at the bushes, and the bell rings from the house. He finally collapses in exhaustion, sobbing, and the bell rings again. Knowing that there's no escape, Henry goes upstairs to face the inevitable.

That night, Barbara lets herself in and calls out to Henry. She gets no answer, and is unaware that upstairs in Margaret's room, Henry is on the bed, clawed to death. The cat, back to its normal size, is lapping up the blood on the carpet.



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