Episode #20

Friday, 5/18/07

Same Day, Afternoon

Tom’s Apartment

Dr. Tom Crawford sat in silence, alone in the darkened room with only his thoughts. He’d pulled the shades tight and hadn’t even ventured to step outside. Reporters seemed to be everywhere and his phone had rung off the hook so much that he’d pulled the cord out of the wall in frustration.

He sat on the sofa and sipped on a gin and tonic – he’s second of the day and it wasn’t much past noon. It was all starting to get to him. He’d been arrested and charged for the murder of Meg Marriott – a murder he hadn’t committed – and he was nearing his wit’s end.

A loud knock at the door pulled him from his troubled thoughts.

“Tom? Tom, it’s Betsy!” his sister’s voice came from the hallway. “Tom, open up!”

He went to the door, pulled it open and nearly fell into Betsy’s arms.

Rita’s Diner

“Double latté, just like you ordered it,” Tracy Dixon said as she set the drink down onto the table right before Megan Harper snatched it away from her silently motioning for her to leave. Less than amused by the attitude of her latest regular, Tracy scrunched up her nose and shot her an icy glare before turning and storming away.

“So, you’ve snagged yourself a date with Alex, huh?” Megan said into her cell phone, held snuggly between her ear and shoulder. “How like you to go for a doctor.” She paused and took a sip of her latté. Sure, she couldn’t exactly afford it considering her current financial status, but she couldn’t resist them. “And where’s he taking you and this glorious date? Unhuh. Bella Rose? Well, hell! I can’t even get a man in this town to buy me coffee let alone dinner in the closest thing this town has to a swank restaurant.”

Although she continued to listen intently to her twin sister Vanessa Harper on the phone, her eyes were drawn towards the front doors of the diner as A.J. Sterling walked in. She was also quick to notice that annoying little waitress making a quick beeline for him – nearly knocking over a customer in the process. What was that all about?

“Well, there’s probably something wrong with him,” she continued with her conversation even though her eyes were firmly locked on Tracy and A.J. Megan only wished she could hear what they were talking about instead of listening to Vanessa prattle on about her date with the handsome Dr. Marriott. “Oh, don’t start with me Nessie.” She smirked, knowing full well that Vanessa hated the nickname Megan had fought so hard to stick her with when they were 12. “You have a wonderful time on your little date. I suppose I’m just supposed to sit home and knit or something.”

Megan clicked her cell phone closed. She’d had about as much of Vanessa’s fawning over Alex as she could stand for one afternoon. Besides, she was much more interested in someone else’s fawning – Tracy over A.J. Unable to resist the urge any longer, she rose from her booth and went over to them.

“A.J.! What a surprise!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. “I was just sitting over there having a latté. Would you like to join me?”

“Um, sure, Megan,” he smiled before turning back to Tracy. “It was good seeing you again. You can just bring my coffee over there.”

As Megan latched on tightly to A.J.’s arm, Tracy’s eyes followed them with what might be described by some as a death stare. Tracy didn’t care for the uppity Megan Harper one bit.

“How have you been?” A.J. asking as he slid into the booth opposite Megan.

“I’ve been better,” she sighed. “I’m not adapting to this town very well. I was just on the phone with Vanessa and…” Megan paused as her eyes began to sparkle with the beginnings of an idea. “And she and Alex are going out to dinner. They’ve invited me to come along, too.” A flat out lie. “But I don’t know if I should. I’d hate to be a third wheel.”

“Alex and Vanessa?” A.J. leaned forward, intrigued. “Don’t tell me there’s a little romance brewing there?”

“I don’t know, actually. I think they’re just friends. Anyway, if there is something more going on, I’d hate to feel like I were intruding. I know Vanessa only invited me to give me something to do, but…” She made the requisite pause. “I have an idea!”

“About?”

“Well, like I said, I’d hate to be a third wheel, but…” She smiled coquettishly and leaned forward onto her hands. “I wouldn’t be if I had a date, too.”

“And you want me to be your date.” He nodded slowly, realizing exactly what Megan was proposing.

“Please? You did offer to show me around Rosehill, and this would be a good place to start. I just don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.” Megan reached out and grabbed his hand tightly. “Please?”

“Okay,” A.J. sighed with a smile. “Just let me know when and where.”

Megan leaned over the table and threw her arms around him, making sure to look past him and towards Tracy who was standing, seething, over in the corner. Feeling impish, Megan couldn’t resist the urge to smirk at Tracy and stick her tongue out at her.

Tom’s Apartment

“Here, drink this,” Betsy Harper said as she handed her brother Tom Crawford a mug of steaming coffee. “You’ll feel much better.”

“I’d feel better if you’d give me back my gin.” Tom took the mug into his hands and slowly took a sip. “You know what kind of strain these last few days have been.”

“I can only imagine,” she sighed, rising from the couch and walking over to the window so she could peek out. “I can’t believe how many reporters there are out there. I literally had to elbow my way through just to get into the building.”

“Bad news travels fast.” He took another sip of his coffee. “I can only imagine how everyone’s reacting to this – Cal, Van… Ben.”

“Ben’s not taking it too well,” Betsy confessed, returning to her seat next to Tom. “We had a pretty big blow up the other day before I came by to see you.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.”

“I didn’t really want to talk about it.” She lowered her head and let out a weary sigh.

“To be honest, I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up here. I know how Ben can be about his mother.”

“Oh, he wanted to, that’s for sure.” Betsy hung her head, heavy full of thoughts of how difficult Meg’s death had been on Ben. “He wanted to storm over here and bash your head in, but I… I think I’ve managed to talk him down.” Tom looked over at his sister with confusion and concern. “I told him that coming over here in the state he was in wouldn’t do anyone – you or him – any good. It took some doing, but I finally got him to realize that it was in no one’s best interest for him to fly off the handle half-cocked without examining all the facts. I reminded him that he should know as well as anyone how the police can be wrong and how, many times, the facts as they appear, aren’t really the facts at all.”

“Thank you.” Tom looked down at his hands that were still holding the coffee mug very tightly. “I really don’t know what I’ve ever done to deserve a sister as great as you.”

“I’ll remind you that you said that sometime.” She smiled warmly in hopes that a touch of levity would ease the tension of the situation. “And don’t worry about Cal or Van or the girls. Neither Van nor Cal believe for an instant that you could’ve possibly had anything to do with this. I talked to both of them this morning and they both told me that they’re behind you 100%. And both Suzanne and Vanessa are behind you, too. Megan… well, she seems more concerned with her own issues at the moment than anyone else’s, but I know she doesn’t believe a word of it, either.” Betsy paused for a moment and looked at her brother intently. “Tom, do you have any idea who would go to so much trouble to steal your gun, kill Meg, and frame you? It’s obvious that this is all a setup. Who could possibly hate both you and Meg so much to do this?”

Tom sat in still silence. No, he couldn’t tell her about his suspicions, fears, or concerns. He’d done too much in the past to protect her and he wasn’t about to lay any of that on her now simply because he’d found himself in a very difficult situation.

“I have no idea,” he finally muttered after several long and tense moments. “Not a clue.”

Betsy watched him carefully, taking in every worried line in his face. She knew her big brother too well and was certain that he wasn’t telling her everything. He did have an idea, but why wouldn’t he tell her? What in the world could he be hiding from her?

Rita’s Diner

“Up for some company?” Chaz Aleata asked as he tapped on the top of Joy Donovan’s laptop before slipping into the booth on the other side of the table from her.

“Where the hell have you been?” she questioned angrily, slamming down the screen. “You have more disappearing acts than Houdini! I went by your room last night and knocked on your door, but either you weren’t there or you refused to answer.”

“You know I’ve been busy doing research on my mother. I’ve been retracing the steps of her life here in Rosehill. I’m constantly in and out.” He paused and peered across the table at her. “Besides, what are you doing here? I’d think that since the news of Dr. Crawford’s arrest broke, you’d be camped out on his doorstep trying to get an exclusive for your rag.”

“Easier said than done,” she sighed. “There are so many reporters swarming around from the regional press that I can’t even get standing room. I swear, those people are like vultures circling a fresh kill.”

Chaz cocked an eyebrow, quick to notice the irony in her observation.

“What’s that look for?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing.” He paused to lean back in his seat. “So, if you haven’t been trying to get an exclusive from Dr. Crawford, what have you been doing?”

“Finishing up my first article on Meg Marriott’s murder,” she explained as she pulled her laptop back open. “I’ve almost got it finished; and I’m trying to convince my editor that we really need to be covering the Galen Sterling/Hank Latimer connection. You know, famous American soap star/soon-to-be famous movie actress worries over cousin missing in action – I think it could really appeal to the patriotic celebrity gawkers.” Joy looked down at her computer screen as she continued to type. “Have you found out anything else about your mother?”

“I went by the house where she used to live this morning,” he began. “The people who live there weren’t home, but I met their next door neighbor. It turns out she knew my mother very well and she knows my father and my older sister Cal. She’s actually related to Cal.”

“Related to Cal Latimer?” Joy looked up over the top of her laptop. “Who is this woman?”

“Vanessa Sterling.” He was a little reluctant to divulge that information because he was quite aware that Joy had tabs on nearly everyone in Rosehill thanks to Tracy.

“That’s Galen Sterling’s grand – err, step-grandmother! And she’s Meg Marriott’s sister!” She pushed her laptop aside and leaned forward on the table, very interested in anything Chaz might tell her.

“Which makes her Cal’s aunt,” he continued. “Anyway, it turns out my father asked her to look out for me while I’m in town.” He shook his head. “What does he think I am? Still a kid? I’m a grown man and he acts like I can’t take care of myself! She asked me to stay with her while I’m in town.”

“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?”

“I… don’t know.” He was hesitant. After all, Chaz was very independent and didn’t like living off anyone else. He even refused to live off the trust fund his father had set up for him.

“But you have to! You have to move in with Mrs. Sterling!”

“Why? So you can pump me for any information about her sister’s murder I might find out?”

“Of course!” Joy threw up her hands, surprised that her reasoning wasn’t completely obvious. “We’re partners, after all.”

“Partners?” He eyed her curiously. “When did we become partners?”

“You’ve kinda been along with me on this story since I got into town,” she reminded. “I just assumed we’d become partners. Besides, I couldn’t have done all that I’ve done so far without you. Please?” She reached over and grabbed his hand tightly. “Pretty please? You don’t have to pump anyone for any information, just keep your ears open and report back to me anything important you might overhear.”

“I don’t know…” Chaz let out a heavy sigh. “Shouldn’t you be trying to get some information on Dr. Crawford? The police have charged him with Mrs. Marriott’s murder, after all.”

“I’m working on that angle. Trust me.” Joy went back to work on her laptop. “I’ll work on getting to the good doctor and you set up shop at chez Sterling and keep your ears open.” She paused to make a click with her mouse. “There! My first report is edited and sent.” She pushed her laptop closed and returned her focus to Chaz. “Please? Move in with Vanessa Sterling.”

“I’ll… think about it.” Chaz leaned back in his seat and folded his arms tightly across his chest. He didn’t like the idea of spying on a kindly old woman just so that Joy could get an exclusive, but he also realized that Vanessa Sterling might be an invaluable source of information for him about his own mother. It was definitely a decision that required a lot of thought and consideration.

“Could you hold on a sec?” Joy asked as she pulled out her cell phone. “I need to call my editor and tell her I sent my first article.” She paused and waited for the call to connect. “Yes, it’s Joy. I just finished my first installment on the Marriott story. It should be in your inbox shortly.” A pause. “Yeah, I’m working that angle, too, because there’s been an arrest. It’s all in there. And I may have a potential inside source.” She looked over at Chaz and flashed him a broad and knowing grin. “Gotcha. I’ll have my next piece ready and in your box in a few days.” She clicked her phone closed and shoved it back into her purse before returning her focus solely on Chaz. “I’m gonna do such a good job on this story that she’s gonna be forced to give me a promotion. Just you see!”

Meanwhile, across the ocean at the British headquarters of the World Star, Joy’s editor and boss Mia Osborne leaned back in her chair in her office and slowly exhaled. Her job was done.