Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 243,316 times)

[heroicmuse]

Week 492 - 1
At the police station, Horowitz said into her phone, “You got it boss. Yes, sir, I’m sure we’re up to the task. We’ll check in afterward.” She hung up and went to find Prescott, who was sitting at his desk putting info into the computer.

“You busy?” Horowitz asked him.

“Never too busy for you,” Prescott said, giving her an easy smile. “I was just trying to get ahead of the curve on the guy they arrested down at the college this morning. He had a Fire Lion tat and he was caught shocking a weed pipe in the face of a girl who just wanted to get to class, so chances are he saw her as an easy mark. Wesley down at Campus thinks he was trying to recruit her, I think he figured he could get her good and high and then mess with her however he wanted. Either way, he’s probably not the only gang member infiltrating that campus, but so far I’m not finding the connections in his social media I need to see so we can bust up the university branch of the gang.”

“That’s kind of why I’m here,” Horowitz said, sitting down on the edge of the desk. “Eddie Newton, aka Snake, has been processed and Commissioner Carver wants us to interview him.”

“Good,” Prescott said, standing. “Trying to make sense of who he’s connected to’s making my head hurt so maybe shaking him to see what comes out’s a better use of our time.”

Horowitz nodded. “Commissioner said to be real careful with security,” she said. “This guy’s dangerous and he and Deputy Commissioner BRady are at a wake, so the only backup we got is each other.”

“That’s all we need.” Prescott brushed her fingertips. “If he thinks he’s gonna do something to you while I’m watching your back, he’s got a nasty surprise coming.”

“And vice versa,” Horowitz said. She patted his hand. “Come on. Let’s get him brought up so we can get this over with.”


Meanwhile, Dani had found a meeting for young adults. Normally, it was held at the Horton Center, but the Center was closed because Julie and Maggie were at the wake. Instead, it was being held in the basement of St. Lukes’ Church.

“You sure you want to sit through this with me?” Dani whispered as Alison took a seat next to her “I’m the one who needs this, not you.”

Alison crossed her arms. “You’re my friend. Of course I’m gonna support you. Besides, maybe I’ll actually understand why my brother did the stupid thing he got arrested for if I learn some other people’s stories.”
Dani swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of Alison being here when she wasn’t an alcoholic. It felt too much like she was spying for the news, though she trusted Alison not to put what people said on the six o’clock news.

Pushing her hair behind her ear, she asked, “What did your brother do? Was it worse than what I did?”

“Way worse.” Alison sighed. “I don’t like to talk about it. I love my brother but people judge, you know? Including me. I hate that he did this and I thought maybe he didn’t, that he was framed, but I guess at some point I have to accept he did and he wasn’t.” She blinked back tears.

Dani patted her hand. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but just so you know, I won’t judge. How could I? I’m lucky all I ended up with was one night in jail and six months probation cause if the judge wanted to, he could have put me behind bars for a year and I probably would have gotten kicked out of school while I was locked up.”

“Right,” Alison said. “Which sucks, but at least you didn’t put anyone but yourself at risk.”

“DUI?” Dani asked.

Alison nodded. “The cops found him passed out on the median of the highway with a six-pack in the back seat. As fas as we know he didn’t actually hurt anyone but himself but he got 25 years because of how reckless he’d been.”

Dani frowned. Something wasn’t adding up to her. “For a first offense? They couldn’t give him some sort of diversion program?”

“That’s what I thought too but my mom says we just need to be grateful his accident didn’t have any fatalities so…” Alison’s shoulders slumped. “Anyway, like I said, maybe being here will help me understand.”

Dani couldn’t help putting her arm around Alison as the meeting began. She felt bad for her and hoped she didn’t get the wrong idea.


Jeremy backed up, making sure he was more than 1,000 feet from Stephanie. “I didn’t plan it this way,” he said, putting his hands up. “I just wanted to help Eric unload. But obviously you already have that covered, so…”

“No, it’s okay.” Stephanie said. “I mean, I don’t exactly want to spend time with you, but it’s not like we’re alone together. As long as Eric or Uncle Roman’s with us the whole time, I guess you can help too.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Um, okay,” he said. “I’ll tell Eric.” He hurried off. As soon as he was out of sight, he said to himself, “I should have made her sign something. I hope this isn’t some trick to get me arrested for violating the restraining order.”

[André DiMera]

Hopefully Horowitz and Prescott will get something out of Snake.

Glad Alison opened up to Dani. Hopefully neither will get the wrong idea about anything.

Hope Stephanie’s not trying to trick Jeremy.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I don't think it's a trick. Like Stephanie said, they're not alone and will have witnesses. Just get the food into the house already before it spoils.

[heroicmuse]

Week 492 - 2
Kenneth grabbed Hannah’s hands. “A safe house? You mean, like, away from all our friends and family?”

Hannah nodded. “It would be romantic if it wasn’t so scary, us locked away somewhere together where no one can get to us.” She brushed his hands with her fingertips. “I know you got a thing about sex and marriage, so if you didn’t want to sleep in the bed I’d take the floor. I just want you with me, all right? I’m trying to act all tough but I’m scared to death. Nat had someone bump into the car from behind. Not too hard, not this time, but they sped off soon as it was done and the next second I got a message saying next time will be worse if I don’t back off testifying.”

Kenneth swallowed hard. “I’m proud of you for not wanting to back down,” he said, “even if it means us being locked up when we’re not the ones who did anything wrong.”

“Yeah.” Hannah sighed. “The accommodations’ll probably be nicer than jail at least. ABe said his wife left hm a property or something in a secluded area, so…” She froze. “Wait. You said ‘we’. So you’ll do it?”

Kenneth nodded. “I hate being away from my sister. She’s almost grown now but she’s still a handful, and without someone there to make sure she and Theo don’t do anything they shouldn’t, I don’t know what’ll happen. But I can’t let you go through this alone.” He bit his lip. “I guess we can’t even tell our parents where we’re going, huh?”

“Not the specifics,” Hannah said. “Abe hasn’t given me an address or anything, probably cause he doesn’t want me accidentally telling anyone. We’ll know where we’re going when we get there, I guess. But he’d better let you tell your mom and your sister you’re going away. HE can’t expect us to disappear into thin air and nobody get scared about what happened to us.”

“Right, “Kenneth said. He glanced over at the couch, where Abe was talking to Julie. “Let me just get Abe to fill me in and then we’ll see what’s what.” He hugged Hannah and ran his hands through her hair. “Don’t you worry, all right? Nat and them want to get to you, they’ll have to go through me first.”

Hannah nodded. She clung to Kenneth, not wanting to tell him she was afraid that was exactly what was going to happen.


Jeremy and Stephanie had finished bringing all the food in. “That’s the last of it,” Jeremy said after he’d double-checked the truck.

“We got that done fast,” Stephanie said.

“Yeah. The more hands, the easier the work.” Jeremy swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. “Um, thanks for letting me help.”

Stephanie shrugged. “Julie’s your relative too. Besides, you did us a favor. I’d still be here another two hours if I had to do this by myself.”

“Right.” Jeremy could barely believe they were actually having a civil conversation. But he didn’t want to press his luck, so he said, “I’ll get out of your hair now. My dad’s waiting for me anyway.”

“Yeah, I should check in with Julie,” Stephanie said. She walked into the house.

Jeremy watched her go. “I didn’t just dream that,” he said to himself. “She was actually nice to me. I don’t get it… she has to have some angle, but I can’t see what it is.”


Snake glared at the cops as Prescott cuffed his wrists to a bar in the middle of the interrogation table. “Better keep your hand on your gun,” he said darkly. “These cuffs look easy to break and if I got ahold of your weapon there’d be hell to pay.”

“You’re not intimidating us,” Horowitz said. She sat down. “You’re in a ton of trouble, Mr. Newton, so if I were you I’d stop wasting time and listen up.”

Snake laughed. “You’re so dumb I don’t even need to waste my lawyer’s time with you. You don’t have anything on me. Weed is legal if you’re over 21, which I am, so you’ll be cutting me loose and begging me not to sue in a minute.”

“Yeah, don’t think so,” Prescott said. “Weed’s legal for personal use, but you had enough on you to supply 40 people and you’re not a licensed dispensary. Possession with the intent to sell’s still a felony. So you got two choices. You can keep your mouth shut and do some hard time at Statesville or you can tell us what we want to know about the Fire Lions and then we’ll cut you a deal with the DA. What’s it gonna be?”

Snake bit his lip, thinking.

[André DiMera]

So glad Kenneth agreed to join Hannah!

Hopefully Stephanie was just being genuinely nice and doesn’t have an agenda.

Ugh, Snake is creepy. I doubt he’ll be very cooperative.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I sure hope Stephanie is playing it straight. She and Jeremy once had a romantic relationship, so hopefully she's softening a little.

[heroicmuse]

Week 492 - 3
As they were walking out of the meeting, Alison asked Dani, “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Dani said. “Thanks again for doing this with me.” She poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. “Um, I don’t want to pry, but I can’t stop thinking about what you told me about your brother.”

Alison stiffened. “What about it?”

“Nothing, really. Just that you thought he was innocent at first and I was wondering why.”

Alison bit her lip. “LIke the guest speaker just said, denial’s part of the disease. I mean, it’s obvious he was drunk. I’m just the last to believe it.”

Dani put her hand on her wrist. “You want to talk about it anyway?”

Alison sighed. “I do but I probably shouldn’t. He’s my brother and I love him and I hate that he’s in jail, but everyone else is right. He could have easily killed someone, and the worst part is, he wouldn’t even remember doing it. He says that he wasn’t drinking that night, which we both know is a lie but that’s what alcoholics do, and that he doesn’t remember getting in the car or driving onto the median. The cops spent three days checking all the accident reports against his car to make sure he wasn’t responsible. That’s the only way we know that the only person he hurt was himself.”

Dani frowned. “Wait, he doesn’t remember drinking either?”

“He says he didn’t drink. But you’ve done stupid things while drunk and then claimed you didn’t, right? So…”

Dani shrugged. “When I was arrested I didn’t try to pretend the ID wasn’t mine. That would have been stupid and got me in more trouble.”

“Yeah, but they caught you before you got started. If you’d been drunk…”

“Maybe.” Dani bit her lip. “Do you really believe that he would say he hadn’t been drinking at all if he had? I mean, he’d already been caught so what would be the point of that?

Alison’s face trembled. “I don’t want to believe it but I’d be crazy not to at this point. They found empty beer bottles in the backseat.” She blinked back tears as a man walked past them and out of the meeting room. “The only way he could be innocent is if someone drugged him, drove his car onto the median, threw a bunch of empty cans in the back seat, and disappeared, all without anyone seeing them. It’s not plausible. So as desperate as I am to believe my brother is innocent, I have to accept what he did and that he’s not getting out of jail for it for a very long time.” She threw her empy coffee cup as hard as she could into the trash and hurried away.
“No, you don’t!” Dani said, jogging after her. “You’re an investigative reporter, right? So why can’t you investigate this?”

Alison turned toward her, her eyes blazing. “Why is this so important to you?”

“Because! You’ve helped me and I want to return the favor. Besides, I know what it’s like to be a drunk, okay, and this is not adding up. There have been times I have been so blacked out drunk I don’t remember what I did, but I remember drinking! Your brother doesn’t!” She put her hand on Alison’s wrist. “Alison… if there’s any chance he’s innocent, don’t you want to look into it? Don’t you want to get him out of jail if he shouldn’t be there?”

Alison bit her lip, thinking. “What if we put all this effort into this and we find out he was lying and he did get drunk and drive onto the median?”

“Then at least you’ll know the truth. You don’t want to go to your grave wondering you could have helped your brother come home because you’re scared of what you might find. Trust me.”

Alison twisted a piece of hair around two fingers, thinking. “I’ll talk to Nicole about reopening this investigation,” she said. “But if she wants me on something else, that’s that.”


Snake laughed. “So you think I’m gonna be a snitch just to say out of prison, huh? I ain’t afraid of Stateville, bitch.”

“Hey!” Prescott said. “Quit the disrespect.” He banged the table.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Horowitz said under her breath as Snake laughed again. “Why would you want to go to prison?” she said to Snake. “You think you’re gonna continue your illegal operations from behind bars, hmm? Gonna hook up with your homies from the Fire Lions and get them to wreak more havoc?”

“Maybe,” Snake said. “Or maybe I ain’t going there anyway cause I got a real sharp lawyer and you got a real weak case. All I was doing was being nice to some girl who doesn’t deserve it.”

“Speaking of,” Prescott said, “half a dozen people including three other cops heard you threaten her when we took you past her. What are you planning on doing to her?”

The door opened before Snake could answer and Sloan Petersen came in. “Don’t answer that,” she said. “Or any other questions.” She turned toward the cops. “I’m Mr. Newton’s lawyer,” she said. “I want a moment alone with my client and you’d better hope to God that you didn’t get any illegal confessions out of him because I will bury you.”

[André DiMera]

Dani’s right, Alison should at least find out what actually happened, whether that means her brother’s guilty or not. Glad she agreed to talk to Nicole.

Ugh. Of course Sloan is Snake’s lawyer.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 492 - 4
Rory was sitting on the couch by himself, his head in his hands, when Jeremy walked by. Jeremy almost passed him, then stopped and came over.

“Hey,” Jeremy said. “Rory, right?”

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out,” Rory said flatly. He tried to make himself smile. “Doug had a little rhyme. He used to say, ‘That’s my name. Say it again and I’ll tell you the same.’” He blinked hard. “Funny guy, huh?”

“From what little I knew of him, he was. And a great one too. Probably wouldn’t have judged me for the crap I did.” Jeremy crossed his arms. “Why are you sitting here by yourself?”

Rory shrugged. “Even though I’m family, I’m not, you know? Except to certain people. JJ’s stuck by me all these years but he went off with his uncle somewhere and I dunno where my…. Cousin? No, she’s my brother’s daughter so she’s um… I’m her uncle, right? Anyway I don’t know where she went and she’s one of the only other people who cares that ol’ Rory exists.”

“I know the feeling,” Jeremy said, sighing. “I’m kind of the Horton black sheep too. This family’s great sometimes, but when you fall from grace… let’s just say it’s not easy being a Horton if you’ve done time.”

“That’s what JJ always says too,” Rory agreed. “You guys would know. You’re real Hortons. I’m just the adopted kid Julie felt sorry for.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jeremy said. “I think you need to get up off this couch. I just spent like an hour unpacking a ton of food so let’s not let it go to waste. Come with me to get a plate.”

“I don’t feel like eating,” Rory said, “but Doug would want me to, so whatever.” He got up and followed Jeremy toward the kitchen.

Julie saw from the other end of the room, where she was talking to Hope. She stared at them as they left.

“Julie?” Hope said. “Did you hear me?”

Julie flinched. “What? Sorry, dear. I was… well, this is probably me being a silly old woman, but I can’t help worrying about Rory spending time with Jeremy.”

Hope frowned. “Why?”

“You’re a cop, you figure it out.” Julie let her breath out slowly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just… well, you know Jeremy’s history. And Rory is so vulnerable right now. He’s really taking Doug’s death hard and every waking minute I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid. So the last thing he needs is Jeremy Horton influencing him to do something he shouldn’t.”

Hope frowned. “From what Jennifer tells me, Jeremy’s been working hard to turn his life around.”

“Yeah, well, she’s not called Jennifer Rose for nothing, you know. There’s not a soul alive she won’t think is trying their best to be a good person.”

“I don’t know about that,” Hope said, “but he’s lived with her for over a year. He’s got his GED and he’s working toward becoming an electrician.” Julie shrugged. Hope said, “You want me to go keep an eye on them?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Julie said. “I’d feel a lot better if i knew the two of them weren’t out back smoking weed.”

“I’m sure they’re not, but I’ll go check.” Hope walked off. When she was out of Julie’s earshot, she said to herself, “I hope I’m right, because I’m not about to arrest anybody for grieving the wrong way at my father’s wake.”


Chanel was standing in a corner, looking around for Jeremy. Vicki was with Theo on the other end of the room and her mother was talking to Abe. She didn’t know anyone else and she felt intimidated about approaching them.

“I shouldn’t have come to this,” she said to herself. “I didn’t even know the man. I’m intruding.”

Roman came up to her. “Chanel, right?” he said.

“Y-yes,” Chanel stammered, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Roman Brady,” Roman said, holding out his hand. “You’ve probably seen me around the Brady Pub. It’s my family business so I’ve been helping run it ever since I retired from the police force.”

Chanel stiffened. She had this weird feeling like she was about to be arrested even though she’d been on the straight and narrow since she’d been released after Marcel’s murder. She shook hands with him anyway. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “Um, I didn’t know Mr. Williams very well but I wanted to pay my respects.”

“Appreciate that.” Roman lowered his voice. “I’m helping Abe Carver out with the situation with Natalie Simmons. You mind coming with me somewhere private so I can explain what we gotta do to protect you til you testify?”

[Kpatch]

I'm disappointed in Julie for being so judgmental about Jeremy, especially on a day like this and especially since she and Doug rehabbed Rory.

But I'm glad there was a scene between Rory and Jeremy. Did I inspire the idea or was it already planned?

[André DiMera]

Even if Julie doesn’t, I think it’s nice that Jeremy is reaching out to Rory.

Hopefully Chanel will agree to what Roman says.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 492 - 5
Horowtiz locked eyes with Sloan. “How can you possibly be defending this man? Aren’t you working with the prosecutor’s office on messing with the FBI?”

Sloan smirked. “I hope you’re not planning on violating my clients’ rights because you want to retaliate against me for nailing Agent Hernandez’s ass to the wall as he so richly deserves.”

“Of course we’re not,” Prescott said, “but you didn’t answer the question. How is it you’re playing both sides?”

“I’m not,” Sloan said. “I used to be a defense attorney and my license is still valid. Mr. Newton here is an old family friend, so I’m looking over his case as a favor until he can get other counsel. Now if you’re done playing 20 Questions, I’d like to talk to my client. Alone.”

“We’re going,” Prescott said, “but not far, and if you think you’re gonna get us to take the cuffs off him, you’d better think again.” He grabbed some papers and he and Horowitz left.

In the hall, Horowitz said to Prescott, “I don’t like this. I don’t see how she can be his defense attorney if she’s in the prosecutor’s office, no matter what she says.”

“Me either,” Prescott said, “but the way I see it, if we give those enough rope, just maybe they’ll hang themselves.”

Meanwhile, Sloan said to Snake, “I thought those two would never leave.” She crossed her arms. “What trouble did you manage to get yourself into this time?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Snake said. “Just tried to be nice to some bitch who didn’t deserve it, that’s all.”

“Hmm,” Sloan said. “Let me guess. It was this girl, right?” She showed him Dani’s mug shot. “The one who could have had you arrested for trying to get with her when she was three sheets to the wind, if only she remembered any of it?”

Snake sat up straighter, wincing as the cuffs dug into his skin. “Hey. When she said she was gay I backed off. I”m a lot of things but I would never - “

“Relax,” Sloan said. “I have your back just like I did then.” She rolled up her sleeve, showing her Fire Lion tattoo, ,and said quietly, “We’re both Fire Lions. That makes you my brother. So I will do whatever it takes to get you out of trouble, just like I am doing what I need to get Rafe Hernandez behind bars.”

“Herandez.” Snake spat. “After what he did to us…”

“I know,” Sloan said. “But my point is, he’s being taken care of and once he’s sent to Statesville, there’s no shortage of Fire Lions waiting to exact revenge.” She smirked. “”But enough about that waste of space. Let’s talk about you and what our next step is.”


In the hall, Horowitz said to Prescott, “Looks like she’s compromised. I couldn’t fully see, but I think she just displayed a Fire Lion tat.”

Prescott nodded. “Exactly what I expected. Let’s loop the boss in and see what he wants us to do.”


Chanel had followed Roman into Doug’s old office. “Close the door,” he said.

Chanel did. She sank down into a seat and said, “Why do I feel like you’re getting ready to question me about something? I’m not a Fire Lion anymore. When I shot Marcel, I was done. That was the deal.”

“I know that.” Roman’s voice was quiet, even. “I also know you gotta testify in order to fulfill your end of the bargain and not be charged with murder, and that there’s nothing Marcel’s sister won’t do to keep you from taking that stand.” He crossed his arms. “You recognize this girl?” He showed her a photo of Molly.

“So I am being interrogated.” Chanel swallowed hard.

“We don’t have time to play games,” Roman said. “We picked this girl up earlier today. Caught her spying on the memorial from across the street, focused mostly on you. Nat Simmons sent her to shut you up by any means necessary. Happens she’s under arrest, but Nat’s gonna keep trying and next time she might succeed. Now do you know this girl or not?”

“I know her,” Chanel said thickly. “She ran away from the Second Chance Home after all her attempts to mess with me there didn’t work.” She twisted a lock of hair around her finger. “I-I thought she was dead cause she vanished without a trace. What was she planning on doing to me?”

Roman shook his head slightly, “She didn’t say much, but she did say Nat warned her that if she didn’t stop you from taking the stand, she was dead. She was gonna use violence to keep you quiet. Whether that means tying you up somewhere or taking your life… that I don’t know.”

Chanel gulped. “But you arrested her, right?”

“I did, but like I said, she’s not talking and anyway, nothing stops Nat from sending someone else. So. What we wanna do is move you to a safe house til this is over. There’s two other witnesses in the same boat so you wouldn’t be alone, but the three of you would live somewhere real secluded where Nat can’t get to you and we’d guard the place like Fort Knox on top of it.”

“A safe house?” Chanel said. “What about my mom? And I’m on probation, if I disappear from the Second Chance Home, I’ll be in violation. A-and then there’s Jeremy.” Her voice was soft.

Roman sighed. “I know we’re asking a lot of you. Your mom already knows, and we’d let you say your goodbyes to Jeremy.”

“Can’t he come with me?”

Roman hesitated, thinking. “That’d be tricky. See, we figured the best way for us to get you where you need to go is to stage your arrest. We’d put you in the back of a squad car but instead of taking you to the police station we’d whisk you to the airfield.”

Chanel bit her lip. “That’ll break Mrs. MacGregor’s heart. And Jeremy’s too.” She crossed her arms. “Why can’t you stage both our arrests? People would believe it cause Jeremy has as much of a past as me.”

“”You really think he’d agree to that?” Roman’s voice was soft.

“I don’t know,” Chanel said, “but I’m not going without him. Can I at least talk to him? Please?”

Roman hesitated, then nodded.

[Kpatch]

Hannah and Kenneth and Chanel and Jeremy all in the same safe house. Should be interesting.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera and Kpatch for your comments this week!

Next week, an exciting new storyline begins as the wake wraps up, and it's connected to Sloan and her troublemaking. Read on for spoilers...

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...
After an emotional conversation, Jeremy agrees to go to the safe house with Chanel. Abe puts all the plans in motion to get everyone there after the wake ends, but Hannah and Kenneth are not exactly happy to be stuck with CHanel, even if she is Kenneth's biological cousin... can they work through their resentment about the past while they're all stuck together? And will Kenneth/Hannah or Jeremy/Chanel be able to make the most of a bad situation and get some romance going while they are locked up together?

Meanwhile, Alison goes to Sally about her brother's case, and is surprised by Sally's reaction. Later, she decides to check out the police report and finds a vital clue, which she shares with Emily. But neither of them is aware that Sloan bugged their room a long time ago. What will Sloan and Melinda do with the info they overhear?

In more mundane news, Ciara feels left out when she is the only one who doesn't have a date for the upcoming prom, and something happens in RUby's English class that makes her reconsider Mr. Woods' suggestion.

[heroicmuse]

Week 493 - 1
In the backyard, Rory had sat down on a tire swing. “Doug put this up for JJ’s kid,” he said, “but it hasn’t broken under my weight yet and it makes me think of him, so…”

“I get it,” Jeremy said, putting a plate of food down on the picnic table. “Um, you sure you don’t want to eat?”

Rory bit his lip. “I haven’t been hungry since Doug died. I mean, I have been but it, like, takes way too much energy to eat so I take a few bites here and there but…”

“That’s not healthy,” Jeremy said.

Rory shrugged. “Better than going back to drugs. I mean, if I smoked some I’d get my appetite back but I’m not doing all that anymore and breaking Julie’s heart on top of how Doug broke it by leaving.”

“I get that.” Jeremy sighed deeply.

Hope came around the corner. Rory glanced at her, then away. “Don’t look now, but it’s the fuzz,” he said, laughing bitterly.

“I’m off duty,” Hope said. “Kind of, anyway.” She came over. “Juile was worried about you.”

Rory scowled. “I wish she wouldn’t. I haven’t touched weed or booze and I’m not gonna. When is she gonna get that?”

“Maybe when you eat something,” Jeremy said.

“Jeremy's right,” Hope added. “You have to keep up your strength, honey.”

“Fine.” Rory jumped up amd grabbed a dinner roll off the plate. He took a bite out of it, ripping it with his teeth. “There. I ate something. Happy?”

“That's not dinner,” Hope said, “but I guess it's a start.” Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then nodded at Jeremy. “Abe wants to see you.”

“Me?” Jeremy raised his eyebrows. “Doesn't he know I'm on the straight and narrow?”

“I'm sure he does,” Hope said. “He told me to tell you it's about Chanel.”

Jeremy swallowed hard. “Finish eating,” he told Rory. “I'll be back soon.” He turned and hurried into the house, praying that Chanel was okay.


Nicole wasn't in the office when Alison and came in, but Sally was.

“She's paying her respects to Doug Williams,” Sally told Alison. “What can I do for you?”

Alison said, “I kind of have a story, but she might not want me to do it and if not, that's okay.”

“Don't you go shooting your pitch down before you even give it,” Sally said, smiling slightly. “What’s up?”

ALison sighed. “I don’t know if you know,” she said slowly, “but I have a brother whose in jail for the next two decades or so.” She looked away, embarrassed.

“Better that than one who’s dead,” Sally said, thinking of Marcus. “Mine got shot by the cops.” She blinked hard.

“I’m so sorry.” Alison sighed. “Anyway, the thing is… everyone says it’s obvious he’s guilty, but I’m not so sure?”

“You asking me or telling me?”

Alison twisted her hair. “That’s the thing. Part of me thinks I just don’t want my brother to be guilty. I mean, they found him passed out in his car on the median, with too many beer cans to count in the back seat, so it’s pretty obvious what happened. He got drunk, got behind the wheel, and got lucky cause he could have killed a whole lot of people on his way to that median.”

“If that’s how it went down,” Sally said. “But you don’t believe it is.”

“I don’t know what to believe.” Alison held her hands out. “Like I said, it looks pretty open and shut. So maybe I’m in denial. But Josh says he doesn’t remember drinking anything that night. My parents think he’s lying cause he’s embarrassed, but my friend Dani pointed out that even if he got blacked out drunk, which he did if he really drank all those beers, he would remember drinking them.”

Sally nodded, her lips a thin line. “So there’s two possibilities here, and it seems like the more likely one’s someone drugged him and set him up for a fall.”

“Maybe,” Alison said. “Or maybe it’s just me wishing it cause I don’t want to think my brother could do something that irresponsible.” She bit her lip. “I-if someone framed him, and that’s a big if, it would be a big story. But like I said, chances are I’m rationalizing cause this is my brother we’re talking about, so…”

“You’re trying real hard to convince yourself of that,” Sally said. “Why?”
Alison stared at her feet. “Everyone thinks I’m wrong,” she said, her voice cracking. “You and Dani are the only people who have ever believed me about this. E-even Emily, who has known Josh her whole life… she thinks that he’s guilty as hell and I just don’t want to accept what’s right in front of my eyes.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Sally said, “but I have my doubts. You have instincts they don’t have. You know your brother and you know things aren’t adding up. Now, Nicole has final say, but if you ask me, the only question here is what took you so long to get started?”

“Right.” Ailson sighed so deeply her whole body shook. “I guess I figured that if everyone else thought he was guilty, it had to be me that was seeing wrong.”

Sally shook her head slightly. “You’ll get that a lot in this business. A lot of the things we uncover make mincemeat out of what everyone thought was common knowledge, and sometimes you’re gonna run up against people who are fighting a losing battle against the truth. Some people would rather silence the messenger or call her a liar than admit what they always thought was completely wrong. You can’t let them talk you out of what you know in your heart to be true, not if you’re gonna be the reporter I know you want to be. You gotta be willing to stand firm in the face of all that opposition and let them think whatever they’re gonna think of you while you go about the business of finding the truth. If you start digging into what really happened the night your brother was arrested,, your family might think you’re out of your mind or in denial. Your brother might even be too scared of hoping to be set free to support what you’re trying to do for him. Don’t you let that sway you. You do what you know you need to do.” Sally tapped some keys. “I”ll text Nicole to get your official permission to look into this on its way. In the meantime, give me your brother’s full name and let me see if I can get the police report from the night of the arrest so you have someplace to start.”