Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 248,998 times)

[André DiMera]

Victor and Maggie are definitely right about this, and I hope Melissa tells them the truth!

I hope J.J.’s right about them not being messed with anymore. Wonder what Hope wants.

Can’t wait to see what Claire thinks about this!

It’s good to know the reasons why Valerie didn’t help Hannah when she was arrested. So glad she and Abe talked!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[tghca]

Even if Victor and Maggie are right what difference does it make? Sarah yeah she's an alcoholic but who is the catalyst for that? None other than Maggie because she married Victor and Victor adding his 2 cents is just making everything worse because he should know that Sarah hates his guts and maybe just maybe had he not come to Nashville...they could have got Sarah help more quickly and she wouldn't be as out of control as she is right now...Victor is just as big a catalyst as Maggie is

Valerie and Abe spending all this time together, it makes me wonder if something will happen between these 2? I definitely wanna see an Abe/Valerie/David triangle

There should be more love triangles on this show of Breaking Hearts

[Kpatch]

Sarah was crazy to think she could fool Maggie.

I'm glad JJ and Paige are finally reconnecting romantically.

[heroicmuse]

Week 232 - 2

“I’d rather explain inside,” Hope told JJ. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course,” JJ said. Hope came in and smiled at Paige, who was standing there with her arms crossed. “Paige. Just the person I wanted to see.”

Paige didn’t smile back. “Do I need to call my lawyer?”

“Relax, honey. I’m not here as a cop. I’m actually here because I need your help with a family matter.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed and she remembered Hope saying she needed her help right before she questioned her about Jill’s murder for the first time. “What family matter?”

Hope sank down into the couch. “It’s Ciara. She… she’s going down the wrong path and I don’t know what to do. Aiden thought this was a bad idea, but I thought maybe the two of you can help somehow.” She turned towards JJ. “You’ve been where she is, doing crazy and illegal things and not caring about the consequences.” She turned back towards Paige. “And you’ve spent time in jail so you can make it clear to her what it’s like.”

“Back up a sec,” JJ said. “Ciara’s not smoking weed, is she?”

“No. Thank God she hasn’t found that yet. Or alcohol either.” Hope sighed. “But she did do something very illegal and she’s lucky not to have been arrested.”

Paige’s eyes widened. “By you?”

“No. But I couldn’t have done anything about it if her principal called the police on her.” Hope tapped on her knees, trying to quell her anxiety. “When the principal brought up the possibility, my heart just stopped. But Ciara isn’t taking it seriously, not one bit. All I’m getting from her is a lot of eye-rolling and back-talking. She thinks I’m overreacting and maybe I am, but I’ve been a cop for a long time and when I see the path she’s headed down…”

“I get it,” JJ said. “She’s putting you through the same thing I put my mom through way back when.”

Hope nodded slightly. “You’ve been there, and you’re so good with Chase I thought…”

“We’ll talk to her,” JJ said, “but it would help if we knew what the hell she’s getting into.”

“Right,” Hope said. “This is embarrassing, but… she hired someone to hack into the school computers to get Claire registered.”

“She what?” Paige said. “How did she even… never mind, I don’t want to know.”

“Me either,” Hope said. “But she’s suspended for two weeks and the principal was thinking about expelling her, so you can see why I want this nipped in the bud.”

“I’ll call her. She might be open to some girl time. N-not that I’m in the best shape to give it to her, I’m kind of jumpy still after jail, but…”

“That’s fine. In fact, it might work out better. If she sees the effect jail had on you…”

“It’s not like doing the right thing kept me out. Or Squeaky either.”

“Squeaky?” Hope frowned.

“Aka Hannah Martin,” JJ told her. “Julie’s granddaughter, she got locked up for an even stupider reason than Paige did.”

“Right,” Hope said. She stood. “I really am sorry that you spent three months in jail,” she told Paige. “I tried to tell Roman he was wrong but he wouldn’t listen. Anyway, I’d better get back to the station to pick up Ciara. I left her with Horowitz to try to make an impression.”

“Hold up a sec,” JJ said. “Before you go, I wanna ask you something.”

Hope raised an eyebrow. “Off the record?”

JJ nodded. “Police matter, actually. I guess.” He opened his phone. “I’ve been looking into the Hannah Martin thing and someone doesn’t like it.”

“This afternoon an anonymous source met with him and told him to drop the story or else,” Paige added.

Hope looked concerned. JJ said, “I didn’t go to you right away cause I didn’t have any proof she said anything. She wouldn’t give me her name or let me record her. But now she slipped up.” He showed her the text:

Text from: -Blocked Number-
I just watched Nicole’s show. I didn’t hear her say what I told you to have her say. LAST CHANCE. Do what you’re told or there WILL be consequences.

“Consequences?” Hope asked.

JJ nodded. “She said she’d make sure Hannah stays in jail and Paige goes back.”

Hope’s lips were thin. “Did she say anything else?”

“Just that she’ll ruin my career if I tell anyone what she said. I was trying to be smart and get around her blackmail but she’s onto me and if Paige gets arrested again - “

“That’s not happening,” Hope said. “It’s bad enough we’re under investigation for what happened to Hannah Martin, no cop is going to arrest Paige a second time without a very good reason.”

“What if she makes it look like I didn’t go to therapy, though?” Paige asked. “The judge made it clear if I don’t go she’s issuing a warrant for my arrest.”

“I don’t think she can do that, honey,” Hope said. “But whoever this is might not be stable, she’s already escalated her threats because she didn’t get her way. So I want to find out who she is and stop her from bothering JJ before this goes any further.”

Paige nodded, but she squeezed JJ’s hand tightly. “You can do that, can’t you? There’s not any chance she’s going to get close enough to him to hurt him, is there?”



“Well, that’s that,” Warden Jefferson said, turning off the TV. “Nicole Walker just told the world that one of my prisoners is in jail for being black and implied that I’m not treating her right.”

“It could be worse,” Thorpe said, squeezing her hand. “Right now it’s all insinuation. Besides, you’re the same color the Martin girl is, how can anyone believe you’re mistreating her because of the color of her skin?”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that.” Warden Jefferson pushed her hair behind her ear. “Hannah Martin has something on me,” she said. “Around New Years, the crap hit the fan. One of the guards found a knife in Paige Larson’s bed and her bunkmate confessed to putting it there. Bunkmate went to segregation even though it was clear she was covering for someone. We thought she was covering for Larson but it turned out she was covering for another friend. Tiana Harris. But I figured, we already had someone in custody for the knife, why not leave it alone? Only then Harris had some friend of hers pull a blade on Martin. Now, nothing happened, the guards got her and Harris both before anything went down, but that girl could get all overdramatic with the press and make it sound like she was inches away from an early grave and there goes my job.”

Thorpe let his breath out slowly. “And mine. I sent Hannah Martin to your jail. Paige Larson too.”

“So?” The warden crossed her arms. “Not like anyone knows about us. Besides, you got too good a reputation for them to think you were sending girls to jail because of me."

"True. There's no probable cause to accuse me of anything untoward. But that student reporter already made me look terrible after my decision in the Larson case and the press is at it again. I already got another interview request about Hannah Martin. This time from JJ Deveraux.”

“From who now?”

“Nicole Walker’s intern. From everything I’ve heard, he’s fair, and last year when Salem U tried to oust him via a secret meeting I issued an injunction against them doing any such thing -- a decision I’m very proud of. But he’s also Paige Larson’s boyfriend so now that I’ve got two decisions he considers questionable… well, I wouldn’t blame him if he were out for blood.”

“Well, they didn’t mention you at all, so you’re safe for now. Me, on the other hand…” Warden Jefferson sighed. “I put the fear of God into Martin, made it clear it’s in her best interest to keep the incident with Harris to herself. But for all I know, it did more harm than good.”

“I don’t want to know what that means. But regardless, I know you are very convincing. You convinced me to give us a chance, didn’t you?” Judge Thorpe smiled slightly. “And I’m glad you did.”

Warden Jefferson put her head on his chest. “Me too. As tough as I am, I need tenderness sometimes and you give me that.”

Judge Thorpe stroked her hair. “Gladly.” He sighed. “I have to wonder, though… I ignored the calls but they didn’t as much as say I was not reachable for comment. I know they’re eager for a story, so why are they making it seem like I’m not part of it?”

“I don’t know.” Warden Jefferson’s face was blank. “Maybe they want you to think they’re dropping that angle so they can ambush you later?”

“Maybe, but something feels off about it. But no matter, I’m a good judge and they’re not going to prove otherwise no matter what they do. So I’m just going to put it out of my mind and enjoy my time with you.” He kissed the top of Warden Jefferson’s head.

“Good idea,” Warden Jefferson said, tilting her head up and kissing him again. But when she put her head back on his chest, she looked worried.


Aiden was staring into space while he sat with Justin in the conference room.

“Aiden?” Justin said. “You all right?”

Aiden rubbed his temples. “Sorry. I’m… I’m not in the right headspace after Hope’s visit.”

Justin frowned. “What happened?”

“Nothing I wanna talk about. Ciara got herself in trouble at school, that’s all.” Aiden made himself smile. “It’ll all come out in the wash, I’m sure. But I think I’m gonna head home for the night, spend some time with my family. Why don’t we pick this up tomorrow?”

Justin’s phone rang. “You can. I can’t. That’s Gabi’s father. Excuse me.” He got up and walked away.

Aiden got up too. Before he could go, though, Valerie walked into the room.

“I’m sorry to bother you at what I’m sure is the end of a busy day,” Valerie said, “but I told your receptionist this was important. I’m Hannah Martin’s mother. I need to talk to the lawyer in charge of her case right away.”



Eduardo paced back and forth while on the phone. “So what does it mean, the judge leaving? Will Gabriella get a new judge? That is not good enough! I had two daughters in jail for nothing and I am grateful the one has been released but the second should not be languishing behind bars either. She risked her life for the ISA, she could have been killed and if not that sold into sexual slavery in a country where it would be hard to get to her. And now the judge disappears and she is punished for that too? You must do something other than tell me we have to wait!”

There was a knock on the door. Eduardo looked and saw it was Shane. He said, “Call me back with a better news.” Then he hung up and answered the door.

“Senor Donovan! Gracias a dio. I just heard a bad news, that the judge ran away so they still are not honoring Gabriella’s contract. I assume the ISA has heard and will do something?”

“Possibly,” Shane said. “I’ll contact them and insist they do. However, that’s not why I’m here.”

Eduardo paled. “Something happened to Nina? Or to Rafael?”

“No. Your family is alive and well, though I do want to drop in on Paige sometime soon and make sure she’s getting on properly now that she’s been released.”

“I will go with you. I saw her soon after and she was like a ghost. But at least she is free. Now if we can get Gabriella out too I will be a happy man.”

“I’ll see what I can do. But I’m afraid you will have to see if she’s home waiting for you when you get back from Kentucky.”

“Kentucky?”

“Yes. I received a call this morning. The ISA agent who was working that black market baby case in your absence has disappeared and that means one of three things. He’s been captured, he’s been killed - “

“Or he’s defected to the wrong side.” Eduardo crossed his arms. “This has what to do with me?”

“You are our most trusted agent. You did excellent work in the Weston case, working alongside the FBI, and they believe you can do so again. I’ve been asked to recruit you for this mission and not to take No for an answer.”

[André DiMera]

So glad J.J. told Hope about the threat from that crazy lady. And that Paige is gonna talk to Ciara.

I doubt that Thorpe is as safe as he thinks he is. Jefferson is right to be worried. She’s been screwing up big time.

Glad Valerie came to talk to Hannah’s lawyer.

I don’t think Eduardo’s going to like this, especially since the ISA hasn’t made good on their promise of getting Gabi out of jail.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[tghca]

JJ and Paige showed Hope the text but they have no way of proving that the source sent it even though they all know it is her. She obviously sent it from a blocked number so whoever this woman is, she's always 2 steps ahead of JJ and the cops. Hope can get her people on this but there is only so much the Salem PD can do. It isn't like they can track the source because she probably used a burner phone and then could have got rid of it as a way not to be tracked.

The judge and the warden are in cahoots together conspiring more and I love it

Paige is gonna talk to Ciara...but will Ciara be willing to listen to Paige? Now that is the million dollar question

I love that Eduardo Hernandez is being a concerned father because he has one of his daughters still in prison while the other one is out and he wants both of his daughters out...but Eduardo is going back into the field

I mean he's a spy that is what they do and he's a damn good one too...probably one of the ISA's best agents but if he goes back into the field then I wonder how long he'll be gone for?

[Kpatch]

I've missed seeing Eduardo!

Interesting that Hope would turn to Paige and JJ for help with Ciara. I don't blame Paige for not completely trusting Hope.

[heroicmuse]

Week 232 - 3
Aiden cleared his throat. “The lawyer who’s actually working on your daughter’s case isn’t here right now, but maybe I’ll do. I’m Aiden Jennings, the head of this law firm.”

“Valerie Martin,” Valerie said, shaking hands with Aiden. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you but I’d rather not have to deal with my daughter having been in jail for eight months over this nonsense."

“Right,” Aiden said. “Well, let’s go across the hall to my office and I’ll see what I can do for you. Right this way.”

Aiden took Valerie to his office. She looked around as she settled into her chair. “So you got your law degree at University of Michigan. Is that a good school? I’m afraid I don’t know anything at all about law schools.”

“It’s top tier,” Aiden told her, “but I think what you’re really asking is are we good enough to take your daughter’s case, and I can assure you we are. A couple years ago, the cops trampled all over a client’s rights and I took them on. We won to the tune of 50 million dollars and the police department enacting significant reforms, so I have no doubt we can right the injustices in your daughter's case too.”

“Of course. I didn't mean to question your abilities. I’m sure that if this friend of my daughter’s chose you, she has absolute confidence in you.”

“She does, and with good reason.” Aiden leaned forward. “So what can I help you with?”

“For one thing, I want to give you all the information I have about the other girl my daughter was with when she was arrested. The police let this girl get away scot-free and after the way things went… well, if my baby had to spend almost a year in jail, this girl should at least spend a night in the holding cells.”

Aiden nodded. “I can’t promise the police will do anything with that information, but it may help us convince a judge to convert your daughter’s sentence to probation, which is what we’re hoping for.”

“Probation,” Valerie repeated. “What exactly does that mean? I’m sorry if that’s a stupid question, but no one in my family has ever gone to jail before and all I know about any of this is what I’ve seen on television.”

“There’s no stupid questions,” Aiden reassured her. “First things first. The basic idea is that probation’s a trial run to see if she can live in the free world without getting into trouble. She gets out of jail but she has to follow a bunch of rules or else she goes back. By the way, do you have a place set up for her to stay once she gets out? The judge is gonna wanna know he doesn’t have to worry about her getting in more trouble trying to survive on the streets.”

“Of course. I don’t know what Hannah’s told you, but I love her very much and want her to come home. That wasn’t why I didn’t pay her bail. I just saw a good child going bad and I was desperate to get her to take this as a wake-up call and change her ways.”

Aiden’s eyes flitted to a photo of him and Hope with the kids, then away. “I understand.” He picked up a pen. “I can’t tell you what your daughter said or didn’t say but I can assure you that just from our brief conversation I can tell you care about her.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said. “So probation… I assume she’d be required to live with me?”

“Not necessarily, though I’d recommend it. She’d be required to register her address with the probation department and if she moves she’s gotta update it right away, failure to do so could be grounds for revoking her probation and sending her back to jail.” Valerie nodded, her lips thin and her eyes wide. “Now if the judge’s in a lenient mood he’ll order informal probation, which means she gets to live her life and as long as she follows the rules and doesn’t break any other laws, she’ll be fine. But if he thinks she needs it, he’ll insist on having her check in with an officer weekly to make sure she’s on the straight and narrow. Either way, I’m guessing he’s gonna order regular drug and alcohol testing cause she was convicted of an alcohol-related offense. Now we can fight that given how ridiculous the charges were but - “

“No, don’t,” Valerie said. Aiden frowned and Valerie said,  "I know I don’t really have a say in this, but she was hanging out with a troublemaker who I have no doubt drank and used regularly. So if she is going to be out, I want to know she’s drug free and I want to discourage her returning to hanging out with that awful girl she called her best friend.”

“That’s something I have to talk to her about, not you,” Aiden said, “but I’ll take your opinion into account. Now, you said you had info about this other girl. Does she have a felony record by any chance?”

“God, I hope not. Her name is Natalie Green and she lives in East Salem, though I don’t know the address. Why my daughter latched onto her I’ll never know because she’s nothing but trouble.”

Aiden wrote that down. “We’ll want to find out. Most likely a condition of probation’s gonna be not hanging out with known felons. She’s gonna have to go to school or work full time, they’re not gonna want her having too much free time on her hands, and she’s gonna be barred from leaving the state til her probation’s done.”

Valerie frowned. “Oh.”

“There a problem?”

Valerie sighed. “Hannah’s father and I are… separated. He lives in California.”

“I can see if I can get a waiver for her to visit him, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Right. Of course. Whatever you can do for Hannah, I’ll be grateful.” Valerie opened her purse. “And one more thing, Mr. Jennings. I don’t know what arrangements you made with my daughter, but I really should be paying for this.”

Aiden waved that away. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to take the case on pro bono, I take about 20% free of charge to try to level the playing field for indigent persons.”

“My daughter wouldn’t be indigent if it weren’t for me,” Valerie said. “I refused to pay for a lawyer when she was first arrested and if I had she probably wouldn’t have had to wait eight months for a chance at coming home. I can’t go back and correct that mistake but the least I can do is pay for your services now. So please, name your price and I’ll pay it.”



Hope frowned. “I’ll need to borrow your phone,” she told JJ. “Our tech department should be able to get around the number blocking and find out who the phone number belongs to.”

“For how long?” JJ asked. “I need my phone, Hope, I’m in the middle of working on a story. Plus you know how my mom is, if she can’t get ahold of me she’s gonna freak out.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you come to the station with me? While the tech department is working on your phone, I’d like to have you sit down with our sketch artist to see if we can get a better idea of what this woman looks like and I’d like to ask you some more questions about this conversation you had with her to see if we can get any leads on who she is.” She turned towards Paige. “Did you see her too, honey?”

“Not really. I was at another table with Bev. But I’m coming with you anyway.” Paige grabbed her purse. “And even though JJ’s just a witness, I want Aiden or Mr. Berger there too.”

Hope crossed her arms. “If that’s what you two want, fine, but JJ isn’t in trouble. I’m just going to try to get some more information about the person who deserves to be.”

“That’s what we want.” Paige’s voice was hard. “I’m sorry, Hope, but after what happened to me I’m not taking any chances. You told me I wasn’t a suspect when you questioned me about Jill and the next thing I knew Roman made me one and he didn’t stop digging until he found a reason to arrest me. So I learned my lesson the hard way. I’m never talking to a cop again without a lawyer even if I’m not the person you’re interested in and I don’t think JJ should either.”

Hope raised an eyebrow. “JJ?”

“If it makes Paige feel better for Aiden to be in the room, then that’s what I want.”

“All right, then. I’ll call him on the way. Come on.”

Hope left. Paige said to JJ, “I’m sorry if you think I’m being ridiculous, but after everything we’ve both been through, and Squeaky too, I’m not taking any chances.”

“I get it.” JJ crossed his arms. “Look, I don’t want you to worry, all right? I’m gonna have Aiden in the room or whatever, but just so you know, this time, Hope’s on our side. Besides, she’s not the one who put you in jail.”

“Yeah, well, any cop can go from friend to enemy in the blink of an eye, if they get something stupid in their head…” Paige shuddered. “This stupid blackmailer belongs in jail, not you, so let’s hope that’s what happens.” She took JJ’s hand. He could feel hers sweating again. He swallowed hard, trying to ignore how worried he was that jail had changed Paige forever and she was never gonna be whole again.


Roman held up his hand. “Everyone just hold on. This whole thing is my fault, no one else’s. Now look, I wasn’t trying to get into your business, Chelsea, but for better or worse I’m a cop and my instincts told me you were pregnant whether you said so or not. You weren’t drinking, you were getting calls from doctors, and you and Max were always putting your heads together and saying something you didn’t want anyone else hearing. Besides, you think I don’t remember what Marlena looked like when she was pregnant with Sami and Eric? You had the same kind of light in your face she did when she found out, so it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was what.”

“Right,” Chelsea said. “Sorry. It’s just, Max and I have been trying for so long and the doctors said because of all that scarring from years ago there was no way I would conceive naturally and that the pregnancy could be high risk. And the first two times we tried artificial insemination it didn’t take. So for me to actually be pregnant… you can understand that I’m a little superstitious, can’t you?”

“Yeah,” Roman said. “I can. Now how far along are you?”

“Nine weeks. They say after 15 miscarriages are a lot less likely so if you don’t mind waiting til then to tell the rest of the family…” She looked at Frankie. “Or you either, please.”

Frankie held his hands up. “It’s not like Eve has anything to say to me besides ‘get lost’ and there’s no one else for me to tell.”

“There’s plenty of people more worth spending time with than Eve Donovan,” Roman said. “It’s bad enough Eric’s under her spell, don’t you start too.” Frankie scowled and Roman said, “Anyway, let’s get back to what I was saying before you got all upset. With the baby that no one knows about on the way, don’t you think it’d be better to set down roots in Salem? Max here could run the Pub just like Ma and Pop did and you two would have a place to live, food to eat, a guaranteed income that’s enough to raise a child on.”

Max and Chelsea looked at each other. Max said, “If you asked Kayla, I bet she’d recommend an obstetrician right here in town who’s familiar with high risk pregnancies.”

“And you’d have a ton of family right here willing to love the hell out of that baby once it’s born,” Roman added.

“Right,” Chelsea said. “I was going to have to quit my job soon anyway, I figured sooner or later I’d end up on bed rest. So… okay. Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this,” Max repeated. He and Chelsea hugged and kissed.

[André DiMera]

Glad Aiden told Valerie how things are likely to go. Wonder if he’ll accept Valerie paying.

I have the same feeling. It makes sense that Paige feels like she can never trust cops again.

So glad Max and Chelsea are staying in Salem!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Valerie can afford to pay. Aiden should save his fee waiver for someone who needs it.

It seems right that Max should run the pub. I had him running the pub in one of my stories also. Maybe two of them.

[heroicmuse]

Week 232 - 4
“Uncle Justin!” JJ said when Justin came into the room at the police station where he and Paige were waiting for Hope. “What are you doing here?”

“You might have forgotten that I’m a lawyer,” Justin said, “but since I work with Aiden and he’s with another client right now here I am. Now, I spoke with Hope and she made it clear you’re not in any trouble. She just wants to get some information from you about the person who’s harassing you.”

“Right.” JJ looked at Paige, then away. “I’m cool with you staying in the room if you want.”

“That’s fine.” Justin settled into his seat. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.”

“While I got you here, you know anything about Judge Thorpe?” JJ asked.

Justin hesitated. “I really shouldn’t tell you this, but he disappeared on me today. I was supposed to go before him to get a client out of jail but - “

“What client?” Paige interrupted. “It wasn’t Squeaky, was it?”

“I can’t tell you who she was,” Justin told her. “The point is, we didn’t get a hearing because Judge Thorpe had some sort of emergency and left the courthouse before I got there.”

JJ frowned. “What the hell kind of emergency?”

“That’s what I want to know. I tried to push the court clerk a little but she didn’t budge. She said he told her to reschedule all his cases and that was that.” JJ stared at him, his eyes wide and Justin said, “I can see the wheels turning. What’s up?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering, does he have just one clerk?”

“Not sure. Most judges have two or three plus a receptionist. Why?”

“Cause.” JJ squeezed Paige’s hand. “The bitch who’s messing with me said she’s his clerk but for all I know she made that up to try to scare me into doing what she wants. Think you can find out for me who his clerks are?”

“I can get a list,” Justin said, “but as your uncle I have to ask… do you think poking the hornet’s nest is a good idea? Obviously this woman has some connection to Thorpe. She wouldn’t try to blackmail you if she didn’t. So even if she lied about exactly what that connection is don’t you think you should sit on this until she’s in custody?”

JJ’s eyes flashed. “Seriously? Look, it’s obvious Thorpe has something to hide. He locked Paige up for no reason and Hannah too, she should be free right now to start meeting the family she didn’t know she had and she’s not cause of this judge! And you just told me he screwed things up for your other client too. Whatever he’s hiding, it’s big enough to get someone scared or else they wouldn’t be messing with me. Now I wanna make sure me and Paige are safe, that’s why I’m here waiting for Hope, but no way in hell am I dropping this, not when innocent people could be getting locked up cause of him.”

“I’m not saying sit on it forever, but like you said, safety comes first. Is waiting a few days, even a few weeks, gonna make that much of a difference?”

JJ was going to say something, but before he could, Paige said, “Of course it will.” She pressed her arms tight against her chest. “I might not be a reporter like JJ is, but I know that TV news is fast paced and if you don’t follow up on a story today it’ll be gone by tomorrow. Besides, the longer JJ waits, the more bad decisions this judge gets to make without anyone even looking twice at what he’s doing. I’ve been to jail and it’s not what you think it is if you haven’t been. It’s not even that you’re locked up far away from everyone and everything you know, that’s bad enough, it’s that you have no control over anything and no privacy and the guards are as bad as some of the prisoners, if not worse. It was so bad that I have nightmares about it almost every night and it’s hard for me to let JJ touch me and the last thing I want is to ever go back there, but if that’s what it takes for him to expose this judge, I’ll do it anyway because that’s how important this is.”

“Ah, the reckless idealism of youth,” Justin said. “I had it once too, but as someone who’s older and hopefully wiser now, I really encourage the two of you to ask yourselves if this is really worth the risk. You just don’t know what this person will do, she could be so unhinged - “

“You know what?” JJ said.

Hope came in. “Sorry that took so long. I wanted to make sure Horowitz was okay with watching Ciara for a little while longer.”

“Why don’t I go see her?” Paige asked. “It’ll probably do me some good to get out of this room, and I’m sure Officer Horowitz would rather be doing police work than babysitting.”

“That’s sweet of you, honey, but if you want to be here you don’t have to - “

“No, it’s okay.” Paige turned towards JJ. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Uh uh. Fact, it’s good to see you acting like your old self.” JJ kissed Paige lightly. “I’ll catch up with you when I’m done here, all right?”

Paige hugged him. “I hope you can give them enough to catch this stupid woman. I’ll feel better once she’s behind bars instead of Squeaky. Or me.”

JJ hugged her back and they kissed again, then Paige left.

“Okay,” Hope said. “You ready, JJ?”

“Yeah,” JJ said, “I am. But I changed my mind. I don’t need a lawyer, not if it's this one.”

Justin's eyes narrowed. "I really think - "

Hope said, "Justin, don't. JJ's not in trouble and I don't want to waste time."

“Fine,” Justin said. “You may be mad at me now, JJ, but I said what I said for your own good. I hope you don’t learn that the hard way.” He left, letting the door slam closed behind him.

“Do I want to know what that was about?” Hope asked.

“You don’t,” JJ said. “Can we get this over with?”

Hope nodded. “Begin at the beginning,” she said, turning on her tape recorder. “When was the first time the suspect contacted you?”


“I still don’t see why, you know… why we had to come back here,” Abigail said. She was brushing her hair in the foyer while she waited for T. “T could have come to the doctor’s office to get me.”

Jennifer made herself smile. “What kind of date would that be? Besides, you wanted to get ready, didn’t you?”

“You don’t have to… you know, you’re going too far to make it look like you like this.”

Jennifer’s smile faded. “I can’t win, can I? No matter what I say you get mad at me.”

“That’s not true!”

“Isn’t it?” Jennifer crossed her arms. “What do you want from me, Abigail? Yes, I have concerns but after talking to Dr. Asher it’s more obvious than ever that i have to let you make your own decisions about a lot of things, including your dating life. But if I back off you get just as upset as if I hover and I can’t help wondering whether I’m ever going to get anywhere with you, if I’m ever going to get my daughter back.”

Abigail’s mouth moved silently. “What I want is…” She stared into space. “I don’t have the words to tell you. I… I want things to be different but not… you can’t just pretend, you have to, you know… you can’t say you trust me and then really you don’t.”

“I can’t feel what I don’t feel. I can only back off and hope for the best.”

“I’ll be fine.” Abigail’s voice was flat. There was a knock on the door and she went to get it.

“Look first to make - “ Jennifer began, then bit her lip. “Never mind.”

Abigail let T in. “Wow,” he said. “You look... I’m speechless.”

“I’m speechless all the time,” Abby said. “But you’re… not pretty, that’s what you say to girls. The boy version of that word.”

“And you’re the girl version.” T took her hand. “I’ll have her back by 9, don’t worry,” he said to Jennifer. “We’re just going to eat and talk and enjoy each other’s company.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Jennifer said.

“Good,” T said, “cause I mean nothing but the best for your daughter. Come on, Abigail.”

Abby let T put his arm around her as they turned to go. “Have a good time!” Jennifer called, but the door was already closing behind them. She stood staring at it, blinking back tears.



“Well?” Maggie said to Melissa. “Is Victor right, Melissa? Has your sister’s drinking been behind her avoiding me?”

“She - “ Melissa began.

“Shut up!” Sarah said. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You told me you were going to be a long time and then you hid vodka in the fridge because you wanted Mom to find me this way just so you could be the good sister and I could be the loser.”

“I did not!” Melissa snapped. “But I told you this morning, Sarah, I’m done playing games! I told you to clean up, not to get drunk again!” She turned towards Maggie. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I wanted to tell you a long time ago but Sarah begged me not to.”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Sarah shouted. “Some sister you are! You always were a tattle-tale, weren’t you?”

“Seriously?” Melissa snapped back. “Haven’t I been good to you, Sare? Haven’t I given you a place to stay rent-free, covered for you every time you were too hungover to get out of bed? I even lied to Mom I don’t know how many times, all to protect my baby sister, but you… you’re ungrateful.”

“And you’re a bitch!” Sarah said. “I wouldn’t have to drink if you were nicer to me.”

“STOP!” Maggie said. “I can’t believe this, any of this.”

“I can,” Victor said. “It all fits together now. The ungrateful little wench has been using her sister’s money to drink herself into oblivion while calling her names that I usually reserve for the likes of the tramps that Brady insists on bringing home.”

“Is that supposed to be helpful?” Maggie asked.

“I suppose not, but this is.” Victor squeezed her hand. “Melissa, come with us. The three of us are going to go have a nice, drama-free dinner. Drunken sots not invited. And if I were you, I’d take me up on my offer to make arrangements for all three of us at a nice hotel. They say misery loves company so let’s deny her any. Don’t come back here until after we leave, and if I were you I’d think twice before returning even then.”

“That’s so cruel,” Melissa objected. “Sarah’s my only sister.”

“Well, then,” Victor said, “let’s see if blood runs thicker than alcohol through her veins, shall we?” He turned towards Maggie. “You’re the one who goes to those meetings day in and day out. Do you agree with me?”

Maggie said, weakly, “I’m… I’m in no place to think about anything right now. Let’s just go to dinner while Sarah sobers up and then we’ll take it from there.” She had tears in her eyes and she leaned on Victor, unhappily. He put his arm around her while Melissa shook her head sadly at her sister.

“Come on, Melissa,” Maggie said. “Now that I know we can l figure this out together.” Her voice shook.

Melissa took her mother’s free hand and let her lead her out of the room.

[André DiMera]

Of course Justin would be the one to give J.J. bad advice. I’m glad J.J. didn’t listen, and that Paige is gonna check on Ciara.

I can imagine this is hard for Jennifer. I’m glad she’s at least trying to back off a bit.

Victor’s idea is interesting, but I doubt it’ll work. Sarah’s not interested in sobering up.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[tghca]

I think Sarah is gonna get worse and drink more and she is gonna get into a car and drive and plow someone down with her car or get into an accident

JJ is not thinking clearly but I have to agree with Justin because JJ has no idea who he's dealing with

[Kpatch]

Good for Victor for taking charge!

[heroicmuse]

Week 232 - 5

Sarah glared at nothing, remembering Melissa walking out with Maggie and Victor. “Stupid bitch,” she mumbled. “Listening to that - “ A siren went by outside, drowning out what she had to say about Victor, but she said it to herself as loud as she could anyway. “Why would my mother marry that asshole?” she went on. “He doesn’t know a damn thing about family. Doesn’t he have a son whose life he ruined?”

The room was spinning as she got up. She stumbled over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. “Might as well finish this. It’s going to be hours and hours before Melissa’s back, if not days.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh God, Melissa hates me now and she was all I had…” She sobbed, then slammed the fridge closed, suddenly angry. “She’s not going to… to abandon me without a fight. Hell no! I’m going to tell her exactly how I feel.”

Sarah made her way over to the ledge where her purse was. She felt around for her keys, then pulled them out and stared at them.

An engine was roaring towards her as she picked up the ball. She tried to jump back but she was too slow. She heard brakes squealing and smelt burning rubber and then something knocked her down onto the street…

Sarah shuddered. “No, no, no…” she said, tears rolling down her face. “I can’t drive, I’m too messed up.” She struggled to take her car key off her ring so she wouldn’t be tempted but the ring was too small and she was so drunk her fingers didn’t work right. “Damn it!” she said. “Well, I’ll just have to remember to walk.”

She tried to throw her keys back into her purse and missed. Leaving them on the floor, she stumbled out of the apartment, determined to find Melissa and tell her exactly what she thought of her.


David was hunched over his computer, working on a photo, when his phone rang.

“Valerie, hi,” he said. “I was just making something for Hannah. She’s allowed to have photographs, right?”

“She is,” Valerie said, flopping back on the couch in her apartment. “But hold off on that a little bit, sweetheart, wait until you’ve heard the news I called to tell you.”

David froze. “Something tells me you’re not calling just to say you miss me. Something happened to our daughter, didn’t it?“

“No. Thank God, it’s not that. Actually, she may be coming home soon.” Valerie closed her eyes as she rubbed her temples. “She has a lawyer now, David, a real lawyer who is invested in helping her and he’s going to court to try to get her probation instead of jail.”

“Thank goodness.” David smiled. “So you finally gave in, huh? Realized she more than learned her lesson without you withholding help?”

“It’s called tough love. And she needed it more than you know.” Valerie’s voice was hard. “But I didn’t call to have that same old argument again. I called because I think… I think it’s time for you to come home.”

David tightened his grip on the phone. “I am home. You and Hannah are the ones who - “

“David. The lawyer said that while she’s on probation she won’t be allowed to travel out of state. Now I know you have your problems with Salem, but if you don’t come home Hannah won’t be able to see you for a whole other year. And she needs you, David, this happened in part because she didn’t have her father to guide her and God knows she never listens to me.”

David swirled his mouse around and around his screen. “I wish to God you’d never moved to Salem with her.”

“And I wish you hadn’t been too damn stubborn to move with us! But that’s all in the past. It doesn’t matter now and it sure doesn’t help our daughter. She needs you and she is not allowed to go to California. So please, if you won’t come to Salem for me, to support your wife’s dream of giving back to the community she was raised in… do it for Hannah, for our daughter. Don’t make her choose between her freedom and her father. Come home.”

David swallowed hard. “They’re really going to be that cruel? The judge can’t give her an exception to visit her FATHER?”

“Has any judge been fair to her since she was arrested?” Valerie snapped. “A night or two in jail, fine, she deserved that, but eight months… isn’t that more than enough punishment without being denied her father too?”

David glanced at a photo of him and Hannah on his desk, then away. “When’s her hearing?”

“I’m waiting for the lawyer to text me the date, but it’ll be soon. Why?”

“Because I want to be there. I can’t promise I’ll stay permanently but I can at least make the judge see that I’m involved in her life and that it’s not fair to her to deny her the right to visit me.”

“Get a flight, then.” Valerie’s voice was hard. “And David, if the judge refuses to allow her that travel exception - “

“We’ll deal with that then. First let’s get through her hearing and then we’ll figure out the rest of it.” David bit his lip. “And Valerie… I do love you. None of this was ever about that.”

“I know,” Valerie said. “I love you too.”

They hung up. Valerie stared at a photo of her, David, and Hannah together on her phone. She shook her head and hugged the phone against her chest.


“Can you give us any other information about what she looked like?” Hope asked JJ after he’d told Hope everything he remembered about the meeting with the blackmailer. She’d brought the sketch artist in the room too and he was sitting with them.

“I wish. I’m not real good at remembering details cause of my stupid ADHD, it’s like they don’t register in my brain. Plus she never took off that freaking hoodie or her sunglasses. It was like she had it all planned out so she could mess with me and there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do about it.”

“Oh, we can do something about it, all right,” Hope said. “Tech’s working on your phone and we’re going to get a number and hopefully a location. And you’ve given us enough to start building a case if we can just find out who this person is who’s threatening you.”

The sketch artist said, “Mind if I work with you one on one? Maybe I can get some more details out of the back of your mind.”

“Go for it,” JJ said, “but it’s a waste of time. I can’t freaking remember anything.”

“Leave it to me,” the sketch artist said. “I’ll call you when we have something, Detective.”

Hope nodded. “I’ll go check with tech to see if we’ve got anything off the phone.”

Hope left. The sketch artist said, “Now you said she was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses. Was there any hair sticking out from the hoodie?”

JJ frowned. “I don’t think… wait…” He squinted, trying to remember. It was fuzzy but he thought he’d seen several strands of black hair. “She had jet black hair,” he said. “I think.”

“Good. Was the hair straight or curly?”

“Straight, and there were only like a couple strands sticking out.”

The sketch artist nodded. He drew something using a tablet and said, “This look like her?”

JJ looked. “Uh uh. She was shorter and way younger, like my sister’s age, maybe.”

The sketch artist adjusted that. “What about her face shape? Is this right?”

“A little more oval,” JJ said. “Kinda like a drum cymbal.” He watched as the sketch artist adjusted things on his tablet. “Yeah, like that.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Now she had sunglasses and a hoodie…” The sketch artist drew those. “Like that?”

JJ said, “The sunglasses were the kind you can see your reflection in.”

The sketch artist fixed that and said, “You see any distinguishing marks? Birthmark or tattoos, anything like that?”

“I don’t think so.” JJ bit his lip. “I hope all this is right, otherwise we’re right back where we started.”

“I trust your memory.” The sketch artist clicked a button. “This is weird to ask given what started this whole thing, but I need to ask about skin color.” He clicked a button and a bunch of colored squares popped up on the screen. “Show me which of these is closest to hers.”

JJ hesitated, then said, “This one, I think.” He pointed to a light brown square.

“Okay.” The sketch artist clicked that. “And what color was the hoodie?” He opened another swatch of colors.

“That grey one there.” JJ pointed.

The sketch artist clicked. “Okay, now. I need you to take a very close look at the sketch and tell me if anything’s off. If it looks right to you we’ll get Detective Brady back in here to see what’s what.”

JJ looked for a long time. Finally he nodded. “That’s her, as close as I can remember.”



A while later, Hope came back in the room with the sketch and JJ’s phone. She said, “Before I tell you anything, I need you to promise me you’re not going to try to go after this person yourself.”

“I won’t!” JJ said. “I’m too busy chasing down real sources, Hope, I don’t have time to mess with some idiot who’s trying to scare me.” He crossed his arms. “Why are you so freaked out?”

“Because,” Hope said, “if you do anything stupid to retaliate against her you’re going to be the one who ends up behind bars and I won’t be able to do anything to stop it.”

JJ swallowed hard. “I’m way past that, Hope! I get why you’re worried, I know I used to just go off at the drop of a hat. But honestly, I’m not that dude anymore and I haven’t been in a long time. I just wanna know what you found out and what you’re gonna do to keep Paige safe, that’s all.”

“And to keep you safe too,” Hope said. “Okay. We did break the caller ID blocking and it looks like she’s calling from East Salem, though since she was smart enough to disguise herself in person she might have been smart enough to spoof her location.”

“Right.” JJ’s voice was flat. “She work in Thorpe’s office or not?”

“Highly unlikely,” Hope crossed her arms. “If she’s who I think she is, she doesn’t have a high school diploma, let alone a law degree.”

“Who is she?” JJ asked.

“I ran this through facial recognition and it matched 95% to the face of a woman named Paula Jefferson. I don’t think she works for Judge Thorpe, but she does have a definite connection to the criminal justice system.”

“Do me a favor and stop dragging it out,” JJ said. “Who the hell is this woman, and what can she do to Paige?”

“Paula Jefferson,” Hope said, her voice even, “is the daughter of Wanda Jefferson, the warden of Salem City Jail.”


Paige watched Horowitz sitting with Ciara, her heart pounding.

“I’m sorry, Paige,” Horowitz said, “but we have to cuff you. Like Commander Carver said,  you're under arrest for the murder of Jill Larson and for obstructing justice by hiding evidence with the intent of destroying it.” She tightened the cuffs around Paige’s wrists. While Horowitz read her her rights, Paige tried to figure out if the cop was really upset or if she was just imagining it because she was struggling not to cry herself.

She bit her lip now to remind herself that that was all in the past, then made herself hold her head up high as she came into the room.

“Paige,” Horowitz said, smiling slightly. “It’s good to see you.” Her smile faded. “No hard feelings, I hope. If it was up to me I never would have arrested you, not for that nonsense, but I had to go with what Commander Carver wanted."

“I understand.” Paige tried to make herself smile. “No hard feelings, I promise.” She turned towards Ciara, who was staring at her with wide eyes. “I hope you never have to have a conversation like this,” she said. “Your mom told me how close you came to getting arrested today.”

“Um, you’re a million years late,” Ciara said, rubbing her wrists. “Officer Horowitz told me I could go to real jail, not juvie, and I don’t want that to happen so that’s that.”

Paige frowned. She pulled out a chair and sat down across from Ciara. “I hope that’s that,” she said. “I was in jail for three months and it was terrible.”

“I know that,” Ciara said. “I have ears.”

“Her attitude still needs work,” Horowitz said.

“I can see that.” Paige played with her bracelet, remembering how she used to be so good with kids, she used to know just what to say before her life had fallen apart. “Can you give me a minute alone with her?”

“Course. I’ll be right outside.”

Horowitz left. Ciara wriggled and said, “So? Are you going to lecture me too? Cause Mom already told me all about how I’m ruining my life and anyway, I told you, I get it now.”

“You never used to act so mad at everyone,” Paige said. “Why, Ciara? What’s really wrong?”

“I hate that I got in trouble!” Ciara said. “I was just trying to help Claire and now I’m suspended for two weeks and everyone’s treating me like a criminal.” She blinked hard. “I had to go to the suspension room all day and Mom acted like I should be grateful because it was better than juvie. I wasn’t supposed to get in trouble for this!”

“I know how you feel.” Paige twisted her necklace.

“No you don’t! Even when you were in jail everyone was talking about how you didn’t deserve it. If I was arrested they’d all say I told you so.”

Ciara stared down at the table. Paige said, “You know what I think? I think you’re more disappointed in yourself than you want to admit."

“I am not. I just hate how everyone treats Chase like he’s so much better than me when he used to steal things and I never did anything illegal before.”

“And now you got in big trouble and it feels like this can’t be you, this can’t be your life.”

Ciara’s eyes widened with surprise. “How did you know?”

“How do you think I felt when I was arrested? I’d never been in any trouble before either, Ciara, and all of a sudden I was behind bars and it looked like I was going to be there a long time. And I kept thinking, this isn’t supposed to happen to me. Don’t tell JJ, but sometimes I thought it wasn’t fair that it was happening to me instead of him because I didn’t have any record at all and he did. And on top of that, I felt like going to jail was the ultimate proof that I’d made a big mess out of my life even though I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Ciara bit her lip. “I’m too young to have totally messed up.” She swallowed hard. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Paige hesitated, worried she wouldn’t be able to keep that promise, but then she nodded.