Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 248,977 times)

[André DiMera]

Glad Rebecca introduced herself to Bev. I hope Bev’s wring and that Mason will get into that school, even though some of the other mothers, and the principal are elitists.

Well, I’m glad Hannah got out of jail, and that Aiden made it so she wouldn’t have to go back to the prison to be processed. However, those restrictions on her probation are a bit extreme. Maybe the judge thinks she’s trying to impress on Hannah that there are consequences, but it seems to me she’s just being vindictive.

Ooh, I think Judge Walston is putting things together! It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts to this!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 236 - 4
“I sincerely hope that a desire to subvert justice for this young woman was not behind this threat against my family,” Judge Walston said. “My grandson is three years old, and for someone to threaten his wellbeing over a person accused of having an open beer on the street…”

Rafe sighed. “Salem’s got an underbelly that you’re probably lucky enough to have escaped. I’ve experienced it too, people not happy with me being a high-ranking officer in the Salem PD. Even in the FBI I run across people sometimes who’d rather I be the guy answering phones than the guy with a gun and badge cause of where my family’s from. Now Hannah Martin got the cops called on her cause of the color of her skin, so there’s no doubt in my mind some people are sick enough to want her to rot in jail for as long as possible and they don’t care what they have to do to get that.”

Judge Walston rubbed his temples. “I suppose that’s possible. But with all the violent criminals I’ve sent away, surely this has to do with something more important than a teenager charged with the most minor of offenses.”

“Maybe.” Rafe crossed his arms. “You’re holding out on me, Your Honor. What is it you don’t want me to know?”

“Nothing to do with me, or my family,” Judge Walston said. “And perhaps nothing at all.”

“Let me be the one to decide that.” Rafe looked at the open book on Judge Walston’s desk. “Ethical Requirements if a Judge is Compromised,” he read. “You know, someone could get the wrong idea and assume you’ve got yourself in some sort of trouble. Reading about compromised judges, your family being threatened… it’d be easy to put the pieces together and get that you’re in over your head with something.”

“Then you’d be wrong,” Judge Walston said. “I’ve had a superior record for over 30 years in this town, how can you - “

“Oh, I don’t,” Rafe said, “but if you don’t give me the rest of the puzzle pieces on this one, my boss might feel differently. Now look, if you’re covering for someone, I get it. I got a sister in and out of trouble and a brother who’d be in jail for kidnapping if he wasn’t in Bayview. I’ve done stupid things to try to help them out too. But it’s not worth it, trust me. I almost lost my badge and if I get my orders to arrest you on suspicion of corruption, that’s gonna be the end of your career. So instead of falling on the sword for someone who’s not worth it, tell me what you know.”

Judge Walston’s eyes widened. “Now I know how defendants feel when they come before me after a long night of being interrogated by the police. I will remind you that I called you for help, that I am the victim here.”

“Oh, I know that. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what I need to know to stop the scum who is threatening your family. Look, maybe you’re wrong about what you’re thinking, but if you don’t give me a lead we’ll never know, and I’ll be damned if a three-year-old’s gonna pay the price.”

Judge Walston sighed deeply. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. Jimmy comes first.” He stared at the photo on his desk. “There is another judge I know, one who has been a friend for many years and who up until recently had a completely impeccable record. But lately… well, let’s say he is literally in bed with the wrong person.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Any of the people involved in this have names?”

“I hate to tarnish my friend’s reputation when I don’t think he’s capable of something like this. It could ruin his career, even his life, and even if it turns out I'm wrong the stain of such an accusation will never go away. But on the other hand, this morning he approached me and pushed quite hard for me to give Ms. Martin’s case to him. He said that would allow me an extra few hours with my daughter and grandson. I declined his offer, of course, I suggested that perhaps his guilt over having sent this defendant to jail for such a long period of time in the first place was clouding his judgment. He was offended by the suggestion and left the area.”

“So we got an angry judge who wanted Hannah Martin’s case and saw you with your family hours before these threatening photos were taken. And you don’t think - “

“We’ve been friends for 30 years.”

“Regardless, I gotta have his name. Please, your Honor, your grandson’s life could be in the balance here, don’t put your loyalty to your friend above that.”

Judge Walston hesitated, then said, quietly, “His name is Alan Thorpe. Please don’t tell him I told on him.”

“He won’t know it came from you,” Rafe said, “but if he’s involved in this, he’s going down.” He patted Judge Walston’s shoulder.


In Dr. Lowder’s office, Maggie said, “Does my daughter have brain damage from the attack? Is that what you called me in here to tell me?”

“No,” Dr. Lowder said. “Thankfully, she suffered nothing worse than a mild concussion. We’re keeping her a few days for observation… and to detox her in the hopes that she’ll keep that up once she gets out of the hospital.”

Maggie sighed. “I hope so, but I’m afraid that might just be wishful thinking. You see, Sarah is me the year before she was born. When I was drinking regularly, it would have taken a lot more than a knock on the head to get me to put down the bottle and from what I’ve seen, she’s no different. Her sister’s been enabling her for God knows how long. She has no job, no purpose in life. She just drinks her way to oblivion day after day, avoiding me, having her sister make up excuses why she can’t come to the phone so I won’t know how bad it is.”

“So it is as I suspected. Sarah is an alcoholic.” Dr. Lowder leaned forward. “Mrs. Kiriakis, your daughter has liver steatosis.”

Maggie froze. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means that the alcohol is beginning to affect her liver function. Now I told her that if she stops drinking, this is still reversible, but she didn’t want to hear that.”

“I’m sure she didn’t.” Maggie’s face trembled. “And if she doesn’t stop drinking?”

“She could get hepatitis, or worse, she could end up with cirrhosis of the liver. Eventually, her liver could fail.”

“So you’re telling me that drinking could literally kill her?”

“It doesn’t have to be that way. If she stops drinking before the disease progresses... “ Dr. Lowder held out his hands. “I tried to tell her that but she wouldn’t listen. I was hoping that since you’re her mother…”

“I don’t know that it’ll do any good,” Maggie said, “but since this is a matter of life and death I’ll see what I can do.“


Paige stood as soon as Squeaky had been taken out of the courthouse. “Come on,” she said to JJ. “The holding cells at the police station are awful, I want to see if they’ll let me keep Squeaky company til she’s officially released. Besides, I want you to meet her.”

JJ took her hand. “I wanna meet her too. But what about her mom? Don’t you think she should have first dibs on seeing her?”

Paige scowled. “She told me her mom wouldn’t pay her bail or anything, it’s not like she - “

“Cause she thought she was on the wrong path and she was trying to straighten her out!” JJ said. “Like mine did when she finally let Hope lock me up overnight instead of taking me home like she usually did.”

Jennifer patted his hand. “I know how guilty I felt about that. It felt like giving up and if Hope hadn’t convinced me it was the only way to save you… anyway, as bad as I felt, I know Valerie has to feel ten times worse because you were only in jail one night and her daughter’s been behind bars for months on end.” She turned towards Paige, who was standing there with her arms crossed. “There’ll be plenty of time for us to get to know Hannah once she’s released. Valerie and David need this time to reconnect with their daughter, to try to help her understand that they didn’t abandon her to the jail system and they were only doing what they thought was best for her. Give them that chance. Let them try to make amends with her right now.”

“While she’s locked in a tiny cell and can’t get away from them, you mean,” Paige said.

“She’s gonna have to live with them,” JJ said, “so she might as well get used to it now.” He squeezed Paige’s shoulder. “Besides, I could use you by my side while I try to grab a quote from the judge about why she put all those restrictions on Hannah’s probation.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jennifer said. “Go, sweetheart, it’ll keep your mind off how soon Hannah’s going to be released.”

“Actually,” Julie said, coming up to them, “if I could borrow this young lady for a minute I’d be much obliged.”

“Why?” JJ asked. “So you can accuse her of stuff she didn’t do again?”

“JJ,” Jennifer said quietly.

“Actually, I wanted to apologize,” Julie said. “Despite the fact that I was once falsely accused of a murder too, I assumed that this court system had it together and that the police knew what they’re doing when they arrested you. When I heard what you were charged with murder… well, my mind didn't go to my own situation when I was a little older than you. Instead it went to my poor beautiful Nick, collapsing in my arms with two bullet holes in his back because of that cowardly sister of yours, his life snuffed out before he had a chance to show the world that he wasn't the monster they thought he was and that he was going to live up to the Horton name. But after seeing what happened in court today… well, let’s just say my eyes were opened. It’s lucky that the evidence against you didn’t point to my granddaughter because I think certain judges would have been inclined to sentence her to life in prison without hearing the facts.”

“Could have happened to me too,” Paige said. “But apology accepted.”

“Good,” Julie said. “Because I want to have a little welcome home party for Hannah and her father and since these unfortunate circumstances led to you being the only one who really knows her, I thought you would be the best person to help organize it.”

JJ raised his eyebrows. “It’s Paige’s birthday next week too,” he said. “You think we could sneak something in for her while you’re celebrating Hannah getting out of jail?”

Paige reddened. “You don’t have to do anything special for me. All I wanted was Squeaky to come home anyway.”

“Nonsense,” Julie said. “Of course we’ll celebrate your birthday at the same time. Think of it as my way of making up for all those terrible things I said about you when you were in jail. Come on, dear, let’s go find a place to sit down so you can tell me all about my granddaughter and we can plan the kind of party both of you would like.” She took Paige by the arm and began walking her off before Paige could say another word.


Meanwhile, Valerie reached for David’s hand as she said to Aiden, “How soon can we see her?”

“It’s gonna take an hour or two for all the paperwork to be in order,” Aiden told her, "and she's gotta stay locked up til then, but I got plenty of contacts over at the police station, all I gotta do is make a call and they'll let you keep her company the whole time she's waiting."

“All right,” Valerie said. She let her breath out slowly as she pulled her purse higher up on her shoulder. “Coming?” she asked David.

“You go first, darling,” David said. “I want to talk to the lawyer, I’ll catch up in a minute.”

Valerie crossed her arms. “Our daughter is behind bars,” she said, “and you came all this way to support her, so how about you make the effort to see her?”

“I will!” David snapped. “In a minute.”

Valerie glared at him. “What is so important that you can’t - “

“The judge said Hannah needs permission to leave town. I want to find out if there’s any way she can visit me in California while she’s on probation.”

Valerie’s eyes widened. “So you can leave again,” she said quietly. “Hannah and I need you here but you’re trying to find a way to run away again as fast as you can.”

“Val - “

“I’m going to go see Hannah. If you find it in your heart to join me, you’re perfectly welcome to do so.” Valerie walked away.

[André DiMera]

I’m so glad Judge Walston told Rafe that Thorpe tried to get him to back out of the trial. Hopefully, Rafe will find out about what else he’s done.

Glad Dr. Lowder told Maggie everything. I hope she can get Sarah help, but Sarah has to be willing to listen, which I’m not sure she will be.

Can’t wait for Hannah to be free! Glad Julie finally apologized! This party should be interesting.

I’m not surprised David is trying to find a way to get home, sadly.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[tghca]

Sarah may need a liver transplant in order to live

[krw627]

I'm not sure if David is trying to find an escape, or if he's trying to find a way for Hannah to visit while he ties up loose ends with his old job/apartment.

Honestly, if I were him, I wouldn't be running from Salem because of Julie, but because of Valerie. She has been nothing short of awful to him since he's been back. She needs to remember that she is the one who kept Hannah locked up, not David, and that her refusal to help is what cost her daughter almost a year of her life.

[heroicmuse]

Week 236 - 5


Squeaky sat on her bunk, hugging the pillow she’d been given. She almost wished that she’d been sent back to Salem City Jail til she was released so she could say goodbye to Angel. But Angel hadn’t seen her in days, anyway, and probably had forgot all about her by now.

She hoped the cops hadn’t forgot her too. It seemed like a real long time since she’d been locked in here.

Squeaky got up and paced back and forth. She wanted out of this cage. Freedom was supposed to be so close but it was obvious it wasn’t, it was obvious the judge put her in here to torment her more and they were going to leave her here alone for hours, maybe days. Where was her lawyer? He said she’d be out of here in an hour but she was sure it was more than that. Maybe he’d abandoned her, gone off to the next client while the judge and the cops laughed about how they were going to forget her on purpose and leave her here overnight or something.

“Get ahold of yourself, Squeaky,” she said aloud. “You’re losing it, of course you’re getting out of here.”

Footsteps sounded down the hall. Squeaky pressed her head against the bars, watching to see who was coming.

It was her mom.

Squeaky jumped back so that her mom wouldn’t see her like this, clinging to the bars for life like a crazy person.

“Hannah,” Valerie said, her face trembling. “Oh, my baby…”

Squeaky crossed her arms. “Now you’re here?” she said, that same bitter tone that the cops called an attitude sneaking into her voice. “Where were you when they arrested me in the first place?”

“I’m so sorry,” Valerie said. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Sorry? You’re sorry? You have any idea what I’ve been through all these months?” Squeaky’s voice rose without permission. “It’s bad enough I was arrested, humiliated in front of everyone who was walking by, having to put up with them all stopping to stare at me while the cops handcuffed me and put me in the back of their car. But it was all right, I thought, my mom’ll come give them a piece of her mind when she hears and that’ll be that. But then you took their side! You wouldn’t even listen, you wouldn’t let me tell you what they did to me, you just believed I deserved to get arrested! I went to jail over nothing and you just let me sit there for months on end, never came to visit or anything and if it wasn’t for Angel I’d be beat up or dead by now. And now it’s over or it will be when they finally let me out of this stupid cell, and you finally show up and tell me you’re sorry. You really think that’s all it takes and you and me can just go on like nothing ever happened?”

Valerie’s face trembled more and Squeaky was sure her mom was going to cry. But Valerie just said, “First of all, lower your voice. You don’t need the guards coming down here to impose some sanction on you for yelling right before you’re supposed to finally get out of this damn jail.”

Squeaky’s eyes flashed. Let them, she thought, but she didn’t dare say so. She said nothing, just glared at her mother through the bars.

Valerie said, “That’s why I hand to hang up that night, baby, because I was so afraid you’d get in worse trouble when you started yelling at me. I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me. Right.” Squeaky hugged herself tight, still angry. “Were you trying to protect me when you left me to rot in jail over a stupid beer?”

Valerie sighed. “I was, actually, but… I was wrong, very wrong. I should have bailed you out that night and grounded you or something instead of letting the police be the ones to discipline you. But you have to understand, baby, after months of holding my breath while you insisted on hanging out with that stupid Natalie, my worst fear came true that night. Every time you went anywhere with that girl I prayed you came home safe, I prayed I never got the call that I got from you that night. The only thing worse than knowing you’d been arrested would have been finding out you were dead, that you’d been murdered by some psychopath that girl convinced you to meet.”

“Do you have to be so dramatic? I wasn’t ever going to be killed because of Nat.” Squeaky bit her lip. “I was almost stabbed in jail! This girl came after me with some sort of blade and most of the guards didn’t care, if it wasn’t for the only one that did I’d be gone! And you’re worried Nat would have hurt me?”

Valerie gasped. “Thank God you were all right.” She reached through the bars to stroke Squeaky’s cheek but Squeaky jumped back.

Valerie dropped her hand. “You don’t know how sorry I am, baby, and maybe you never will, but just so you know, I never stopped loving you. Everything I did, I did out of love, even if it doesn’t seem like it, even if it hurt you. I didn’t want to see you get in any more trouble than you were already in. I truly thought that you’d be held overnight and then released, if I’d known it would be almost a year…”

“You could have at least came to visit me.”

“You’re right. I could have. That judge talked about taking responsibility, well there’s nothing I can say or do to excuse my choices either, but…” Valerie put her hand to her chest. “The idea of you being behind bars for a year broke my heart so badly I couldn’t bring myself to come see you. I could barely look at you in the courtroom, brought in in chains like our ancestors on the slave ships, there was no way I ever could have gone up to the jail to see you. It would have made it too real that my daughter was behind bars, that my worst nightmare for you was coming true.”

Squeaky pressed her arms tighter against her chest. “But you’re here now,” she said, not wanting to let her mom off the hook yet. “I’m still caged up like a wild animal and you’re here.”

“Yes,” Valerie said. “I’m here like I should have been all along. Look, I know you’re angry at me, and I deserve every bit of your rage, but I am still your mother and you are still my daughter. I handled this situation completely backwards and I’m sorry. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?”


Judge Thorpe played with the edge of the arrest warrant. “We have to be smart about this, Wanda. Now I know that you’re scared that Hannah Martin could sink both of us if she opens her big mouth, but ordering her arrest immediately after she is released will just make things worse. There’s already reporters hungry for a story on either of us. Do you know what that means? We’re not the good guys anymore. We’re under suspicion and if anyone can prove that either of us did anything untoward to Hannah Martin or anyone else, we’ll be the ones brought into court in handcuffs. So. I’m not signing the warrant and then trying to squash Aiden Jennings’ complaints in court. Uh uh. It’s much better to bide our time. The girl will be given probation if she is released at all. She’ll be subjected to a million and one restrictions, and the slightest violation of the rules sends her right back to jail for a minimum of 90 days. So let her enjoy her freedom for a few weeks and then she’ll be under your control again.”

“But what about the meantime? What if she goes right to the press when she’s released? By the time she’s been arrested again I’ll have lost my job and you might have lost yours too.”

“Not going to happen. If she’s stupid enough to go to the press we can discredit her easily. All we have to do is - “

Just then, there was a knock on the door. “Judge Thorpe?” Rafe called. “This is Agent Rafe Hernandez with the FBI.”

Thorpe and Wanda stared at each other, panic-stricken.


“Don’t worry about Mrs. Lockridge,” Rebecca told Bev as they walked down Walnut Street. “Really. She’s a good hearted person even if she comes off as snobby, and I think she just tolerates Melinda Trask.”

“Right. Her.” Bev sighed. “I don’t know what she’s told you about me but we have a history.”

Rebecca nodded. “I know. My father’s a judge, he told me he thought you’d done a lot to turn yourself around since those days.”

Bev’s eyes widened. “You’re related to a judge and you want to give me the time of day?”

“Of course. My father said that was a long time ago and he spoke very highly of you. Besides, we all have a past. I’d hate for anyone to try to keep Jimmy from attending school because of the stupid things I did when I was a teenager.” Rebecca patted Bev’s hand.

“Thanks,” Bev said. “I didn’t think anyone in that whole school would be on my side, I’m kind of a pariah.” She frowned as she saw the knot of people gathered halfway down the block. “What’s going on here?”

Rebecca turned and looked. “Some sort of protest, it looks like. There’s people with signs in front of the S-Mart.”

“I should call my friend JJ, he’s a reporter and he might want to cover this. In fact, mind if I get close enough to hear what they’re saying before we get coffee?”

Rebecca hesitated. “I’ll stay here. It won’t look good for my dad if some reporter’s photo makes it look like his daughter is part of a possibly disruptive protest.”

Bev was disappointed. “I guess we should go then. I just wanted to be able to tell JJ exactly what’s going on.”

“Go ahead. Just be careful in case they get violent.”

“I will,” Bev promised. She walked slowly down the street, her mind half on whether her new friend was going to turn out to be a good friend and half on what was going on.

People were chanting, “Everyone’s money is still green. Be racist and ours won’t be seen.” and “Salem should be for everyone!” A woman with a megaphone was walking back and forth telling people what to chant.

As Bev passed by, a woman blocked the door to the S-Mart. “Don’t go in there!” she said, and shoved a pamphlet at Bev. “Don’t you watch the news? The manager’s a freaking racist, called the cops on a paying customer just because of the color of her skin.”

“Don’t go in! Don’t go in!” The crowd moved towards Bev, making her feel trapped. Her eyes darted everywhere, looking for a way to escape.


Judge Hilliard was going over papers in her chambers when her clerk came in and said, “Excuse me, your Honor. There’s a Jack Deveraux Junior here to see you, he’s a student reporter with WXIR and wants to get your statement on your decision in Hannah Martin’s case.”

Judge Hilliard sighed as she rubbed her temples. The clerk said, “Want me to tell him you’re not going to comment?”

“No, that would look terrible. I have four other cases scheduled for the afternoon, but I can give him two minutes. Make sure he knows that’s all he’s getting.”

“Yes, your Honor.” The clerk left.

JJ came in a second later. Judge Hilliard said, “As my clerk hopefully explained to you, I am very pressed for time. So I will give you a statement and nothing else. No follow-up questions right now.”

JJ frowned, not liking that. As he turned on his recording app, he said, “Don’t think I’m not gonna come back later to get the other half the story, then.”

“Fair enough. Here’s my statement. I did the best I could, considering that I was given this case approximately fifteen minutes before the defendant was due to appear. Since I didn’t have the luxury of time, I had to make my decision based only on what I knew of the case and the impression she made upon me in the courtroom. I chose to grant her probation with serious restrictions for the reasons I stated in court: this young woman is far from unsalvageable but needs to learn to make better decisions if she hopes to stay out of jail long-term.”

JJ crossed his arms. “You said I had two minutes and that was only about 30 seconds, so you got time for a couple questions after all. What do you mean by the impression she gave you? What made you think she’s headed for a life in and out of prison if she doesn’t change her ways?”

“If you’re hoping I’m going to say something virulently racist like that awful man who runs the S-Mart, you’ll be disappointed. It has nothing to do with the color of Ms. Martin’s skin. But the fact that she agreed to a year in jail and then tried to get out of it early coupled with her refusal to fully take responsibility for her behavior on the night of her arrest made it clear to me that she has some growing up to do. That’s all.”

JJ glanced at the time to make sure he didn’t get thrown out. “You sure it didn’t have to do with her being brought in all chained up like she was dangerous?”

The judge shrugged. “All defendants who come in from the jail are required to be shackled like that. After seeing enough people in that state, you get used to it. Now if you’ll excuse me - “

“One more question,” JJ said. “You have any idea why Judge Walston was taken off the case 15 minutes before he was supposed to hear it?”


“I don’t know,” Allie told Johnny. “M-maybe we should just accept we’re in trouble and - “

“Don’t be stupid!” Johnny snapped. “We’re not talking about being sent to our rooms, Allie. We’re going to juvie. Both of us. Because if the cops arrest me I won’t blink before telling them that you knew Amelia was allergic to peaches and you didn’t tell me.”

“Maybe we deserve to go,” Allie said. She turned her back to Johnny. “Me more than you. You were just trying to play a joke, but I knew the truth. I could have killed my best friend.”

Johnny’s eyes widened with shock. “I won’t let you go to jail. Don’t worry.”

“But you just said - “

“That’s only in the worst case scenario.” Johnny played with something in his pocket. “But it doesn’t have to go like that. I’m half Dimera, Allie, they can hide us.”

“Hide us?” Allie frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about my uncle Andre helping us run away,” Johnny said. “It would suck being away from here, at least for you, but it would be better than jail and Uncle Andre could give us a way better education than Mom’s giving us with those stupid workbooks she makes us do.”

“Run away?” Allie asked. “No, Johnny, we can’t do that. We’d just get in bigger trouble. And who would help me find things I can eat with my choking problem if Mom’s not with us?”

“No one’s going to help you in jail either,” Johnny said. “Come on, Allie, this is our only hope. We could sneak out this window right now and walk to the Dimera mansion, Uncle Andre will save us.”

“I guess,” Allie said. She sighed. “I’d better go say goodbye to Sydney.”

“No time,” Johnny said, “we have to - “

Just then, someone pulled the door open. “Johnny,” Sami said. “I really need to find out why I keep hallucinating. I told you to go to your room, not your sister’s.”

“Why?” Johnny said. “So we can be sitting ducks when one of Grandpa’s cop friends comes to arrest us?”

“Oh, you’re not in trouble with the police,” Sami said. “In fact, they don’t need to know anything about what happened last summer.” She hit her palm against her fist, her eyes blazing. “You have much bigger problems than going to jail. The two of you are in huge trouble with me.”

[André DiMera]

I totally understand why Hannah is mad at Valerie. I’m glad she apologized to her daughter. I’m a bit concerned, though, because Hannah is still referring to herself by her prison nickname.

Really hope Thorpe’s plan doesn’t work! Glad Rafe is going to talk to him.

Nice to see Rebecca and Bev talking. Looks like Bev is now caught in the middle of the protest.

Glad J.J. is questioning Hilliard, even though we know she didn’t threaten Judge Walston.

Johnny’s idea wouldn’t have worked. I can’t imagine what kind of punishment Sami has in store for him and Allie.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[heroicmuse]

Thanks André DiMera, krw627, Kpatch, and tghca for your comments this week!

I am so glad that Hannah is about to be released from jail. She has some great story coming up as she begins to connect with the family she never knew she had, while the investigation into Thorpe gets a boost this week!

Here's a sneak peek at what's happening.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...



While Hannah is about to released from jail, the net may be closing around Judge Thorpe.

Judge Hilliard’s refusal to answer JJ’s questions about why she replaced Judge Walston, coupled with her fear that he will try to look through her papers while her back is turned, gets the young reporter’s hackles up and he goes to Steve with his concerns.

Steve doubts that Hilliard is actively involved in the plot to keep Hannah and other innocent people locked up, suspecting that she’s a racist whose biases happen to serve the warden's purposes, something JJ is not sure about. While they are discussing it, Rafe engages in an investigation of his own at Thorpe’s house.

Wanda hides in the closet while Thorpe deals with Rafe. Thorpe denies knowing anything about the threat against his friend’s family and stonewalls Rafe before walking him out so that Rafe won’t have the opportunity to look around. However, while Rafe is in the driveway trying to figure out his next move, he notices an extra car parked there and runs the plates. Soon enough, he finds out that one of the cars belongs to Wanda and calls someone to help him figure out what she’s doing there. Could Thorpe and Wanda’s relationship and the influence she has over him finally be exposed?

Meanwhile, at the police station, Hannah is impatient with being locked up and with Valerie’s attempt to repair the damage to their relationship, but her mood quickly changes when David comes down the hall. She is thrilled to see her father and hopes he is home to stay, but before he can give her an answer one way or the other, the guard comes to take her to see Aiden and sign her release paperwork. David and Valerie have a hard time dealing with seeing their daughter be escorted out in handcuffs, leading to a more tender moment between them -- could this be the first step towards reconciliation?

But when Aiden goes over the terms of Hannah’s probation, tensions flare between David and Valerie again when Aiden says that the only way Hannah will be allowed to accompany David to California is if her probation is transferred to that state, meaning that she would have to live with him for the duration of her probation. Valerie will not accept this arrangement and is not interested in David’s suggestion that she move back to California too, leading to an argument between them. An upset Hannah demands they not fight in front of her, which seems to bring both her parents to their senses, but will their truce last, and will David really be happy with the decision he makes as a result?

The fractured family may have bigger problems to deal with, as Hannah is required to comply with a ton of restrictive rules and doesn’t appreciate Valerie’s input into what Aiden has to tell them. Most annoying to her of all is that she is required to get a job and Valerie immediately jumps in to offer her one at her hospital, something which Hannah has no interest in. By the time Hannah has signed her release papers, she feels that probation is not really any different than jail and is convinced that she’s going to end up locked up again anyway for breaking some stupid rule -- could this become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Despite her frustration, Hannah is grateful for what freedom she has and her mood quickly improves once she’s outside in the sunlight. A far happier Hannah is ready to celebrate her freedom, and when Julie shows up eager to meet her granddaughter, Hannah runs to her. Grandmother and granddaughter have an emotional introduction, but David is not so happy, as he feels Julie is already interfering with his plans by suggesting they all come over so Hannah can meet Doug and Rory instead of accepting his desire to spend time alone with his wife and daughter. And when Hannah seems eager to spend time with her grandmother, David worries about the effect his estranged mother could have on his daughter -- will Valerie be able to help him keep things in perspective?

Later, Julie calls JJ to invite him to the party and pass on a special request from Doug, and while she has him on the phone puts Hannah on so that he gets to talk to his cousin for the first time. Hannah feels shy and awkward -- will JJ be able to connect with her? And what will it be like for her to meet Doug right afterwards?

Before meeting up with Hannah, Julie talks to Paige and picks up on her reluctance to celebrate her birthday. Julie gives Paige some advice meant to bolster her spirits, but will it? And later, Paige meets with Kayla, who has some good news about her job -- but who also tells her about one more hoop she has to jump through before she can begin.

Elsewhere in Salem, Johnny tries to talk his way out of trouble with Sami, but she’s not having it. She drags him off for a serious conversation while Lucas tries to get out of Allie what Johnny was bothering her about now. Meanwhile, Abe is shocked by Theo’s reaction to him telling him about Julie’s party and Bev has a close call thanks to the protesters, but it might finally lead to the capture of someone the cops are very interested in. And finally, Philip calls Victor to update him on Charley, but will Sarah’s situation lead to Victor breaking his promise to return to Salem in time for Charley’s operation?

[André DiMera]

Glad J.J. is talking to Steve, but like Steve, I’m not sure Hilliard is actively involved in the plot yo put away Hannah again.

I really hope Rafe figures out the connection between Thorpe and Wanda, and what they’re doing!

Hopefully David and Valerie will reconcile at some point. So glad Hannah finally gets released, and that she’s eager to get to know Julie, whether David’s happy about it or not. Can’t wait for her party! It’ll be nice for her to meet her family, especially J.J.

Wonder what hoop Paige has to get through for her job.

Hope Lucas can get the truth out of Allie. Wonder what Theo says. I hope the protesters don’t hurt Bev. It’ll be interesting to see what Victor does.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 237 - 1


Squeaky looked away, her cheeks burning with shame. Her mom was still her MOM, still the same as she ever was down to her short haircut and the silver chain around her neck, and no matter how mad she was she couldn’t forget that cause when she looked in the mirror every morning she saw the exact same face staring back at her. And she shouldn’t be mad at her, she shouldn’t, not when her mom was standing here almost crying. But at the same time it was impossible not to be mad when her mom was standing on the other side of these bars, able to walk away whenever she wanted, while Squeaky was confined to a cage no bigger than a closet.

“I don’t know,” she said, knowing she had to say something. “I want to but it’s not like you just didn’t let me stay up as late as I wanted or something. You let me sit in a cage just like this and you let the court assign me some lawyer who was in a mad rush to get rid of me so I ended up with a guilty plea on my record and the judge sending me away for a year. That ruined my life and until you get that, I can’t let you off the hook.”

Valerie’s face trembled again. “I don’t know what you want from me. I paid for your new lawyer, I came to keep you company while you wait to get out of this damn cell, I’m offering you a roof over your head and food in your stomach once you get out, but you still hate me. Tell me what I need to do to fix this and I’ll do it, baby, I promise I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Squeaky looked at the floor, not wanting to say there was nothing her mom could do, ever, to make up for the eight months of freedom that had been stolen from her. “It only happened cause the S-Mart guy called the cops on me, you know that? And before you say anything, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. All I was doing was buying a soda and he had some stupid pimply faced kid follow me all over the store like he thought I was going to stuff something in my pocket and run out the door. And then he calls the cops and gets me locked up for nothing!”

“I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted you to know there could be such cruelty in the world, but - “

“DADDY!” Squeaky’s eyes lit up as David came down the hall. “Oh my gosh, you stayed after the hearing.”

“Of course I did,” David said. “I couldn’t come all this way and not see my little girl, now could I?” He frowned. “I hope you’re being nice to your mother. She’s been through a lot, having to deal with you being locked up.”

Squeaky’s shoulders deflated. “I’m trying. I’ve been through a lot too.”

Valerie turned her head over her shoulder. “Did the lawyer say you could take her away to California during her probation?”

“He didn’t say anything yet,” David said. “He wants to discuss with all of us what’s best for Hannah once she’s released.”

“If I ever am,” Squeaky said. “It’s been hours.”

“It only seems like it, darling,” David said. “It’s been the slowest half hour in the history of the world, that’s all. Anyway, Mr. Jennings is talking to someone on the phone to speed things up and he said he’d be very surprised if you’re not released within the next 15 minutes.”

“Yeah, right.” Squeaky sighed deeply. “They’ll give him the runaround just to keep me here for longer, you’ll see.”

David and Valerie exchanged worried glances. David said, “What happened to my happy-go-lucky girl that you couldn’t talk into thinking things won’t work out perfectly, huh?”

Squeaky crossed her arms. “She got left in the free world, that’s what. I want out!” She pressed her head against the bars.

David reached for Valerie’s hand as he stared at his daughter. He let his breath out slowly, glad Valerie let him take it. “You will be out. If you’re not within the next 10 minutes, your father is going to start making a fuss, and no one wants that.”

“That reminds me,” Squeaky said, even though she didn’t really care about the answer or about anything, really. “Who was that old lady who stood up for me in the court?”

“That’s your grandma Julie. My mother. AKA the person who’s given us both a stubborn streak that gives us nothing but trouble. Your grandmother and I had a falling out before you were born, so she never knew until recently that you existed, but now she’s thrilled to be able to get to know you.”

I doubt that’ll last, Squeaky thought, then wondered why she was being so negative. It wasn’t like her. “I thought your mom was dead.”

“Where did you get that idea?” Valerie asked. “We never said - “

“No, but Daddy never talks about her, ever. So I thought she died in some tragic way and it was too painful for him to talk about.”

“Well, you’re half right,” David said. “She was too painful a subject when you were little. But that’s a story for after you’re released.” He patted Squeaky’s hand through the bars. “How’s my baby girl holding up?”

“I’ll be fine,” Squeaky said, “once I get out of this stupid cell. Are you staying with us now that you're back?"

A guard came down the hall before David could answer. “Sorry, folks,” he said, “but I need to escort this prisoner upstairs. Lawyer’s ready for her.”

“Thank God,” Valerie said, while David said to Squeaky, “See? Told you it wouldn’t be long.”

The guard took his cuffs off his belt. “All right, Ms. Martin. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back."

David frowned as Squeaky obeyed. “Is that really necessary? She’s going to be signing release papers.”

“We still have to follow procedure until she’s released,” the guard said, tightening the cuffs around Squeaky’s wrists.

“It’s okay,” Squeaky said as the guard opened the door so he could escort her out. “I’m used to it.” The guard slammed the door closed and grabbed her elbow so he could take her to the elevator.

As Squeaky was walked out of sight, Valerie called, “See you upstairs!” But Squeaky was already gone. Valerie’s face trembled. David put his arm around her and she leaned on him.


Roman sighed. “Only thing I can tell you’s the same thing I told Abe when he asked. Right around the time of the Martin girl’s arrest, I was up to my neck in the Jill Larson murder investigation. We had a suspect and some circumstantial evidence but not enough to make an arrest and the Mayor was breathing down my neck, wanting that case closed yesterday. So you think I had time to worry about some girl arrested for an open beer on the street?”

Agent Maxwell nodded. “That would be reasonable if you merely overlooked this arrest altogether. But Officer Wolfe says that you told him point blank not to review the body cam footage. Did you in fact have a conversation with him about that?”

Roman hesitated, thinking. “I don’t remember,” he said. “You’re talking about almost a year ago, you think I remember every conversation with a patrol officer I had about anything other than the Larson murder?”

Agent Maxwell crossed her arms. “Think carefully, Commissioner, because this conversation is important. If you told an officer not to review body cam footage, that is a whole different ball game than if he made that up to cover his own ass. And if you conveniently don’t remember it, that sounds a lot like you’re the one trying to cover your ass. So let’s try this again. Did you or did you not tell Officer James Wolfe not to review the body cam footage after Hannah Martin was arrested?”


Julie had taken Paige upstairs to the courthouse cafeteria for coffee. “So,” she said as she settled into her seat. “Tell me all about my granddaughter.”

“There’s not much to tell.” Paige pushed her hair behind her ear, nervously. “It’s not like there’s a lot you can do in jail. Every day you go to your assigned job and in your free time you can go to the library or use the rec room or the yard, that’s about it. I can’t even tell you what she likes to eat because we were given whatever the jail decided to make and it was either eat that or starve. Squeaky -- that’s what we called her -- never really bought snacks and I don’t know if it’s because her mom didn’t send her money or because she didn’t like them.”

“Oh, I don’t care about what her favorite snack is,” Julie said. “That would help us plan the party, but it doesn’t tell me anything important. I want to know what she’s LIKE. I saw a little bit of fire in her in court but that wasn’t enough to get an idea.”

“Right.” Paige sipped her coffee. “She’s sweet but that doesn’t mean she won’t stand up to you if you’re being stupid. She saw me about to do something I shouldn’t and she called me out on it, threatened to tell Roxy -- this older woman who was trying to watch our backs -- if I didn’t come to my senses. She wasn’t… street smart, I guess, I mean, not as bad as me but she didn’t know how to fight or anything. Once our friend Angel tried to teach her on the punching bag during our free time and she had the hardest time with it and we were all afraid that if any one of us got on someone’s bad side they’d take it out on poor Squeaky because she was the least able to defend herself.”

Julie frowned. “Why on Earth would any of you have to worry about fighting?”

“That’s the way it is in jail.” Paige stared straight ahead, not wanting to think about it. “They throw us all together and we can’t get away from each other, and you’re not allowed to go to school or anything worthwhile, so some people deal with the boredom by looking for trouble. This girl Tiana had it in for me for a really stupid and petty reason so we all wanted Squeaky to be able to defend herself just in case.”

“I see.” Julie frowned. “Why do you call her Squeaky?”

“That’s the nickname she called herself. I didn’t know her real name til I got out and she only knew mine because she saw the news segment JJ put together to help get me out of jail.”

Julie nodded, but she looked upset. “I can guarantee you I will not be calling her by that ridiculous nickname,” she said. “Anyway, onto happier things. Let’s start planning this party. Now, JJ said you have a birthday coming up. May I ask, how old?”

Paige’s cheeks reddened. “25. But you don’t have to go to any trouble for me, really. The day should be all about Squeaky getting out of jail and getting to know her family, not about me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. 25 is a special year, it’s what 18 was when I still had dark hair. You’re a full adult and we have to welcome you to the club.”

“Right.” Paige bit her lip as she stared down at the table.

Julie put her coffee cup down. “Now what’s wrong?”

Paige shrugged, not sure she could trust Julie. “Nothing. It’s just… what you said about 25 being a milestone year… I lost a lot of time, and not just because of going to jail. I don’t know if you know what happened to me a few years ago. I was… I was raped and I made a lot of stupid decisions afterwards so now I have nothing, no career or anything, and I’m not exactly looking forward to turning 25 when I’m so far behind.”

Julie leaned forward. “Listen to me. Age is just a number, for you as well as for me. Now I’m 75 years old and there’s some people who think that means I shouldn’t want to do anything more than sit in front of the fireplace sipping tea, but you don’t see me slowing down, now do you? So why in the world do you think you have to check off anything on anyone’s list by the age of 25? That’s someone else’s list, darling, it doesn’t have to be yours. You’ll get where you’re going when you get there. So no more of this malarky about not wanting to celebrate your birthday. We’re going to celebrate it in style and you are going to have a good time whether you want to or not.” Julie opened the memo app on her phone. “Now, tell me what kind of cake you like so I can get started on making it right away.”


“It was nice of Kimberly to watch Erica so we could have some time to ourselves,” Eric said to Eve. They were at the cafe having a mid-day snack.

“She always surprises me,” Eve said. “As much as she resented me pushing my way into my father’s life, she never batted an eye when it came to watching Paige and you never have to ask her twice about Erica either.”

“I think the resentment was mutual,” Eric pointed out. “Anyway, it’s water under the bridge now, as far as she’s concerned you’re family.”

“That, and she’s bored to tears. Without needing to remind Theresa every minute how much closer she’s getting to some living nightmare, she has nothing to do, especially since Daddy is busy with some top secret assignment. But let’s not waste a single second more on them. How is my too-good-to-be-true man?”

“Grateful to be with you,” Eric said.

Eve blushed. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth. I’m the one who needs to be grateful, really.” She put her hand over his. “I was thinking that since it’s summer and my Paige is back in the world where she belongs, we could leave Erica with her for a weekend and go somewhere far away where there’s no one to disturb us and it’s just you and me.”

“That sounds nice, though I’m not sure JJ and Paige are ready for that responsibility yet. But never mind that, we’ll work it out. Where did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I heard the beach resorts at the southern tip of the state are nice this time of year. I’ve always wanted to live in a beach house.”

“That can be arranged,” Eric said and leaned forward to kiss her.

Just then, a shadow fell over them. “Forgive me the interruption,” Eduardo said, “but I have a news that both of you will want to hear.”

Squeaky looked away, her cheeks burning with shame. Her mom was still her MOM, still the same as she ever was down to her short haircut and the silver chain around her neck, and no matter how mad she was she couldn’t forget that cause when she looked in the mirror every morning she saw the exact same face staring back at her. And she shouldn’t be mad at her, she shouldn’t, not when her mom was standing here almost crying. But at the same time it was impossible not to be mad when her mom was standing on the other side of the bars, able to walk away whenever she wanted, while Squeaky was confined to a cage no bigger than a closet.

“I don’t know,” she said, knowing she had to say something. “I want to but it’s not like you just didn’t let me stay up as late as I wanted or something. You let me sit in a cage just like this and you let the court assign me some lawyer who was in a mad rush to get rid of me so I ended up with a guilty plea on my record and the judge sending me away for a year. That ruined my life and until you get that, I can’t let you off the hook.”

Valerie’s face trembled again. “I don’t know what you want from me. I paid for your new lawyer, I came to keep you company while you wait to get out of this damn cell, I’m offering you a roof over your head and three meals a day once you get out, but you still hate me. Tell me what I need to do to fix this and I’ll do it, baby, I promise I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Squeaky looked at the floor, not wanting to say there was nothing her mom could do, ever, to make up for the eight months of freedom that had been stolen from her. “It only happened cause the S-Mart guy called the cops on me, you know that? And before you say anything, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. All I was doing was buying a soda and he had some stupid pimply faced kid follow me all over the store like he thought I was going to stuff something in my pocket and run out without paying. And then he calls the cops and gets me locked up for nothing!”

“I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted you to know there could be such cruelty in the world, but - “

“DADDY!” Squeaky’s eyes lit up as David came down the hall. “Oh my gosh, you stayed after the hearing.”

“Of course I did,” David said. “I couldn’t come all this way and not see my little girl, now could I?” He frowned. “I hope you’re being nice to your mother. She’s been through a lot, having to deal with you being locked up.”

Squeaky’s shoulders deflated. “I’m trying. I’ve been through a lot too.”

Valerie turned her head over her shoulder. “Did the lawyer say you could take her away to California during her probation?”

“He didn’t say anything yet,” David said. “He wants to discuss with all of us what’s best for Hannah once she’s released.”

“If I ever am,” Squeaky said. “It’s been hours.”

“It only seems like it, darling,” David said. “It’s been the slowest half hour in the history of the world, that’s all. Anyway, Mr. Jennings is talking to someone on the phone to speed things up and he said he’d be very surprised if you’re not released within the next 15 minutes.”

“Yeah, right.” Squeaky sighed deeply. “They’ll give him the runaround just to keep me here for longer, you’ll see.”

David and Valerie exchanged worried glances. David said, “What happened to my happy-go-lucky girl that you couldn’t talk into thinking things won’t work out perfectly, huh?”

Squeaky crossed her arms. “She got left in the free world, that’s what. I want out!” She pressed her head against the bars.

David reached for Valerie’s hand as he stared at his daughter. He let his breath out slowly, glad Valerie let him take it. “You will be out. If you’re not within the next 10 minutes, your father is going to start making a fuss, and no one wants that.”

“That reminds me,” Squeaky said, even though she didn’t really care about the answer or about anything, really. “Who was that old lady who stood up for me in the court?”

“That’s your grandma Julie. My mother. AKA the person who’s given us both a stubborn streak that gives us nothing but trouble. Your grandmother and I had a falling out before you were born, so she never knew until recently that you existed, but now she’s thrilled to be able to get to know you.”

I doubt that’ll last, Squeaky thought, then wondered why she was being so negative. It wasn’t like her. “I thought your mom was dead.”

“Where did you get that idea?” Valerie asked. “We never said - “

“No, but Daddy never talks about her, ever. So I thought she died in some tragic way and it was too painful for him to talk about.”

“Well, you’re half right,” David said. “She was too painful a subject when you were little. But that’s a story for after you’re released.” He patted Squeaky’s hand through the bars. “How’s my baby girl holding up?”

“I’ll be fine,” Squeaky said, “once I get out of this stupid cell. Are you coming back to live with me and Mom til I’m off probation?”

A guard came down the hall before David could answer. “Sorry, folks,” he said, “but I need to escort this prisoner upstairs. Lawyer’s ready with the release papers.”

“Thank God,” Valerie said, while David said to Squeaky, “See? Told you it wouldn’t be long.”

The guard took his cuffs off his belt. “All right, Ms. Martin. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back.

David frowned as Squeaky obeyed. “Is that really necessary? She’s going to be signing release papers.”

“We still have to follow procedure until she’s released,” the guard said, tightening the cuffs around Squeaky’s wrists.

“It’s okay,” Squeaky said as the guard opened the door so he could escort her out. “I’m used to it.” The guard slammed the door closed and grabbed her elbow so he could take her to the elevator.

As Squeaky was walked out of sight, Valerie called, “See you upstairs!” But Squeaky was already gone. Valerie’s face trembled. David put his arm around her and she let him.


Roman sighed. “Only thing I can tell you’s the same thing I told Abe when he asked. Right around the time of the Martin girl’s arrest, I was up to my neck in the Jill Larson murder investigation. We had a suspect and some circumstantial evidence but not enough to make an arrest and the Mayor was breathing down my neck, wanting that case closed yesterday. So you think I had time to worry about some girl arrested for an open beer on the street?”

Agent Maxwell nodded. “That would be reasonable if you merely overlooked this arrest altogether. But Officer Wolfe says that you told him point blank not to review the body cam footage. Did you in fact have a conversation with him about that?”

Roman hesitated, thinking. “I don’t remember,” he said. “You’re talking about almost a year ago, you think I remember every conversation with a patrol officer I had about anything other than the Larson murder?”

Agent Maxwell crossed her arms. “Think carefully, Commissioner, because this conversation is important. If you told an officer not to review body cam footage, that is a whole different ball game than if he made that up to cover his own ass. And if you conveniently don’t remember it, that sounds a lot like you’re the one trying to cover your ass. So let’s try this again. Did you or did you not tell Officer James Wolfe not to review the body cam footage after Hannah Martin was arrested?”


Julie had taken Paige upstairs to the courthouse cafeteria for coffee. “So,” she said as she settled into her seat. “Tell me all about my granddaughter.”

“There’s not much to tell.” Paige pushed her hair behind her ear, nervously. “It’s not like there’s a lot you can do in jail. Every day you go to your assigned job and in your free time you can go to the library or use the rec room or the yard, that’s about it. I can’t even tell you what she likes to eat because we were given whatever the jail decided to make and it was either eat that or starve. Squeaky -- that’s what we called her -- never really bought snacks and I don’t know if it’s because her mom didn’t send her money or because she didn’t like them.”

“Oh, I don’t care about what her favorite snack is,” Julie said. “That would help us plan the party, but it doesn’t tell me anything important. I want to know what she’s LIKE. I saw a little bit of fire in her in court but that wasn’t enough to get an idea.”

“Right.” Paige sipped her coffee. “She’s sweet but that doesn’t mean she won’t stand up to you if you’re being stupid. She saw me about to do something I shouldn’t and she called me out on it, threatened to tell Roxy -- this older woman who was trying to watch our backs -- if I didn’t come to my senses. She wasn’t… street smart, I guess, I mean, not as bad as me but she didn’t know how to fight or anything. Once our friend Angel tried to teach her on the punching bag during our free time and she had the hardest time with it and we were all afraid that if any one of us got on someone’s bad side they’d take it out on poor Squeaky because she was the least able to defend herself.”

Julie frowned. “Why on Earth would any of you have to worry about fighting?”

“That’s the way it is in jail.” Paige stared straight ahead, not wanting to think about it. “They throw us all together and we can’t get away from each other, and you’re not allowed to go to school or anything worthwhile, so some people deal with the boredom by looking for trouble. This girl Tiana had it in for me for a really stupid and petty reason so we all wanted Squeaky to be able to defend herself just in case.”

“I see.” Julie frowned. “Why do you call her Squeaky?”

“That’s the nickname she called herself. I didn’t know her real name til I got out and she only knew mine because she saw the news segment JJ put together to help get me out of jail.”

Julie nodded, but she looked upset. “I can guarantee you I will not be calling her by that ridiculous nickname,” she said. “Anyway, onto happier things. Let’s start planning this party. Now, JJ said you have a birthday coming up. May I ask, how old?”

Paige’s cheeks reddened. “25. But you don’t have to go to any trouble for me, really. The day should be all about Squeaky getting out of jail and getting to know her family, not about me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. 25 is a special year, it’s what 18 was when I still had dark hair. Now that you’re 25, you’re a full adult and we have to welcome you to the club.”

“Right.” Paige bit her lip as she stared down at the table.

Julie put her coffee cup down. “Now what’s wrong?”

Paige shrugged, not sure she could trust Julie. “Nothing. It’s just… what you said about 25 being a milestone year… I lost a lot of time, and not just because of going to jail. I don’t know if you know what happened to me a few years ago. I was… I was raped and I made a lot of stupid decisions afterwards so now I have nothing, no career or anything, and I’m not exactly looking forward to turning 25 when I’m so far behind.”

Julie leaned forward. “Listen to me. Age is just a number, for you as well as for me. Now I’m 75 years old and there’s some people who think that means I shouldn’t want to do anything more than sit in front of the fireplace sipping tea, but you don’t see me slowing down, now do you? So why in the world do you think you have to check off anything on anyone’s list by the age of 25? That’s someone else’s list, darling, it doesn’t have to be yours. You’ll get where you’re going when you get there. So no more of this malarky about not wanting to celebrate your birthday. We’re going to celebrate it in style and you are going to have a good time whether you want to or not.” Julie opened the memo app on her phone. “Now, tell me what kind of cake you like so I can get started on making it right away.”


“It was nice of Kimberly to watch Erica so we could have some time to ourselves,” Eric said to Eve. They were at the cafe having a mid-day snack.

“She always surprises me,” Eve said. “As much as she resented me pushing my way into my father’s life, she never batted an eye when it came to watching Paige and you never have to ask her twice about Erica either.”

“I think the resentment was mutual,” Eric pointed out. “Anyway, it’s water under the bridge now, as far as she’s concerned you’re family.”

“That, and she’s bored to tears. Without needing to remind Theresa every minute how much closer she’s getting to some living nightmare, she has nothing to do, especially since Daddy is busy with some top secret assignment. But let’s not waste a single second more on them. How is my too-good-to-be-true man?”

“Grateful to be with you,” Eric said.

Eve blushed. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth. I’m the one who needs to be grateful, really.” She put her hand over his. “I was thinking that since it’s summer and my Paige is back in the world where she belongs, we could leave Erica with her for a weekend and go somewhere far away where there’s no one to disturb us and it’s just you and me.”

“That sounds nice, though I’m not sure JJ and Paige are ready for that responsibility yet. But never mind that, we’ll work it out. Where did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I heard the beach resorts at the southern tip of the state are nice this time of year. I’ve always wanted to live in a beach house.”

“That can be arranged,” Eric said and leaned forward to kiss her.

Just then, a shadow fell over them. “Forgive me the interruption,” Eduardo said, “but I have a news that both of you will want to hear.”

[André DiMera]

Glad David came to see Hannah. I hope he changes his mind about leaving. The cuffs seemed a bit over the top, whether they’re procedure or not.

Well, we know that he did. I hope Roman tells the truth.

It’s nice to see Paige and Julie bonding, and Julie actually being nice to Paige for once. I, too, hope Paige gets over this idea of not wanting to celebrate her birthday.

Glad Eve and Eric are planning for the summer. Wonder what Eduardo is gonna say.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 237 - 2

“I doubt that,” Eve said. “Whatever game you’re playing this time - “

“No game. Just honestly trying to look out for the mother of my child, that is all.” Eduardo pulled out a chair without being asked.

Eve looked at Eric, then took his hand. “Whatever it is, make it quick. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m on a date, and you are certainly not invited.”

“I did not expect to be.” Eduardo crossed his arms. “Months ago I told you your father was sending me on a new assignment in Kentucky. At that time our daughter had just been arrested and so I asked for another to be assigned to the case so I could be there throughout her ordeal.”

“Get to the point,” Eve snapped.

“Eve,” Eric said, “he has to tell his story his way. Let him speak. Go on, Eduardo.”

“Gracias,” Eduardo said to Eric while Eve glared. “The point is this. I have been told to go to Kentucky after all now that Nina is no longer facing false accusations of murder. The reason I must go… well there are many. But one reason is to put a stop to a ring of people stealing babies at birth and selling them to those desperate for a child. Now, Erica’s mother, she lost another child, yes?”

Eve squeezed Eric’s hand. “Y-yes. When Erica was born, we were told her twin sister didn’t make it, the poor thing. Why?”

“Because,” Eduardo said. “These people, they have someone working in the hospitals who tells the mother the child was born dead and then takes the infant away to be sold. It is therefore possible that a person to whom Erica’s sister does not belong has been raising her while you all think she is dead.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Eric said. “People who absolutely were dead suddenly… aren’t. If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone was injecting them at the morgue to bring them back to life. Anyway, if you find Erica’s sister…”

“Her grandparents live in Kentucky. They may want to take her in.” Eduardo crossed his arms. “And now we come at long last to the reason I interrupted your time together. These same grandparents, they may be interested to know there was not one lost bambino, but two. In fact, they may want - “

“No,” Eve said. “It’s all legal and aboveboard, we have papers saying Erica is ours.”

“Si,” Eduardo said, “but a grandparent can make a case to a judge… you must be prepared, Eve, for the possibility the grandmother or grandfather seeks an order to take her from you.”


In the conference room, Aiden was going over all of the terms of Squeaky’s probation with her and her parents. “It’s important you understand all the rules,” he told her, “cause if you get caught breaking any of them, the cops have two choices. They can issue a warning or they can bring you in for violating your probation, and after everything you’ve been through, the last thing we need is you getting hauled back to the police station for something stupid. So if you have any questions, now’s the time to ask.”

Squeaky rubbed her wrists. “I have to live with my mom?”

“You got a better idea?” Aiden asked her. “She’s got the means to support you right now and the probation department’s not gonna look too kindly on you living in a homeless shelter when you got family willing to take you in.”

Squeaky looked away. “I was just asking cause I wasn’t sure my dad was living with us.”

Aiden frowned. “Better make up your mind quick where you’re living. Hannah has to put the address she lives at on this form, living somewhere else is a probation violation. But if you’re not living with your wife, we can note that her parents are separated and that she is living at both residences.”

A shadow crossed David’s face and Squeaky could see the pain in her dad’s eyes. He said, “Before I make any decisions, I gotta know… is there any chance Hannah could get a waiver to come to California? That’s where I currently live and I need to take care of sub-letting my apartment and packing some things to ship back to Salem. And since summer is usually my turn with her, I was hoping she could come with me til that’s settled.”

“Depends how long you think it’ll take. Judge might allow her to come out for a week, maybe two. Much more than that she’ll either deny it outright or order her probation transferred to California.”

“Maybe that’s the best idea,” David said. “I wouldn’t mind taking her for the next six months, and of course you’re welcome to come see us any time, Val. What do you think?”

“You take her to California until she’s off probation?” Valerie shook her head. “Have you lost your mind? Because that’s the only way you can possibly believe I’d agree to her staying with you while she’s not allowed to leave whichever one of our states she lives in. I already lost eight months with her, David, don’t you understand that? Uh uh, you’re not taking her to California. If you want to be in her life, stay in Salem.”

“Really?” David crossed his arms. “I would have loved for us to be a family again, Valerie, but if you’re going to use our daughter to blackmail me into staying in Salem - “

“That’s not what I’m doing! I would never!”

“Could have fooled me.” David’s voice was quiet. “Look, you chose to move her out here with you and she ended up in jail, so maybe California would be better for her. Probably better for you too.”

“Now who’s manipulating? I have a life here, David, I can’t just - “

“STOP!” Squeaky interrupted. “You think I want to hear this nonsense after eight months behind bars over nothing? And if I can only stay with one of you, I want to stay with Daddy. I’m supposed to be with him over the summer anyway.”

Valerie’s eyes narrowed with hurt. Squeaky stared down at the table, feeling bad about it. “You’re on probation, Hannah,” Valerie said, her voice the quiet, even tone that she only used when Squeaky was in very big trouble. “Be grateful you’re free at all, there will be no summer with your father or anyone else if you are re-arrested for breaking some stupid rule.”

“I haven’t seen any freedom yet. Can you stop fighting so we can get this over with and I can get out of here?”

Valerie and David looked at each other. David said, “We’re not fighting, darling, we just aren’t seeing eye to eye on what’s best for you.” He reached for Valerie’s hand. “And that’s what this should be about, not whatever petty nonsense we fell into a minute ago. I’m sorry, Valerie, I was being selfish. Of course it’s not fair to ask you and Hannah to uproot your lives just so I won’t have to stay in Salem for the rest of her probation.”

“No,” Valerie said, “it isn’t. But it wasn’t fair for me to to tell you to choose between seeing her and going back to California either. This whole thing’s just thrown me for a loop. Our daughter’s first coming home from jail and the lawyer’s saying she could go back and I’m just desperate to keep that from happening.”

“I understand.” David bit his lip. “I…I do need to tie up some loose ends in California but I really think it’s best for Hannah to have both her parents under the same roof. So if you’ll have me, I want to move back in with you and our daughter.”

There were tears in Valerie’s eyes. “Of course we will,” she said.

“We might have to move,” Hannah said. “Our apartment’s barely big enough for two people.”

“Oh, stop,” Valerie said. “It is not that small.” She turned towards Aiden. “Now that that’s settled, what do we have to do?”

Aiden handed Hannah a form. “I need you to put your address on this.” He gave Hannah a pen before turning towards Valerie. “If there’s any chance she’s gonna be driving your car, she has to put the license plate, registration number, and insurance information on the form too. She’s not allowed to drive any vehicle except what’s on here. She gets pulled over driving a car that’s not listed, she goes back to jail.”

“You understand, baby?” Valerie said. “No letting Natalie talk you into driving her car til you’re out of this mess.”

Squeaky’s eyes narrowed with annoyance. “I can drive yours, though?”

“I suppose so,” Valerie said. “Here, I’ll get you the information you need.” She pulled it up on her phone.

“This form’s gotta be updated once a month,” Aiden said. “First of the month, she has to go online and fill it out all over again. And if anything changes, she needs to update it right away even if it’s not the first of the month. That means if she moves, if she gets a job, if she gets a car of her own… whatever the case is, probation needs to know cause if she’s caught living somewhere else or what have you without it being on file she can be re-arrested.”

Valerie nodded. “Put a reminder in your phone, Hannah, I’m not having you go back to jail because you forgot to submit your paperwork.”

“Like I’m going to,” Squeaky said, but she did what she was told.

“Now,” Aiden said, “she has to come back to the police station every Friday for drug testing. She can come anytime between 9 AM and 6 PM, long as she comes on Fridays she’s good. She’s either gotta get a full-time job or go to school, so she’ll have to come either early in the morning or after work once she’s got that settled. But the good news is you can come with her, so if they ever have any question about whether she’s complying you can vouch for her.”

This doesn’t sound any different than jail, Hannah thought bitterly while her mom said, “She’ll be getting a job whether or not she goes to school. She’s almost 19, it’s beyond time for her to be helping pay for her room and board.” She turned towards Hannah. “I’ll talk to some of the other doctors and see who needs help. You can answer phones and update records in the computer for them. How's that for a job?”

Hannah scowled. “I guess.”

“Til that’s settled, she needs to show proof she’s looking for work. She’s gotta fill out a log every week listing her applications.”

Valerie nodded. “Put that in your phone too, Hannah.”

“I will when I’m done with this! One thing at a time! God!” Squeaky read over the form. “I’m double checking I didn’t miss anything,” she said. “I don’t want to get arrested all over again because I forgot to put something down.”

Aiden patted her shoulder. “Let me see.” He looked over the form. “That looks all right to me, sign it and then I need you to listen carefully.”

Squeaky signed the form. Her heart was pounding as she sat up. “W-what’s up?”

“What’s up is this,” Aiden said. He crossed his arms. “I’m hoping you won’t have any problems and six months from now, this nightmare’ll be over and you can move on with your life. But here’s the thing. This judge gave you so many rules it’s almost impossible to follow them all and the cops have the power to take you in on a probation violation for any tiny little infraction. So it’s possible some cop feels the need to re-arrest you for something nonsensical while you’re waiting out your probation. Not likely, not with all the media attention on your arrest being unfair in the first place, but it could happen. If it does, DO NOT PANIC. Cooperate with the arrest and tell them that you’re represented by my firm and you want your lawyer. No arguing, no telling them that they’re wrong, none of that. No giving them any reason to think you’re the kind of person who deserves to get her probation violated.”

“You’d better be listening,” Valerie added.

Squeaky’s eyes flashed. “I heard him.”

“Repeat it back to me,” Aiden said. “No side fights with your mom til I make sure this is clear.”

Squeaky grabbed the underside of the table as hard as she could to keep herself from losing her temper. “If they want to arrest me again, don’t talk back. Let them do it and say I want my lawyer.”

Aiden nodded. “And don’t say a word besides that, don’t give them ammunition to use against you. Long as you behave yourself, I can get a judge to see you weren’t actually committing a crime and get you a second chance on your probation, but it’s not gonna fly if they start with this business about you having an attitude.”

“Oh, she won’t have an attitude,” Valerie said. “I’ll make sure of that.”

“Mom!” Squeaky said but her mom said in that same quiet tone, “Uh uh. I’m not having you get locked up again over some stupidity that shouldn’t have happened. You’re going to become respectful and it’s going to start with how you talk to me. Am I making myself clear?”

“Val, don’t,” David said.

Valerie glared at him and said again, “Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes,” Squeaky mumbled. But in her mind she saw herself in handcuffs, being put in the back of a cop car all over again. It was obviously inevitable no matter how hard she tried to follow the rules, she had to find a way to accept that sooner or later she was going to get thrown in jail for something even stupider than the last time.

“Relax,” Aiden said. “Long as you follow what I just told you, they’re not gonna get away with trying to pin a 90-day probation violation on you for something ridiculous. You’ve already lost more than enough time over nonsense, I’m not letting it happen again.” He smiled slightly, then handed Hannah another paper. “All I need is your John Hancock on this and then you are finally a free woman.”

Not really, Squeaky thought, glancing at her copy of the probation rules. But she signed the paper anyway.


Judge Hilliard played with her pen, clicking it over and over. Finally, she said, “If I knew the nature of his emergency, I certainly wouldn’t share it with all of Salem.”

JJ turned his tape recorder off. “How about we go off the record. What happened to Judge Walston?”

“He’s alive and well,” Judge Hilliard said, “and the reason he couldn’t take this case is no one’s business but his.”

“That mean he didn’t tell you or you don’t want to share?”

“It means that I meant it ten minutes ago when I said I had no time for questions. I have to hear my next case. So you’ll have to excuse me.”

“No problem,” JJ said. He stood up. “After you, your Honor.”

“Nice try, but you’re not going to hang back and look through the papers on my desk. They’re confidential. Walk ahead of me.”

“I wasn’t - “ JJ protested.

“I wasn’t born yesterday. I know what you were up to. Please leave my chambers.”

JJ had no choice but to obey. He walked out and watched as Judge Hilliard locked the door, trying to memorize the code she typed into her keypad. Judge Hilliard walked away. JJ took out his phone and made a call. “Uncle Steve, it’s me. Listen, I hope you’re ready to take me on cause I got something I need us to look into.”

[André DiMera]

Glad Eduardo warned Eve. This baby stealing ring sounds interesting. Nice reference to the real show, with dead people being injected at the morgue.

So glad David and Valerie stopped arguing, and that David’s gonna stay. I hope he decides to make it permanent. Sadly, Hannah is in a near impossible situation with how many restrictions are on her probation. I hope it goes well and she doesn’t get re-arrested because some stupid cop doesn’t like the color of her skin.

Sucks that J.J.’s plan didn’t work, but I’m glad he’s investigating and getting Steve to help.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I love seeing Eduardo again, especially in a scene with Eve.

[heroicmuse]

Week 237 - 3

In her office, Kayla leaned her phone on her ear. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. In fact, Paige is on her way here now so I’ll let her know. Thank you so much, Julie.” She hung up, then opened Paige’s personnel file, thinking about the conversation she’d had with Genieva.

“I’ve only seen Paige a couple of times so far,” Genieva had said, “but what I can tell you is that the need to be more purposeful is one of the central themes surrounding her current distress. So I think that it’s important for her to return to work. However, she needs to take things slowly even though she may fight against that need with all her might. I would suggest allowing her to ease back into work gradually and I would advise against her working with patients who have suffered sexual assault or similar traumas at this time despite her insistence that that’s what would make her feel most fulfilled.”

“I was going to have her shadow one of my best surgeons. But would surgery itself be too much for her?”

“It’s hard to say. Try it. Let her shadow and see how she reacts. I’ll be monitoring her during her sessions too.”

There was a knock on the door, then Paige came in. “Y-you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Kayla said. “Thank you for coming in.” She smiled as she gestured towards the empty seat in front of her desk. “First of all, happy early birthday. Julie just called to tell me about the party and there is no way I’m going to miss it.”

Paige reddened. “Thanks. But I told Julie that this should be Squeaky’s day. She’s the new cousin JJ’s family hasn’t met, that’s more important than my birthday.”

“I’d say they’re both equally important,” Kayla said. “25 is a special year and nobody deserves a big birthday celebration more than you. Anyway, if it makes you feel better, Andrew and Theresa are both coming, so you can think of it as the family reunion I hoped to have when Andrew came back in town too.”

“Wow. A lot of people are coming already.” Paige fidgeted. “But I’m sure you didn’t call me into your office just to tell me that.”

“I didn’t, actually,” Kayla said. “I thought you’d like to know that I spoke with your therapist about the best way to help you be successful as an intern in our medical program.”

“A-and?” Paige’s eyes were very wide. “Am I going to get to work here again?”

Kayla nodded. “I’m going to allow you to shadow Daniel for the next month and then we’ll take it from there.”

“Oh my gosh! Thank you!” Paige’s eyes lit up and she smiled, looking to Kayla just like she always used to before the rape and everything else.

“It is so good to see you smile,” Kayla said softly.

Paige blushed again. “So, um, when can I start?”

“Soon,” Kayla said. “There’s just one more thing. Seth Burns would prefer you be enrolled in school before we begin. I talked him out of that, but he wants proof that you have applied to a pre-med program before he signs off on your re-hire.” She turned her computer screen around. “You can use my computer. Go ahead and re-apply to Salem U and as soon you’ve done that we can get started.”



Meanwhile, JJ had met Steve at his office. Steve said, “First weapon of defense for any private eye: a strong cup of coffee.” He poured one for JJ, then for himself. “Don’t go drinking that til it’s cooled off some, the secret to making coffee’s the heat.”

“Thanks,” JJ said, pushing the cup away, “but I don’t wanna waste time on discussing coffee techniques, not when we got crooked judges galore locking people up for all the wrong reasons.”

Steve frowned. He put his hand over his coffee cup to see if it was cool enough to drink. “What’s so urgent?”

“They switched judges on Hannah at the last second, that’s what, and the one she got would have sent her back to jail over nothing if Julie hadn’t made a speech totally putting her in her place. And then afterwards when I tried to ask the judge what was up with her getting the case from Judge Walston, she shut down and more than that, she got all paranoid about me seeing what's on her desk. She’s gotta be on the take just as much as Thorpe is, only both of them are clean as a whistle as far as I can see so I dunno who’s got to them.”

“Whoa.” Steve frowned. “Slow down, Happy Junior, first thing you gotta master’s not jumping to conclusions. Now maybe this judge’s up to no good but maybe she’s not. Now if you came to Nicole with a half-baked story like that, she wouldn’t run it, so I’m not going off all half-cocked on it either.”

“Right.” JJ reddened. “But what the hell else could it be? She was like, totally the opposite of the way she was when she sentenced Paige.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“WIth Paige she was like, tough at first but soon as she heard her story she said everyone did her wrong and found a way to sentence her to something other than jail. But with Hannah, she barely wanted to hear the facts. She was focused on making her confess to something she didn’t do and it was 50-50 if she was gonna let her go. And it doesn’t make sense cause Paige, she pled guilty to hiding that scarf to get out of the murder charge but Hannah didn’t do anything except hold onto a beer she’s too young to have. So the judge’s gotta have a reason for wanting her in jail, she’s gotta be in with the warden.”

“Maybe,” Steve said, “but don’t get so tangled up in conspiracy theories you miss what’s right in front of you.” He leaned back in his chair. “Years ago, I infiltrated what you’d call a hate group today, a bunch of white supremacists wearin’ white hoods and tryin’ to eradicate this country of people who didn’t look like them. Now, I’m not sayin’ this judge is anywhere near bein’ one of them, but given what you’ve told me about this so far, the racist dude callin’ the cops on her in the first place and her gettin’ a ridiculously long sentence over what amounted to nothing… seems to me the simplest explanation for why this new judge bent over backwards for Mrs. Junior and had to have her arm twisted to give Julie’s granddaughter the benefit of the doubt comes down to the color of their skins.”

JJ bit his lip. “She made a point of telling me it had nothing to do with that.”

Steve shrugged. “Doesn’t mean anything. Maybe she believes that and maybe she doesn’t, maybe she even thinks that didn’t factor into it, but it’s still the simplest reason why she treated Hannah ten times as harsh as Paige.”

“Seriously? Abe told me that 30 years ago people didn’t like Hannah’s mom getting together with her dad cause of that, but now he’s a top cop that everyone keeps pushing to run for Mayor. Everyone loves him and he's just as dark as she is, so how the hell can there still be so many narrow-minded people who hate her for the color of her skin?”

Steve sighed. “I don’t know the answer to that. All I know is, no matter how many steps forward we take with this sort of stuff, there’s always people who don’t catch up.”

“Right.” JJ played with his phone. “Something still doesn’t add up, though, Uncle Steve. The warden tried to blackmail Hannah, she told her if she talked to the press she’d make sure she got locked up for longer, and then all of a sudden the only judge we know for sure can’t be bought’s off the case. That can’t be a coincidence.”

Steve sipped his coffee. “No, you’re right. It can’t be. But doesn’t mean this judge was part of the plan either. Say the warden found some way to force Walston off the case, maybe this other judge just happens to have her biases so they want her, but she doesn’t know anything about why the warden wants Hannah locked up or what they did to the other judge.”

“If you say so.” JJ gulped his coffee even though it was the last thing he needed. “So now what?”

“Now,” Steve said, “we’re gonna focus on this Paula person just like we were gonna in the first place. If any of these judges and whatnot are dirty, they’ve gotta have a connection to her. So we gotta figure out what it is, and on top of that we gotta figure out some way to find her since the cops don’t have a clue. I did some diggin’ after the last time we talked.”

“And?”

“And I got her arrest record, the unsealed version.” Steve opened a drawer and pulled out a file. “How about you take a look at this and tell me if you see what I see.” He handed the file to JJ.


Judge Thorpe and Wanda looked at each other. Thorpe put his finger on his lips and gestured towards a closet in the back of his office. Wanda nodded and slipped inside, leaving the door open just a crack because she was afraid of getting stuck in there.

Thorpe went to the front door and let Rafe in. “What can I do for you, Agent Hernandez?”

“I dunno,” Rafe said. “Maybe nothing, maybe a lot.” He crossed his arms. “I just got called down to the courthouse. Seems someone’s been threatening your friend Henry Walston.”

Thorpe’s eyes widened with shock. “Threatening him? Is he all right?”

“For now.” Rafe’s arms were crossed and Thorpe could tell he was sizing him up, trying to see if he knew more than he was letting on. “He’s pretty shaken up and he had to give his afternoon cases to another judge. Interesting thing about that is, he could have given them to you. I understand you were in the park bothering him about taking the Hannah Martin case off his hands. What was that all about?”

Thorpe’s eyes narrowed. “Just offering a friend a favor, that’s all. I’m sure Henry didn’t think otherwise.”

“No, he didn’t,” Rafe said, “but you gotta admit, it looks suspicious. You go interrupt his picnic with his family to beg him to give you this case, he turns you down, and not an hour later someone’s sending him pictures of that same picnic and making vague threats against his family.”

“That’s terrible,” Thorpe said. “I hope once you find the person or people responsible, they have the misfortune to appear before me. Believe me, I will not be lenient.”

“I doubt they’re appearing before you. After all, Judge Walston’s a friend of yours,no way you can be objective, right?”

Thorpe could tell Rafe was trying to trip him up. He took his glasses off and wiped them on his shirt, saying only, “We’ll worry about that when we have a suspect. You will be looking at all angles, I assume.”

“Of course,” Rafe said. “You see anyone hanging around when you were talking to Judge Walston?”

“No one unusual. It was a public park, there were of course many people around.”

“Course.”

Thorpe hesitated, then said, “I am very busy, so if there’s nothing else...”

“Right. If you think of anything, you let me know.” Rafe gave Thorpe his card. They shook hands and then Thorpe said, “I’ll walk you out.”

Thorpe took Rafe to the door, not wanting to give him the opportunity to search for anything.

Rafe watched him through the window once he was outside. “He’s hiding something,” he said to himself. “But what?”

He turned to walk away. “Wait a sec,” he said to himself, looking at the cars in the driveway. “Two cars in his driveway… he didn’t say anything about having company, and no way can he afford two cars himself on a judge’s salary.” He quietly took pictures of both cars’ license plates and called someone. “Hey, I’m about to text over a couple license plates. Do me a favor and let me know who these cars are registered to.”


“I-I wasn’t,” Bev stammered. “I swear. I was just trying to find out what was going on.”

“Oh, you know what’s going on,” a woman said. She was light-skinned but black and had her hair tied back in a ponytail. She seemed familiar to Bev somehow, but Bev couldn’t place her. “You just don’t care cause it doesn’t affect you. No one’s gonna follow you around or call the cops on you, right? So who cares if they do it to one of us?”

“We care!” the woman with the megaphone said. The crowd began chanting, “We care, why don’t you?”

“Get away from me!” Bev shouted. “I told you, I was just trying to find out - “

Just then, a police siren sounded, loud, and Bev saw a bunch of cops getting out of police cars. One of the cops went up to the woman with the megaphone and said, “You. Show us your permit.” while another cop said to the protesters surrounding Bev, “Back up. Away from the entrance and stop harassing customers.”

Nobody moved.

Bev's eyes darted all over the place as she heard the woman with the megaphone say, "Look, I don't have a permit, all right? But we shouldn't need one, we shouldn't need permission to stand on a sidewalk and tell people that the manager of this store doesn't want people like us in it just like we shouldn't need permission to go into the store."

"I understand that," the cop said, "but you can't harass people. And you're disturbing the peace. So - "

"Disturbing the peace?" the woman snapped. "Don't you think it disturbs our peace when we get treated like criminals for even breathing? Hannah Martin was just buying a soda and she's lucky she was just arrested, you might have shot her for nothing! So I'm sorry if I'm disturbing your peace, this store should be closed cause the manager's disturbing ours!"

There was a lot of cheering. The cop said, "All right, that's it. Put the megaphone on the ground and lie down next to it. You're under arrest."

People started shouting. "NO! Resist! We will not be silenced!"

The woman threw the megaphone down. "I will not lie down like a dog," she said, instead putting her hands up. 

Two cops grabbed her and Bev was afraid they were going to push her to the ground, but instead they just pulled her hands behind her back and cuffed her.

“It’s all right,” the megaphone lady said as people started yelling and moving in towards Bev like they were going to attack her. “Stay peaceful and just let them arrest us. Let it be on the front page of the paper that we went to jail for demanding a store owner treat us equally.”

Some of the protesters moved back but some didn’t. The cops surrounded the protesters and said, “Last chance. Back away from this woman and get on your knees, all of you!”.

The protesters didn't move.

Bev stared, wide-eyed, as a cop put his hand on the butt of what she hoped was a taser and not a gun.