Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 248,087 times)

[heroicmuse]

Week 494 - 1
In Melinda’s hotel room, Melinda handed Sloan a glass of wine and said, “Steady your nerves and then tell me exactly what this thing with this drunk is all about.”

Sloan said, “It’s nothing, really.”

“Really? And that’s why you rushed over here in a panic as soon as you heard the news that the McCarthy girl was poking her nose around her brother’s incarceration?” Melinda sipped her wine. “Just tell me one thing. Well, two things, actually. Is this going to screw up our case against Rafe Hernandez and is it going to somehow blow up in my face that I’m associated with you?”

“No and no.” Sloan gulped her wine. “I’m only tangentially related to the Joshua McCarthy case. I was a public defender at the time and honestly, it’s the reason I switched to prosecution.” She took another big swig of wine. “McCarthy was a drunk who was lucky he didn’t kill anyone and even luckier the Constitution requires every defendant who wants one gets a lawyer. He was so obviously guilty no private attorney would touch it. I mean, this idiot was found passed out in a car with twelve empty beer cans in the back seat, and his car was on the median facing the wrong way so it’s obvious that it was an act of Providence that he passed out before he hurt anyone. I convinced him to take a plea and he’s doing 10 years when he would have gotten 25 easily if he’d let a jury convict him of being stupid. Even doing that much for him made me sick, knowing that this guy was an alcoholic who was ruining people’s lives and I was helping get him back on the street faster.”

“Ten years is nothing to sneeze at. That’s a whole decade of people he isn’t killing.” Melinda took another sip. “But what am I missing here? What’s the big deal? I mean, it’s not like you planted evidence, right? He was guilty as sin and it was obvious to anyone with a brain. So what’s with the panicked phone call begging me to meet right away?”

Sloan stared into her wine. “Alison McCarthy is determined to prove her brother’s innocent, and there’s nothing she won’t do in service of that cause. Not to mention, she works for Nicole Walker.”

“The same Nicole Walker who cost me my law license.” Trask’s voice was flat. “But this could actually be a good thing. Let McCarthy investigate. There’s nothing there. But if Nicole tries to broadcast slander and lies… well, that’ll destroy both of their reputations. And with their credibility in the toilet, Nicole’s getting rid of me before I could prosecute her boyfriend looks just a little desperate and we end up looking good. Don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

Mellnda frowned. “Sloan. What is it you’re not telling me?”

“Alison McCarthy doesn’t just want to get her brother off. She’s loyal to her stupid boss and Nicole’s even stupider boyfriend.”

“And? Our case against Rafe is strong, isn’t it?”

“It is, but Alison McCarthy’s been digging into my background and trying to find anything she can to get me kicked off Hernandez’s case. And since I’m connected to her brother’s case, she’s not going to stop until she comes up with enough evidence to prove bias, and once I’m off this case they’ll dismiss the charges against Hernandez because there’ll be no one willing to prosecute it.”

“Maybe I’ll get my law license back by then.”

“It’s a nice thought, but…”

Melinda crossed her arms. “Seriously, you’re worrying about nothing. Alison McCarthy can’t get any dirt on you because there’s none to find. And you have that listening device planted in her room specifically so we can keep an eye on her and if she does manage to twist things up to make you look bad, we can take action. Look, you’re on the prosecution side, right? So if she annoys us too much…”

“Find something to charge her with,” Sloan said.

"Exactly," Melidna said. "IN fact, let's be proactive and find out what ammunition we have against her in case we need to silence her."


Meanwhile, Alison was pacing back and forth excitedly. “So we need that toxicology report. The question is, how do we get it? He’s been in jail five years, so any copies are probably long gone.”

“Yeah,” Emily said. “Although someone had to arrest him, right? Or did they get rid of that name too?”

Alison flipped through the file. “No, they didn’t. The arresting officer was…” Her eyes widened. “That’s interesting.” She showed Emily the file. “If that’s who I think it is, he’s right here in Salem.”

[André DiMera]

I really hope Sloan and Trask aren’t able to find anything to charge Alison with so she can’t investigate.

Wonder who arrested Alison’s brother.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Now there's the Sloan we all know and hate.

[heroicmuse]

Week 494 - 2
Chanel smiled nervously. “Kenneth, right?” she said, fidgeting. “Hi.”

Kenneth’s eyes narrowed. Hannah said, “Don’t tell me you don’t know his name now. You sure knew it when you were looking to take him down for what you did to Marcel.”

Chanel’s eyes flashed. “Look, I only did what I did cause Nat made me, but taking out Marcel did us all a favor.”

“Yeah?” Hannah said. “We were arrested at the court. They let us go, but it could have been bad. I was on probation and Kenneth, he didn’t have a record but the cops were pretty convinced he shot Marcel and we had to live in fear of the day that they got enough circumstantial evidence to drag him away in cuffs. You ruined our lives so don’t you stand here telling us you did us a favor.”

Chanel’s face crumpled. Jeremy put his hand on her shoulder and said. “Hey. She’s a different person now. We all are. So how about we stop rehashing the past.”

“Jeremy’s right,” Andrew added. “You guys are gonna be living together for the foreseeable future so you might as well learn to get along.”

Hannah crossed her arms. “You gonna show us to our bedroom or what? Cause I need my space from this one.”

Andrew rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Paul said, “I’ll do it. Come, Hannah. You and Kenneth are in room A.” He turned toward Andrew. “You wanna make sure the other room’s ready?”

“Yeah.” Andrew turned toward Chanel and Jeremy. “I meant what I said before. You guys are stuck together and I don’t want to have to break up fights in addition to helping keep you all safe from Nat.”

“You won’t hear any fighting from me,” Chanel said, tears in her voice.

Andrew nodded. “Be right back,” he said. He walked away and Chanel leaned on Jeremy, unhappily.

“Guess it’s my time to have someone from my past who hates me,” Chanel sniffed. “And the worst part is, she’s right. I screwed my own cousin and his girlfriend over just cause Nat said so. I didn’t know who they were then but what does that matter? I shot someone in the back and I tried to make Kenneth take the fall.” She sniffed.

“And I lost my temper and held Stephanie Johnson’s head under water, but every time I tried to say I deserved how she was treating me, you told me that was a long time ago and I’m not the same man anymore,” Jeremy said. “It’s the same thing, baby. The fact that we’re here proves it. You’re willing to testify against Nat now and get her sent to jail for life like she belongs. So stop beating yourself up, okay?”

“I’ll try,” Chanel said. “You’re asking a lot, you know.”

“I’ll do it if you will,” Jeremy said. He hugged Chanel and stroked her hair.


Julie and Justin came out into the backyard, where Rory was sitting on the tire swing Doug had put up for Mariposa.

“He seems so lost,” Julie said softly. “He still hasn’t called that girlfriend of his. I’m so afraid he’s going to lose her.”

“I don’t know that I can help with that,” Justin said. “But I can help tell him about his inheritance and try to convince him to put it in a trust for his own good. Come on.”

Julie and Justin came carefully down the back steps and over to the swing. “Rory?” Julie said.

Rory lifted his head. “Hey, Julie,” he said, and made himself smile. “I’ll come in and help with dinner in a bit.”

“I appreciate that,” Julie said, “but that’s not why we came out here. We want to talk to you about Doug’s will.”

Rory gulped. “He didn’t leave me anything, did he? I get it. Doug knew I was bad with money so he figured he’d give it all to you and you’d give me an allowance or something.”

“Actually,” Justin said, “the opposite is true. Doug gave you a lot of money. But — “
‘
“How much is a lot?” Rory asked.

“Half a million dollars,” Justin said, and Rory’s mouth dropped open.


Emily’s phone beeped as she and Emily were walking down the hall to the elevator. “Crap,” she said. “I forgot I have a meeting with Dr. Blanton.”

“That’s okay,” Alison said. “I can talk to this cop by myself.”

Emily frowned. “You sure? I mean, if he’s involved he’s corrupt, right, and if he’s corrupt you need witnesses.”

“I’m sure he’s not,” Alison said. “I’ve dealt with him a lot before. He even had to take me in when I was undercover at that hate rally that time, and he was apologetic about it. Anyway, you can’t go and I can’t wait so…”

“There’s another option,” Emily said. She gestured across the hall. “Maybe Dani’s free.”

Alison raised her eyebrows. “You sure? You always seem, I don’t know… like you think the less time I spend with her the better.”

“I’m not jealous or anything,” Emily said quickly. “It’s just she has a really obvious crush on you so it’s awkward for both of you. I mean, she’s so much younger. We’re graduating in two months and she’s a freshman so she doesn’t have any chance and I just don’t want her to relapse if you have to break her heart.”

“I’m not going to let it get to the point where she thinks we have a real chance,” Alison said, “not that she’s into me. She wants that girl who works for Campus Police, the redheaded one.”

“Who she has even less chance with,” Emily said.

Alison rolled her eyes. “Go to your meeting before you’re late. And stop gossiping in the hall about her, especially right in front of her room.”

“You’re right. Sorry. I’m going.” Emily hurried to the elevator.

“Not jealous? Seriously?” Alison said under her breath. She glanced at Dani’s door. “I could use some help interviewing this cop,” she said to herself, “but Emily is right about one thing. It would suck if I led Dani on.” She let her breath out slowly while she tried to decide what to do.

[André DiMera]

It’s understandable that Hannah’s not happy about this, but Andrew’s right, they do have to live together. Glad Jeremy’s there for Chanel.

Wonder how Rory will react to that!

Oh, Emily is definitely jealous! While it would suck to lead Dani on, Alison does need help.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

That is a very generous inheritance from Doug. I hope Rory doesn't get stupid and honors Doug the right way.

Should be interesting having brother and sister together in the safe house. They can get to know each other.

[heroicmuse]

Week 494 - 3

“Thanks for doing this with me,” Alison said as she and Dani drove toward the police station. “I know you’re not a reporter or anything, but I kind of wanted some company while I talk to this cop.”

“I’d be nervous too if it was my brother.” Dani played with her bracelet. “I mean, I’m nervous anyway, cause the last time I saw the cops, they were putting me in cuffs for giving a fake ID to an undercover so…” She let her breath out slowly, trying not to think about that humiliating experience. She’d been arrested right outside the S-Mart and a crowd had gathered and stared at her as she was put in the back of a squad car.

She shook her head to dislodge the horrible memory.

“Yeah, I know it’s hard for you. That’s why I really appreciate this.” Alison’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Um, there’s something I have to talk to you about before we get started though.”

“Uh oh.” Dani smiled nervously.

Alison’s cheeks turned pink. She pretended to be staring intently at the road, hoping that Dani hadn’t noticed how cute she thought that smile was. It didn’t matter. Dani was way too young for her and besides, dating an alcoholic would be like the nightmare she had went through with her brother all over again. And anyway, Dani already had a girlfriend, even if Kelsey had been MIA for a while and hadn’t even been able to email her lately.

She let her breath out slowly. “The thing is, I can tell you have a little bit of a crush on me. And I’m flattered, really. But…” She sighed deeply.

“But you don’t like me that way.” Dani’s voice was flat. “That’s cool.” She turned and stared out the window. “I-I didn’t expect… I mean, you’re a senior and I’m a freshman, so…”

“Right.” Alison sighed. “I do value our friendship and I hope you do too.”

“I do.” Dani made herself smile even though she had tears in her eyes. “I’m not supposed to date anyway,” she said. “That’s what my sponsor keeps telling me. I’m supposed to focus on my sobriety and forget about girls til I’ve been alcohol-free for longer. That’s probably why I have crushes on two people I don’t have a chance with. You and Joy, I mean, Officer Wesley. I guess my mind is actively looking for people who wouldn’t date me if I were the last woman on Earth so that I don’t get myself in trouble.” Her voice shook.

“I didn’t want to make you cry,” Alison said. “I just… you know, working on this together might mean spending a lot of time together, and if it gets dangerous we could get into trouble together and I didn’t want you to think it was something other than what it is.”
“It’s okay,” Dani said. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine for always wanting what I can’t have.” She got a tissue out of her purse and dabbed her eyes with it. “Um, can I ask you one thing? I-if I wasn’t a drunk, would that make a difference?”

“You’re not a drunk. You’re an alcoholic in recovery. Those are two separate things.”

“Thanks. But I still want to know, is that what the dealbreaker is?”

Alison shook her head. “The biggest dealbreaker is that I have a girlfriend already, supposedly anyway. She’s been traveling for work for a long time so we’re sort of… falling out of touch. And I really don’t think I should be dating a freshman at this point in my life. I’m about to graduate and you’re just starting out so…”

“I understand.” Dani let her breath out slowly. “Glad we got that out of the way. So um, who are we talking to today?”

Alison pulled into a parking space before she answered. “According to the police report, the cop who arrested my brother was named Prescott. Now, that could be a coincidence since that was Chicago and this is Salem, but there’s an Officer Prescott who works for Salem PD so I wanted to see what, if anything, he knows about my brother’s arrest and especially about what happened to the toxicology report they should have given him.”

Dani’s eyes widened. “Prescott?” she repeated.

“Yeah. You know him?”

Dani nodded. “He, um… he was one of the cops that arrested me.” Her cheeks turned bright red and she couldn’t look Alison in the eye.


Hannah and Kenneth had been assigned a nice looking room that reminded Hannah of the hotel she had hoped to go away with Kenneth to someday. The bed was large and comfortable, they had a dresser made of shiny mahogany, and there was even a flat-screen TV. There was a large bathroom attached to the room that had a tub as well as a shower, and it had already been stocked with shampoo and soap for them.

Yet as she walked around the room, she couldn’t help feeling like she was back in jail, on that hard mattress in her dorm crowded in with 50 other women, some of whom were far worse criminals than her.

Kenneth came out of the bathroom. “If we have to be locked up, at least the accommodations are nice, huh?” Hannah shrugged and he frowned. “You okay?”

“I will be. I’m not happy about losing my freedom cause of Nat, especially not when I gotta share my space with the girl who messed with you.”

“That girl’s my cousin,” Kenneth said. “I’m not happy about it either, but I gotta get used to it for my mom’s sake cause if things had been different, I’d have known her as my sister.”

“Right.” Hannah swallowed hard. “New subject. Um, there’s only one bed in here so, uh, what do you wanna do about sleeping arrangements tonight?”

[André DiMera]

So glad Alison and Dani got that out of the way! Hopefully things won’t be awkward with Prescott and Dani.

Makes sense that this is hard for Hannah. Wonder what Kenneth will say.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Good question about sleeping arrangements. And right, they are cousins, not brother and sister. Thanks for that reminder. It's like the on-air show, keeping up with who's related and how. LOL.

[heroicmuse]

Week 494 - 4
Rory’s eyes widened. “$500,000…” He started counting on his fingers. “Wait, how many zeroes is that again?”

“It’s five zeros,” Justin told him, “but that isn’t the important point. That’s a lot of money, Rory, and Doug wanted you to have it for a long time.”

“Course he did,” Rory said. “I’ll need to use a little of it, though. I need to get a calendar so I can keep track of everyone’s birthday.”

Julie frowned. “You don’t need to touch your inheritance just to get a calendar, sweetheart. That’s only a few dollars.”

“I know but what I meant is, um…” Rory swallowed hard. “Doug always remembered everyone’s birthday in the whole family, and now that he’s gone, someone has to do it for him. So since he gave me all that money, he must want me to take over the birthdays. So I want to get a calendar and you put everyone’s birthday on it and then every year you help me get them something nice.”

“That has to be one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard,” Justin said, “and I’m sure we can arrange that. But while we’re making arrangements, Julie and I wanted to talk to you about how to make sure that money doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.”

“That means we want to make sure you don’t spend and spend and spend,” Julie added.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Rory said. “Doug taught me a trick for saving money. He said, open a second bank account and you put all the money you want to spend for the month in there and that way, you can pretend it’s all the money you have and you don’t touch the rest.”

Julie raised her eyebrows. “That is a good idea,” she said. “But maybe we can help you with that in a sepcial way. See, Doug, bless his heart, but he didn’t think about whether you should get all %500,000 at once or little by little. So we thought we could set up a trust.”

“What’s that?” Rory asked.

Justin explained, “It’s sort of like a bank account, but one you don’t have the keys to. Julie would have access to that account, and every month she could put the right amount in your account so you have the money you need.”

“Hmm,” Rory said, putting his hand to his chin. “So Julie would give me like, an allowance? But how does that work if the money’s mine?”

“It’s a little complicated,” Justin said, “so I won’t go into all the details, but basically it’s like you said. The money would go into a special bank account and Julie would give you an allowance out of it.”

Rory bit his lip. “I think I like the other idea better. I’m a man, not a little boy, and Doug obviously trusted me or he would have set it up with the allowance account in the first place.”

“We do trust you,” Julie said. “It’s just that $500,000 is a lot of money for someone like… someone your age and I wanted to help you manage it, that’s all.”

“You think I’m going to go blow it on weed and booze.” Rory crossed his arms. “I don’t do those things anymore. I made a promise I wouldn’t when you and Doug took me in and just cause he’s gone doesn’t mean I’m gonna go back on my word.” He turned his back on Julie. “Doug trusted me and I’d never do anything to betray it even if I’m only betraying his memory. I sure wish you trusted me too.”

“I do,” Julie said. “That’s not why — “

“Then let me do it my way,” Rory said.

Julie’s face fell. Justin said, “Rory’s right. He’s a grown man.” He turned toward Rory. “Figuring out what to do with a large sum of money can be confusing, so if you decide you want my help, you call me.” He gave him a business card.

“Thanks,” Rory said. He put the business card away and said, “Don’t worry, Julie. I’m gonna do Doug proud. You’ll see.”

I hope so, Julie thought, but she kept that to herself.


Sloan had used her credentials in the prosecutor’s office to get a background check on Alison. “Let’s see,” she said, scrolling down. She frowned. “Unlike her brother, she seems to be squeaky clean. The only legal trouble she’s ever got into was a mistake. I mean, we can use it, maybe. She was arrested for conspiracy to commit race-based violence at a hate group meeting, but it turns out she was working undercover for the six o’clock news trying to expose these idiots, so it didn’t stick.”

“That’s all?” Trask said. “That won’t help us. We need something that we can build upon to suggest she broke the law in a new way if she gets out of line.”

“Which she will,” Sloan said, “but pinning anything on her’s going to be hard. She sent a bunch of Fire Lions to jail after they beat her almost to death at the train station over a cheap phone and a few dollars.” She bit her lip, rubbing her secret tattoo under her sleeve. That girl is going to pay for that too once we get her, she thought. But how are we going to make a case against her?

Her phone buzzed. “Crap,” she said. “We’ll have to figure this out later.” She stood. “It’s time to get ready for that stupid probable cause hearing. Let’s hope Judge Walston, even though he’s so incredibly soft on crime, will agree that we have more than enough to bring our case against Rafe Hernandez to a jury."

[André DiMera]

I actually really like Rory’s idea. It’s incredibly sweet! Glad he’s standing his ground on this.

I doubt Judge Walston will agree with much of what Sloan says. Hopefully she won’t find anything on Alison.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I hope Rory doesn't get tempted. He was adamant about doing it his way and I hope he shows how much he's grown.

[heroicmuse]

Week 494 - 5

Stephanie stared at Steve. “What do I want to do with my life? That’s a loaded question, isn’t it?”

“And that’s avoiding givin’ me a straight answer,” Steve said. He sighed. “Maybe we should have waited til your mom got here so we could all talk, but the thing is, I’m worried about you. You’ve been here six months and about the only thing you’re doin’ with your time is filing restraining orders against Jeremy Horton. The rest of the time, seems to me you’re sittin’ at home thinkin’ about everything that’s gone wrong in the past, and that’s no way to live.” He sighed. “I know I wasn’t around for most of your childhood, and just cause that wasn’t my choice doesn’t mean it was any easier for you. But one thing I did learn from that is that life is precious. We just never know how much time the dude upstairs is gonna give us, Little Sweetness, and the last thing I want for you is to get up to those pearly gates and have to explain to St. Peter why you wasted the time you were given sittin’ at home watchin’ TV day in and day out.”

“I do not watch TV all day,” Stephanie said. “I read. And I go out with Theresa.”

“Yeah, you do,” Steve said. “But what you don’t do is anything that’s gonna add somethin’ to the world. You’re too smart to be wastin’ time like this. Now if you need help findin’ something to do…”

“I don’t,” Stephanie said. “I had a job in Seattle, you know. So it’s not like I’m lazy or incapable of working.”

“Didn’t say you were, now did I?” Steve said. “All I’m sayin’ is, if you don’t know what you wanna do and you want to give detective work a try, I’d be happy to take you under my wing.”

Stephanie bit her lip. ‘I don’t know. I don’t see myself as a detective.”

“What do you see yourself as, then?”


Stephanie shrugged. “Not a PR person, that’s for sure. That job in Seattle sucked.”

Steve nodded. “Well, take a couple days to think it over, but then after that… it’s time for you to start lookin’ for a job or go back to school to train for one, one or the other.”

Stephanie gulped, not sure what to say.


“He arrested me too, once,” Alison told Dani, “but it was a misunderstanding. I was on assignment and he thought I was associated with the people I was writing about.”

“Wish mine was a misunderstanding.” Dani sighed. “It was just me being stupid. I wanted alcohol but I knew it was a bad idea. So you know what my dumb ass did? I used a fake ID to buy wine coolers from the S-Mart across from campus. And, um, the clerk was working with the cops so as soon as I got outside, I got stopped. Officer Prescott already knew I had a fake ID but he made me show it again to be sure and then he made me face the wall and put my hands behind my back, and no amount of begging would get him to let me off with a warning.” She shook her head. “The DA almost charged me with a felony. It’s only cause I made a deal that I got off with a misdemeanor and probation instead of jail time. I can’t believe how close I came to ruining my life just for a stupid six-pack of wine coolers.”

Alison patted her shoulder. “You’re sober now, that’s all that counts. And now, you get to show Officer Prescott that you’ve turned your life around while we ask him if he remembers arresting my brother in Chicago. Come on.”

As the girls walked into the police station, someone zoomed in from afar to take several shots of them walking in together.


Outside the courtroom, Justin explained what was happening to Rafe and Nicole.

“As you know, this is a probable cause hearing,” he said, “which means that the prosecution has to present their entire case against you for me to try to poke enough holes in that the judge decides they don’t have enough to move forward. Now, if that happens, which I hope it will, that still isn’t the end of this, because the DA’s office could get more evidence against you and try again. But it is the end for now, and that’s a good thing for us.”

“Yeah,” Rafe said. “Any break in the nightmare would be great. Do I get to take the stand or are we saving that for trial?”

“I’d rather keep the focus on the fact that Sloan Petersen doesn’t have a case,” Justin said, “but I might call you and Kate to make the point that they haven’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Kate’s shooting Montague was illegal or that you covered it up. Let’s see how it goes before we decide.” He turned toward Nicole. “I’m glad you’re here. Your job today is to show the court you support Rafe. But no drama. It won’t play well with the judge if you get into a shouting match with Sloan or anyone else.”

“Understood,” Nicole said. “I’ll be uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole proceedings. Scout’s honor.”

“I hope so,” Justin said. “Come on. Let’s go in.”

Sloan was sitting at the prosecution table with Trask as Rafe, Nicole, and Justin walked in. She gave Rafe a dirty look as he took his seat.

The bailiff announced, “All rise for the honorable Henry B. Walston.”

Rafe could feel Sloan glaring at him as he stood.

[André DiMera]

Glad Steve is talking to Stephanie about this. Hopefully she’ll figure out what she wants to do.

Ugh, I’m guessing that’s someone working for Sloan and Trask watching Alison and Dani.

Hope the hearing goes well.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[Kpatch]

I'm so glad Steve confronted Stephanie. His advice was brilliant and this may be the best line of the story yet: But what you don’t do is anything that’s gonna add somethin’ to the world.

Such an important concept that most people don't think about.