Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 251,889 times)

[krw627]

The judge better not let Matt out on bail. She's not done terrorizing people. She will go after Dr. Martin if she is released.

I hope Sami is ok. She'd be there for her mom and kids even if she didn't care about John.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera, Kpatch, and krw627 for your comments this week.

Next week the tribute to John continues along with some exciting new stories. Read on for spoilers.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...
Marlena doesn't want to show her grief in front of everyone, but she has a hard time when talking to Steve. Later,she tries to steer the conversation in a happier direction while Steve and Paul talk in the kitchen about how to help her and Eric finds Sami.

Meanwhile, Allie and Sydney have a chance to talk about Ruby.

Elsewhere, Dani realizes something about Josh, with some help from Sally, while Alison confronts Emily about her reluctance to continue the investigation.

Finally, Judge Hildebrand makes a decision about Nat's bail.

[André DiMera]

So curious where Sami’s got to. It makes sense that talking about John’s passing would be hard, especially with Steve.

Can’t wait for Allie and Sydney’s talk.

Wonder what Dani realizes, and what Emily will say.

Hope the judge makes the right decision!

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 516 - 1
“So?” Dani said nervously after she’d stammered through an explanation to Sally about what Alison and Emily were doing in Chicago. “What do you think?”

“I think,” Sally said slowly, “that I can’t believe two days before Halloween you’re up in this office begging for ideas how you can help work on this story instead of getting ready to go to a party and have some crazy fun.”

Dani’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve had enough crazy fun to last me a lifetime, believe me. I’ve never driven drunk, but that’s about the only good decision I made around alcohol til I was dumb enough to give a fake ID to a cop. I deserved that night in jail and if I were in Josh’s shoes, probably no one would believe it was fake because they know I drink like a fish. So no, I don’t want to go have some crazy fun. I don’t care that it’s Halloween. I just want to do something to help bring someone home who doesn’t belong in jail.”

“All right then,” Sally said. “I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I just wanted to make sure you really want to do this, that’s all, cause you’re young and supposedly not into journalism.”

“I’m more a graphic designer,” Dani said, reddening, “but I want to help my friends so… anyway, if there’s nothing I can do from here, there’s nothing I can do from here and I’ll go find something else to occupy my time.” Dani held up her hand. “Not drinking, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t think otherwise. And I didn’t say there was nothing you could do.” Sally sighed. “Let’s start all over again, all right?”

“Yeah, okay,” Dani said.

“I’m about to give you the keys to the kingdom,” Sally said, “metaphorically speaking, Look.” She double clicked on something. “This is a database I happen to have access to that gives you all kinds of info about cops. Don’t ask how I”m connected cause I can’t tell you; it’s got to do with an anonymous source. But one place you could start is by looking up this Gerald Prescott and see what kind of trouble he’s got into before. His record might give you some hints about what happened the night Josh McCarthy was arrested. So that’s one thing.”

“What’s the other?” Dani asked as Sally pressed ALT+TAB to change screens.

“I’m just getting to it,’” Sally said.

“Sorry.” Dani blushed again.

“Nothing to be sorry about. Impatience seems to follow interns into this room. I’ll tell you stories some time when we have a slow news day, if that ever happens.” Sally smiled slightly. “Now,” she said, “this is an arrest records database. We can look up Josh McCarthy in here.”

“We already know about him, kind of. That’s part of why Alison and Emily went to Chicago, to try to find the missing pages in his arrest record.”

“The tox report. Right. I don’t know if that’ll be in here since someone went to all that trouble, but we can try. But that’s not the only reason I wanted you to take a look at Josh’s record.” Sally crossed her arms. “The way I see it, his arrest might not have been his first encounter with the cops. And if he got in trouble before we’ll get the names of the officers and the full report. Hopefully, on the second part, since they messed with the one he’s doing time for now. Could be he made an enemy among the cops and that’s what started all this.”

Dani nodded, her heart pounding.

Sally said, “What are you waiting for? Go ahead and search for him.”

Dani swallowed hard. I wonder what would come up if I searched my own name, she thought, remembering how hard she’d fought to get the cops to let her go, to no avail. She bit her lip, telling herself there was no time for that now, and typed in Josh’s name to see what came up.


Judge Hildebrand said, “It is true that I said that I would consider the defendant’s bail petition and that I would make my ruling based on what I saw in court today. And I will admit I did see some improvements in the defendant’s behavior. She did not interrupt the proceedings, nor did she try to accuse this court of wrongdoing based on doctored evidence. However, we must keep in mind that part of the reason she did not misbehave was that she was the one taking the stand today.

“You were the center of attention, Ms. Simmons, and you would not have wanted to lose that position by acting out and having to give your testimony via closed-circuit television in a jail cell. Thus, your relatively appropriate behavior in court today is not indicative of having learned your lesson from the weekend you spent behind bars.”

Nat’s eyes narrowed. She started to say something, but caught herself just in time.

“What I did see was that your behavior on the stand was questionable,” Judge Hildebrand went on. ‘It was not nearly as egregious as your behavior the other day, but don’t think I didn’t notice those eye rolls or the whiny tone in your voice when your testimony was not going the way you had hoped. Furthermore, your entire testimony was claims that any wrongdoing you were accused of was really someone else’s fault. Now, you have the right to mount a defense of your choosing, including that one, but it did not make me think you are someone who takes responsibility for her actions and resolves to do better in the future. For all these reasons, I am not convinced that you have any remorse for the threats you made against ADA Rubin or the witnesses against you.”


“Your Honor…” Saxon began.

“Allow me to finish, please, Mr. Saxon.” Judge Hildebrand sounded tired. “You’d think they would have taught you that in your first year law school classes.”

Saxon looked away. “I apologize, your Honor.”

“You and your client are far too alike for my liking,” Judge Hildebrand commented. “”Anyway, as I was saying, I will give your client a choice. She can either report to jail, or she can report to a halfway house with strict rules she must follow, for the duration of this trial, as I am not grantng bail. Which is it to be, Ms. Simmons?”

[André DiMera]

So glad Sally’s letting Dani help! Wonder what they’ll find.

Thank goodness Judge Hildebrand isn’t exactly granting bail, but I don’t think giving Nat a choice between jail and a place she can likely escape from like a halfway house is a good idea.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 516 - 2
“I’m afraid it is,” Marlena said to Steve. “I can hardly believe it myself. I half thought that would be him at the door with some outlandish story about, I don’t know, being knocked out and dragged halfway across the world before clawing his way out to come back to me.” She smiled sadly.

“Yeah. Same.” Steve sighed deeply. “Kayla sends her love. She’s stuck at the hospital but she’ll be here as soon as she can… anyway, when John was… here, I never needed an invitation but I don’t want to overstep so, um, can I come in?”

“Of course,” Marlena said.

“I think my mother could use the company,” Eric added, “especially because I have to step out for a moment.” He turned toward Marlena. “I think I know where Sami is and I’m pretty sure I can convince her to get over here where she should be.”

“Oh.” Marlena’s voice was flat. “Well, as long as she’s all right. I know she likes to put on a brave face so she probably wants to get all her crying out in private before she makes an appearance.”

“Yeah,” Eric said, “but this isn’t a time to worry about appearances so if you don’t mind me being absent a few minutes, I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with Sami in tow.”

“Of course.” Marlena gave him a smile that he knew was fake. “It’s sweet of you to worry, but I’ll be just fine. And I know that nothing will happen very quickly when it comes to changing your sister’s mind, so don’t fret about me. Take as much time as you need.”

Eric hugged her tight. “I’m sure John is watching over her even though she’s resisting it with all her might,” he said, his voice shaking. “And just so you know, and I’m sure he did as well, even though he wasn’t my biological father, I always thought of myself as lucky enough to have two.”


“I know you did, and I know he knew that. And I also know Sami knew that too.” Marlena let go of Eric. “Go, before I start crying.”

Eric stood there, staring at her like he wanted to say something. After a second, he just said, “I love you, Mom. Be back soon.”

Eric left and Marlena let her breath out slowly. “Well,” she said to Steve, “there’s a lot of people here already and more on their way. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll fix you a drink?”

“Fix me a drink?” Steve said. “No, Marlena, not today. You’re the w-who lost your husband. If anyone’s gonna be waitin’ on someone else, it’s me, not you, cause that’s what John would have wanted.” He looked around the room, his good eye landing on Paul. “Black Patch Jr,” he said. “Come help me get what we need so we can toast to John.” He turned back to Marlena. “You just have a seat and relax. We’ve got you.”

“Oh. If you insist…” Marlena sank into her seat, sighing deeply. As Paul went into the kitchen, she looked around at all the people mourning. “You know, John wouldn’t want us to be sitting around with long faces. Who wants to tell me something going on in their lives other than missing him, something positive maybe?”

No one said a word.


Meanwhile, Sami had gone to the cemetery to visit Caroline’s grave. “I know what you’re saying, Grandma,” she said to the gravestone. “I”m being selfish as usual. You don’t need my attention right now nearly as much as Mom does, or my kids. Especially Sydney. She’s still so young…” Sami blinked hard. “I just couldn’t bear her seeing me like this and you always calm me down so…. And the worst part is, I don’t know why this hit me so hard. I keep telling myself that John wasn’t my father and that half the things I went through in my life wouldn’t have happened if Mom had just stayed married to Dad and not cheated with a guy who she only mistook for him but as good a liar as I am, even I don’t believe that one. .” Her voice shook. “I was supposed to outgrow the way I felt when I was sixteen. And I thought I had. I mean, sure, John and I fought a lot, but underneath it all, we loved each other. Or at least, he loved me. And I just hope he knows that I loved him too despite everything.”

She looked up as someone put their hand on her shoulder. “Eric?” she said, surprised. “I thought for a second… never mind.”

“That it was John,” Eric said softly.

“Maybe. I mean, I’m not totally delusional. How did you know I was here, anyway?”

“Twin’s intuition,” Eric said. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. “Get it all out of your system so you can come back to us. Mom’s worried and so are your kids, and I had to sneak out while Lucas was busy so he wouldn’t run after me.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Sami said. “I’m better at being angry than sad and right now I’m sad.” She began to cry. Eric hugged her and stroked her hair.

[André DiMera]

Glad Eric went to go find Sami, and that Steve is helping Marlena and the others toast to John. I’m not surprised that this has hit Sami so hard. No matter how much she tried to hide it, she loved John.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I hope Sami stops being selfish and goes to her mother in her hour of need.

[heroicmuse]

Week 516 - 3
Dani leaned forward, staring at the screen. “So,” she said weakly, “what does this mean?”

“Let’s start with what you think it means,” Sally said. “For all the noise you keep making about how you’re just a graphic designer, you just dived into reporting without a second thought, and you’re not going to learn much if you’re depending on me to fill your head with interpretations of what you just saw.”

Dani swallowed hard. “Well, I see a bunch of times he was stopped and not arrested, which is fishy. I mean, I know they can stop you and let you go. It happened to me a couple months ago.” She shivered, and not just with fear. The idea of Joy putting her in cuffs and patting her down was turning her on when she needed to concentrate.

“Mm hmm,” Sally said. “I don’t trust cops and let’s just say I have good reason not to, but even with all the favoritism they show to certain people, they aren’t about to stop the same guy a billion times and let him go each time. But the question you need to ask yourself is, why? What are the possibilities?”

Dani bit her lip, thinking. “I guess he could be offering to sleep with the cop if he let him go.”

“Possible, but that’s not the first place my mind would go and yours shouldn’t either. First question: was it different cops stopping him or the same ones all the time?”

Dani reddened. She should have remembered to check something that simple without being reminded. “Let me see,” she said. She looked, her eyes widening. “Yes and no.”

“Yes and no? What does that mean?”

“It means,” Dani said, “that it was the same guy paired with different other cops each time. See?” She pointed to the screen. “G. Prescott every time. That’s the cop Alison wants to interview who’s stonewalling her. She tried to get the tox screen from when Josh was arrested and it was missing out of his report.”

“Hmm,” Sally said. “So you’re telling me this G. Prescott is the opposite of the Prescott we got here who’s one of the only cops I can stand to spend more than a minute with?”

“Could be,” Dani said. “There are a ton of arrests here that went nowhere and…” She froze. “Wait. It was always on the same street corner. Different charges, different partner, but literally every one of these arrests was on the same intersection. Can I screenshot this to show Alison? As long as she’s in Chicago, she should check out what’s on that corner.”

“Go for it,” Sally said, “but use secure texting just in case. And in the meantime, develop your own theory. What are you thinking’s the reason for this?”

“I don’t know.” Dani got up, adding, “Moving around helps me think.” She hit the button on her phone to send the screenshot. “Okay, so it was always the intersection of Clark and Devon….”

“You got a smartphone. You don’t have to wait for Alison to go there to find out what’s there, do you?”

“Guess not.” Dani took out her phone and typed. “It’s a busy intersection,” she says. “Lots of foot traffic. So if he was arrested there, everyone would see it.”

Sally nodded. “Go on.”

“And there’s a lot of stores around,” Dani said, “so he easily could have accused Josh of shoplifting. Which obviously wasn’t true cause he kept letting him go. But why did Josh just take that?” As she scrolled through, she added, “I would have…” She trailed off, her eyes widening.

“What?” Sally said. “You find something good?”

“I… I think?” Dani didn’t move her eyes from her phone screen. “T-there’s a police station down the block and it made me think…” She paced back and forth. “When I was arrested,” she said slowly, “they pressured me to tell them who I got the fake ID from. They wanted to catch a bigger fish.”

“Hmm,” Sally said. “What’s that got to do with Josh and this cop?”

“I’m just saying,” Dani said. “They kept arresting him on a super busy corner where everyone could see so they could take him half a block to the police station. It almost feels staged, like this G Prescott person wanted a lot of people to see Josh get arrested even though he didn’t plan to hold onto him. A-and if I hadn’t had a good lawyer… one of the things they tried to do was offer me a deal where they’d drop the charges if I, like, spied on the people making the cards for them.”

“You mean like a confidential informant?”

“Yep. Can you imagine? Dani Olsen, C.I.” Dani giggled. Then her smile faded. “But what if Josh really was a CI? That would explain it, wouldn’t it? All the staged arrests, always in the same place? They needed to talk to him so they’d meet on Devon and Clark and they’d cuff him, make it look like an arrest, and take him to the station to get info from him.”

“Could be,” Sally said, “but to become a CI he had to have done something to get himself in trouble.”

“Right,” Dani said. “I guess we should go further back to confirm it, but it fits. If he was a CI and he got made, someone could have framed him for the DUI to get back at him or to get him out of the way, and whoever it is probably has people on the inside that are keeping Josh in line now. That’s why he doesn’t want Alison to investigate, cause there are people in jail who will turn on him quick.”

‘You’re cooking with gas,” Sally said, “or you will be once you prove any of this. Go back further in his arrest record and let me know what you see that you could work with.”

[André DiMera]

Glad Sally’s helping Dani with this. The theory Dani has is interesting!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[krw627]

Dani may end up switching her major. She's only a freshman and she's getting a great education without ever taking a journalism class.

[heroicmuse]

Week 516 - 4
Rubin jumped up before Nat could speak. “I’m sorry for the interruption, your Honor, but may I approach? There’s something you need to know in the event Ms. Simmons agrees to go to a halfway house.”

“Attorneys, approach. Both of you,” Judge Hildebrand said, “and do not object to that, Ms. Rubin. You know as well as I do that speaking privately to only one side before making a decision is grounds for an appeal.”

“Yes, your Honor.” Rubin’s heart pounded. She hoped Nat didn’t ask to come up with them, which would make her job more difficult, but she guessed it didn’t matter. Saxon would tell her what happened anyway.

The attorneys came up to the bench. The judge covered her microphone and said, “Go ahead, Ms. Rubin.”

Rubin said, “Before assigning Natalie Simmons to a halfway house, you should know that Chanel Dupree lives at the Second Chance Home For Women. She was court-ordered to live there two years ago after her arrest for drugs and it is currently a condition of the probation she is on after she pled guilty in the Marcel Simmons case.”

“You mean Marcel Simmons’ murder,” Saxon said, “which you played games with to coerce Ms. Dupree into testifying against my client.”

The judge held up her hand. “We are not here to argue the issue of whether Chanel Dupree’s testimony was coerced. That was settled when one of my colleagues signed off on her plea deal, and that matter will not be re-opened here, nor will it be allowed to be a distraction from the current issue.”

“Thank you, your Honor,” Rubin said. “Given the defense attorney’s reaction, I think it is even more clear that placing Ms. Simmons in the same halfway house as the person who killed her brother and then testified against her at her trial is not a good idea.”

“I agree,” Judge Hildebrand said. “You say Ms. Dupree has been in a halfway house for two years?”

“It’ll be three in March,” Rubin said, “out of the five she was ordered to live there post-conviction.”

Judge Hildebrand nodded. “That is the program run by Edwina MacGregor, correct?”

“Yes, your Honor,” Rubin said.

“In that case,” Judge Hildebrand said, “after Ms. Simmons makes her decision I will call a recess. Regardless of whether or not she chooses to live in a halfway house rather than remain in jail, I want to confirm with Mrs. Macgregor that Chanel Dupree has been an exemplary resident. If so, I will order she be released early from the Second Chance Home as a reward for good behavior and that will solve this problem. If Mrs. MacGregor believes that Ms. Dupree still requires the benefit of her program, I will make arrangements for Ms. Simmons to reside in a different halfway house, should she be willing to reside in any at all.”

Saxon said, “With all due respect, your Honor, could you make that call right now? I want to confer with my client before she makes her decision.”

“That seems fair,” Hildebrand said. “Step back and I will call the recess.”

The attorneys stepped back. Judge Hildebrand said, “This court will recess for 30 minutes so that the defendant can confer with her counsel about this issue. Ms. Simmons, I suggest you take this seriously. If I hear of any disrespect or other nonsense when I return, this offer is rescinded.”

Nat’s eyes flashed but she said, “Yes, your Honor.”

The judge’s gavel banged.

As everyone filed out of the courtroom, Rubin said to herself, “I can’t believe she’s allowing Natalie Simmons the option to stay in a halfway house. That is far too low security for someone like her.” She went out into the hall and made a call. “Commissioner Carver, it’s ADA Helen Rubin. No, it’s not over yet. However, there is a chance that Natalie Simmons will be going to a halfway house for the rest of the trial. Yeah, I don’t like it either. So what do you think? Should we keep the girls in the safe house, or can you spare some people to give them personal protection? No, I have no doubt that in a minimum security environment like a halfway house, Natalie Simmons will take advantage of her newfound freedom to come after them again, especially Hannah and her family.”



Allie and Sydney were sitting in a quiet corner of Marlena’s apartment. “I can’t believe Grandpa John is gone,” Allie said, blinking back tears. “I’ll neer forget how hard he tried to help me when I wasn’t eating. Never.”

“He never treated me and Johnny any different than you even though I know he hated my dad,” Sydney said. “Not that I blame him. I used to wish that there was a mix-up and that I was really Lucas’ too.”

“I thought that was because you had a crush on Theo.”

Sydney reddened. “That was part of it. But obviously that doesn’t matter as much as I thought it did. I mean, look at Johnny and Ciara.” She frowned. “Where are they, anyway?”

“Mom was supposed to get Johnny from football practice,” Allie said, “but she’s not here so I hope she didn’t forget. And I’m not sure where Ciara is.”

“I’m kind of glad she’s not here yet. I’m not mad at her or anything, but there’s something I want to tell you that I don’t want her to hear.” Sydney lowered her voice. “One of the students I peer mentored today was Ruby Michaels. You know, the girl who held her up.”

Allie stiffened. “And the girl I shot. I heard she got out of juvie.”

“She did,” Sydney said. “The thing is, she’s really sweet and I… kind of like her.” She looked away, afraid of how Allie would react.

[Kpatch]

That's quite a confession from Sydney to admit she wishes Lucas was her bio father.

[André DiMera]

Yeah, I hope the judge says no to Nat living in a halfway house, regardless of what’s said about Chanel. Glad Rubin is calling Abe about this.

Wonder what Allie will say about that!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 516 - 5
While Alison was taking a shower, Emily picked up her tablet and stared at it. Someone had sent her an email with a photo of her and Alison being searched by the cops after the littering incident. Underneath, the person had written:

Better Josh McCarthy in jail than you and your friend. GO HOME.

Emily swallowed hard, remembering how she had lied and insisted she wasn’t being threatened when Alison asked her. If she’d told her the truth, Alison wouldn’t have accepted it. She wouldn’t have dropped the case. She’d have told Emily that they weren’t going to let threats deter them and try twice as hard to get that cop to talk.

No, it was way better that Emily kept this to herself and did her best to dissuade Alison, not that Alison was very dissuadable.

She sighed deeply. What was she going to do if Alison didn’t listen? If this person made good on their threats, they’d both be behind bars soon. Alison might not care, though she bet she would after it had happened when it was too late and the bogus charges against them were solidified and unbeatable. But Emily… Emily wasn’t as brave as Alison. She wanted to give this all up and the only reason she hadn’t was because someone had to keep an eye on Alison and try to keep her safe.

She hurried to put the tablet down as the bathroom door creaked open.

A second later Alison came out in her bathrobe. “Bathroom’s all yours, Em,” she said as she dried her hair vigorously with a towel. “I’ll get dressed out here while you shower.”

“K,” Emily said. She pushed herself off the bed and shuffled to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Alison was dressed and Emily was still in the shower. Alison picked up Emily’s tablet from the bed. “I hate to violate your privacy, Em,” she said to herself, “but I have to know what you’re hiding. I can’t believe I can’t trust my best friend, especially knowing how you feel about Josh.” She opened the tablet and typed in the passcode, which she’d known for years.

Her eyes lit on the threat in Emily’s email. “Interesting,” she said to herself. “They threatened her and not me, as if they knew who would get scared enough to try to run.” She shook her head sadly.

Emily came out in her bathrobe. “I’m…” She froze. “Um, why are you holding my tablet?”

“Because,” Alison said, “I knew you were lying about not being threatened and I needed to know what we were dealing with. Why didn’t you tell me about this stupid email, Emily? And what else don’t I know? Are they blackmailing you into doing anything worse than lying to me to keep our butts out of jail?”



The person who had been following Dani earlier had gone to the coffee shop, which was across the street from the police station. She paced back and forth, nervously. “The last thing I need is coffee,” she said to herself. “How did I get into this mess in the first place?”

In the woods behind the Second Chance Home, she heard leaves rustling as she walked. Someone was following her. She ducked behind a tree but it was too late.

The person following her grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and pressing a small knife against the side of her neck. “Be quiet, Molly,” her captor whispered in her ear.

It was Nat Simmons. She went on, “You were stupid enough to believe I was this guy who was in love with you and wanted to help you run away from the Second Chance Home. Well, you were half right. I did help you run away. Now you owe me. From now on, you do exactly what I say. If you don’t, you’ll be found dead in these woods and everyone will assume you ran away and then overdosed. Understand?”

Molly swallowed hard now. She knew exactly how she’d gotten into this mess, but now Nat was in jail and she was in a worse position than ever.

Molly was brought to the visitors’ room in Salem City Jail in handcuffs. A Chinese woman she’d never seen before sat across from her as she was sat in a chair and the cuffs removed.

“Ms. Lyons,” Trask said. “You don’t know me yet, but I’m a lawyer and I can help you. You see, this woman is a person of interest in a serious crime.” She showed her a photo of Dani.

Molly shrugged. “Never seen her before in my life.”

“I’m aware of that. But I want to offer you a deal. I’m kind of desperate. This girl is putting her nose where it doesn’t belong and breaking dozens of laws doing it, but I can’t prove it. That’s why I’m coming to you.”

Molly bit her lip. “Why me?”

“Because I know you got a raw deal. I know you were forced into the Fire Lions but you were loyal enough not to take any deals to testify against Natalie Simmons.” Trask leaned forward. “This woman is an enemy of the Fire Lions. She got one sent to jail but for some reason, he’s not talking to us about her. So we thought we’d come see their newest recruit. We’ll get you out of jail if you’ll help us get rid of her.”

Molly threw herself into her seat. “I was better off behind bars,” she said to herself.

Someone came in, but it wasn’t Trask. It was Sloan, who she had never seen before.

Sloan rolled up her sleeve and showed Molly her Fire Lion tattoo. Then she said, “What’d you find out when you tailed her?”

“Not much,” Molly said. “She went to the Titan News building and didn’t come out by the time you called me.”

“Hmm,” Sloan said. “That could be bad. All right.” She took a small listening device out of her purse. “I’m going to send you an address by secure text. It’s this woman’s dorm room. Break in there and plant this device so we can find out who she’s been telling what to.”

Molly swallowed hard. “But that’s breaking and entering. I’ll go back to jail.”

“Let me worry about that. I am a lawyer, and so is my friend, remember?” Sloan leaned forward. “Now are you going to do what you’re told or do you need convincing?”

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!” Molly took the bug.

“Good,” Sloan said. “Let us know as soon as it’s done.”

Sloan left. Molly stared at the device in her hand, wondering how she was going to pull this off.