The Melaswen Paradox (Read 292,917 times)

[André DiMera]

Chapter 743

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS - SPRINGFIELD, IL
Steven and Spencer sat in the front of the courtroom alongside Steven’s lawyer, Reagan Anders. They had made excellent time getting to Springfield, and were waiting for the judge.
STEVEN: The girls couldn’t come?
SPENCER: Dad, you know they had to get back to work. Mattie has practice, and Benny’s got patients to see. I’m glad they were able to come for the party.
Steven nodded. A few minutes later, the bailiff stood up.
BAILIFF: All rise for the Honorable Judge Alfred Whitehouse.
Everyone stood and watched as the judge walked in.
BAILIFF: Case number 1747, a parole hearing for one Steven Olson.
The bailiff handed the judge some papers.
WHITEHOUSE: Thank you. Please be seated.
Everyone sat down.
WHITEHOUSE: Thank you for returning to this court, Mr. Olson. As you know. this hearing is to wrap up your parole, and ensure that you have been properly rehabilitated into society. Miss Anders, have you anything to say?
Reagan stood up.
REAGAN: Your Honor, I have been keeping in touch with my client on a regular basis, both while in the care of his son, Spencer Olson, and his sister, Julie Williams. In the time I have spoken with him, his progress reports have been stellar, as have my discussions with his relatives on how he is doing under the conditions of his parole.
Reagan held up some papers and handed them to the bailiff.
REAGAN: You will see here, Your Honor, that my client, Mr. Olson, has been very good about keeping in touch, has showed up for his community service every day assigned with no incidents whatsoever. And he has engaged in community activities. He has nothing but good reports all around.
The judge looked over the papers.
WHITEHOUSE: Very well. Mr. Olson, please stand. I would like to speak directly to you.
Steven and Reagan stood.
WHITEHOUSE: Mr. Steven Olson, you have served your time, nineteen years and eight months in prison, followed by four months of parole, in the care of your sister and son. I am pleased to hear that you have a good report from all of them. It is, therefore, my duty to inform you that you, Steven Olson, have finished your time with the Illinois Department of Corrections and are a free man. This case is closed.
The judge banged his gavel.
WHITEHOUSE: Call in the next case.
Steven, Spencer and Reagan walked out of the courtroom.
STEVEN: We did it.
REAGAN: We certainly did. Well done on your community service.
STEVEN: Thank you, for everything. I’m glad Spencer found you and you agreed to take on the case.
REAGAN: My pleasure. Take care, Mr. Olson.
STEVEN: You too.
Steven and Reagan shook hands, then she left. Spencer and Steven clapped each other on the shoulders.
SPENCER: Well done, Dad. I’m happy for you.
STEVEN: Thank you, son. Me too.
SPENCER: So, home, then?
STEVEN: Home, indeed.
Spencer and Steven walked out of the courthouse together.

[heroicmuse]

I figured Steven would get out. The question is, how will his return to Salem go?

Great chapter André DiMera.

[Kpatch]

Was that Erin Reagan? I'm glad Steven got out!

[André DiMera]

Chapter 744

HUDSON STREET DINER
Trix and Ciara were eating lunch.
TRIX: How’d the counseling go?
CIARA: It was okay. At least I didn’t totally flip out this time when I thought about what...that woman did to me.
TRIX: Well, that’s a good thing, yeah?
Ciara nodded.
CIARA: As much as I was hesitant at first, I’m kinda glad I started going to therapy, you know?
TRIX: I’m glad you are, too.
CIARA: So, how was your night?
TRIX: Was good. Loved the party, by the way.
CIARA: Me too.
TRIX: Dad and I ended up staying at the Salem Inn. He’d had a row with my Granddad last arvo (afternoon), and neither of us were too keen to go back that night.
CIARA: That makes sense. You okay?
TRIX: Yeah, I guess.
CIARA: What’s up?
TRIX: Look, this is gonna sound horrible, but I kinda wish my Granddad hadn’t come back. Ever since he returned, Dad’s been on edge and they’re always fighting. The only one who’s happy about him being back is Aunt Viv.
Ciara moved out of her seat and sat next to Trix. She put an arm around her.

ALAMAIN MANSION
Vivian stood over Lawrence’s body, tears coming from her eyes. The door opened and Nicholas walked in.
NICHOLAS: Alright, Aunt Viv, let’s hear it. What’s so...oh my god!
VIVIAN: Nicky, thank god you’re here!
Vivian ran to Nicholas and hugged him.
NICHOLAS: Is...is that?
VIVIAN: I’m afraid so. My dear Lawrence has been taken from me again.
NICHOLAS: What happened?
VIVIAN: I’ve no idea. When I woke up this morning, after getting ready for the day, I came downstairs and found him in this state.
Nicholas sighed.
NICHOLAS: I’m so sorry that you had to find him like this. This is terrible! Who could have done this?
VIVIAN: Oh, I can think of someone. Carly Manning.
NICHOLAS: Aunt Viv-
VIVIAN: Now I know she’s your mother, Nicky, but that...that woman has had it in for your father for years. She failed to kill your father properly last time, it’s clear that she came back to finish the job!
NICHOLAS: Aunt Viv, despite what you think, my mother is not a killer! The last time, she only stabbed father out of self-defense. It’s taken a long time for me to accept that, but that is the truth. This, this clearly murder. And as much as my mother may have hated him, she wouldn’t murder my father.
VIVIAN: As always, Nicky, I love that you want to see the best in people, truly I do. But you are blinded by your connection to that woman. You cannot see her for what she really is!
NICHOLAS: Do not talk about my mother that way. There are plenty of other people who father made enemies of. Almost half the town, if you think about it. There could be any number of people who could have done it. Now, I know you’ve always hated my mother, but once again, she is not a murderer. And you will not talk about her that way again.
VIVIAN: Well...well, I’m still going to have her investigated. And when she is found to be guilty-
NICHOLAS: Which she won’t.
VIVIAN: When she is, she will rue the day that she ever crossed paths with my dear Lawrence.

[heroicmuse]

Vivian having a preconceived notion about who did it is worse than the police having one! Speaking of which, is anyone going to call them?

Trix is in for a shock when she learns about this development. I'm glad Ciara is there for her.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[Kpatch]

It makes sense Vivian would automatically think it's Carly but I doubt it.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 745

HUDSON STREET DINER
TRIX: Thanks.
Trix and Ciara kissed.
CIARA: Of course. You know I’d do anything for you, right?
TRIX: I do. Same here.
Trix put her head on Ciara’s shoulder. Then, her phone buzzed. Trix looked at it, puzzled.
CIARA: What’s up?
TRIX: It’s my Dad. He wants me to come home ASAP.
CIARA: I’ll come with you, if you want.
TRIX: Yeah, that’d be good. Cheers.
CIARA: You’re welcome.
Ciara put down some money on the table, then she and Trix got up and left.

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Carly sat in her office on the phone.
CARLY: He what? Are you sure? Well, I’m sorry that you had to come home to that. Of course. Honey, are you okay? Sorry, stupid question, but you know what I mean. Okay. Well, if you need to talk or anything...I’m on my lunch break, I could come over, if you want. Good point. Yes, I’m sure she is. Okay, well I could after work. Nicky, even if she is there, you’re my son, and I will always be there for whatever you need, you know that. Okay, that sounds good.
David knocked on the door, which was open. Carly mouthed “one sec.” David nodded.
CARLY: Okay. Hang in there, sweetheart. I love you.
Carly hung up the phone.
DAVID: Everything okay?
CARLY: Not really, unfortunately. Close the door behind you.
David closed the door.
DAVID: What’s up?
CARLY: That was Nicky, my son, on the phone. Lawrence is dead.
DAVID: Really?
CARLY: Yeah. Apparently when Nicholas came home this morning, he found Vivian, that’s his great-aunt by the way, standing over Lawrence’s body, a knife sticking out of his back.
DAVID: Wow! That’s...that’s really tough.
CARLY: Yeah.
DAVID: So, how are you doing?
CARLY: Honestly, I don’t know. God knows I hated Lawrence for everything he did to me, Jennifer, and other people in this town, for everything he put us through. But he’s still Nicky’s father. Even though I never wanted him back in our lives again, I feel bad for Nicholas’ sake. Having to go through his father being murdered again...it was hard enough the first time.
DAVID: Makes sense. I mean, from what you told me, and what little I saw last night, I wasn’t impressed, but still, that’s gotta be hard for your son.
CARLY: Exactly.
DAVID: You need anything?
CARLY: No, I’m okay. I’m just gonna get through the day and then check on Nicky.
DAVID: Makes sense. I’ll leave you to it, then.
CARLY; You don’t have to. I was about to go down to the cafeteria and grab some lunch. You could come if you want.
DAVID: Yeah, okay. I’d like that.
Carly got up, and she and David walked out of the office.

MARTIN HOUSE
Julie was on the phone, walking through the house.
JULIE: Well, thank god for that! I am so glad to hear that it all went well. I just hope your father remains on his best behavior now that he’s a free man. Yes, it was good to see you, too, darling. You’re bringing him back up in a few days, right? Tomorrow works perfectly. All right. We’ll see you then. Love you, too. Bye.
Julie hung up the phone. There was a knock at the door.
JULIE: Coming!
Julie opened the door to find Marie.
JULIE: Hello, stranger.
MARIE: Julie, good to see you. How are you today?
JULIE: I’m good. You?
MARIE: Great. That was a wonderful party last night!
JULIE: It was. It was so nice to have everyone together again. Especially that Joshua could get off work early and join Jessica.
MARIE: Yes, that was very nice.
JULIE: Speaking of which, where are they?
MARIE: Well, they wanted to go have a look around town. It’s been so long since they were both here at the same time. They’ve also gone visiting some people.

ALAMAIN MANSION
Nicholas watched as two officers covered Lawrence’s body, then moved it onto a stretcher and wheeled him out. He had been declared dead upon their arrival, and they had already taken the knife for evidence. Nicholas shook his head as he surveyed the scene. He felt a tap on his shoulder.
SHAWN-D: Hey, man.
NICHOLAS: Hey. Thanks for coming so quickly.
SHAWN-D: Yeah, no problem. Sorry for your loss.
Nicholas nodded.
SHAWN-D: How’re you holding up?
NICHOLAS: Surprisingly okay. I mean, this is the second time so far that I’ve found out my father died. Doesn’t get any easier to hear.
SHAWN-D: I know the feeling. If you need anything…
NICHOLAS: I appreciate it.
SHAWN-D: I know this isn’t really the best time to ask, but do you have any idea who may have done this?
Nicholas shrugged.
NICHOLAS: Who knows? My father had no shortage of enemies. Aunt Viv seems to think that it’s my mother, but…
SHAWN-D: No way. You don’t think Carly had anything to do with this, do you? I mean, I know there was no love lost between them, but-
NICHOLAS: Of course not! My mother may be many things, she may have hated my father, but she is not a murderer! The only reason she stabbed my father a decade ago was in self-defense.
SHAWN-D: Hey, I know, man. I know. Sorry, I’m just trying to get a picture of what’s going on around here.
NICHOLAS: I’m sorry.
SHAWN-D: It’s okay. I get it. It’s an emotional time. Believe me, I know how that goes. Speaking of Carly, though, does she know?
Nicholas nodded.
NICHOLAS: I called her just before you all arrived.
SHAWN-D: Right. What about Trix?
NICHOLAS; No. She’s out with Ciara at the moment. I sent her a text a little bit ago to come home. I’ve been trying to put it off all morning, but I suppose we can’t prolong the inevitable forever. I’ll explain when she gets back.
Shawn-D nodded.
SHAWN-D: Well, again, if there’s anything you need, let me know. Or if there’s anything you can think of about this case.
NICHOLAS: There is, actually. I think I may know who did it. And if it is who I think it is, I may be responsible for it.
SHAWN-D: Well, that doesn’t sound good. Who do you think it is?
NICHOLAS: André DiMera.

[heroicmuse]

I think Nicholas is right, though Andre probably had someone else do the dirty work.

Trix and Ciara are in for a shock.

Neither David nor Carly seemed to know anything about this murder.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[mae00]

Just got caught up. I'm not surprised that Lawrence ended up dead. And definitely no surprise that Vivian automatically jumped to the conclusion that Carly did it.

There are so many obvious people. I have to wonder if it's someone that we haven't met or thought of yet.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 746

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Carly had gone to freshen up after she and David had finished eating. David stayed at the table. Scotty walked over.
DAVID: Hey, Scott.
SCOTTY: Dad. How’s it going?
DAVID: Not bad. Carly and I just had lunch together.
SCOTTY: That’s nice.
DAVID: How’s your morning been?
SCOTTY: Okay.
DAVID: “Okay”? That doesn’t sound good.
SCOTTY: I had breakfast with Mom this morning, and on the way in here, she was acting kinda strange.
DAVID: How so?
SCOTTY: Well, I’m not quite sure if I should be telling you this…
DAVID: Tell me what? Come on, Scott. What’s going on?
SCOTTY: I think Mom is jealous of Carly. Of you and her. And I’m not exactly sure, but I have a feeling she’s sticking around for more than just to see me.

CAR
Jessica and Joshua drove down the road.
JOSHUA: You sure you wanna do this?
JESSICA: Not really. I know this won’t accomplish anything. But I just want to see how things have been going.
JOSHUA: But why? I don’t see why you’d want to revisit this.
JESSICA: Truth be told, I don’t really know, myself. But since we’re in town, and we’ll probably run into her family, it’s best to get this out of the way.
JOSHUA: I’ve never even met this woman.
JESSICA: I have.
JOSHUA: And?
JESSICA: We’ll see in a few minutes if anything’s changed. Here we are.
Jessica pulled into the parking lot of a woman’s correctional facility.

ALAMAIN MANSION
SHAWN-D: Nick, even if André did do it, how would that make you responsible? Everyone knows André’s a psychopath.
NICOLAS: I, um...I kinda talked to him about wanting my father out of the family business.
SHAWN-D: You made a deal with André DiMera?
NICHOLAS: It wasn’t that simple, okay? First of all, I thought he was Tony.
SHAWN-D: An easy mistake to make, I’ll give you that.
NICHOLAS: And secondly, I thought I was asking him for business advice. Tony’s a savvy businessman, I wanted to see if he knew of some loophole to get my father out of the company. I didn’t know that I was really talking to André, or that he would do this.
SHAWN-D: No. I mean, how could you have known? They look so alike, and impersonating Tony is his MO.
NICHOLAS: Yeah.
SHAWN-D: But, now that we know that you spoke with André, we can add him to the suspect list. Everyone knows there’s bad blood between them.
Nicholas nodded. Shawn-D patted him on the shoulder.
SHAWN-D: We’ll figure this out, man.
NICHOLAS: Thanks.
SHAWN-D: Of course. Let me or Belle know if you need anything.
NICHOLAS: I will, thanks.
Shawn-D opened the door. Just as he was walking out, Ciara and Trix walked in.
SHAWN-D: Hey, kid.
CIARA: Hey, bro. What’s up with all the cops outside?
SHAWN-D: That’s something you’ll have to talk to Nicholas about. I gotta head out.
NICHOLAS: Thanks again for everything.
Shawn-D nodded, then walked out.
TRIX: Dad, what’s going on?
NICHOLAS: We, um, we need to talk.
CIARA: Is this one of those private things?
NICHOLAS: Well, everyone’s gonna hear about it eventually. Plus, I think Trix may need you after hearing this.
TRIX: Okay, you’re kinda freaking me out here.
NICHOLAS: I have some news about your grandfather.

[heroicmuse]

I wonder if Trish was involved in Lawrence's murder. Could she be the kind of person who would kill someone to frame Carly and get her out of David's life?

So Jessica and Joshua are going to visit Gabi. This should be interesting.

I'm glad Shawn told Nicholas it wasn't his fault he mistook Andre for Tony. I wonder how Trix and Ciara will take this news.

Great chapter André DiMera. Will there be previews?

[Kpatch]

I'm kind of excited that Trish is jealous of Carly. This could be good!

[mae00]

I'm glad that Scotty told David about his suspicions. After the Bo/Hope/Carly and Daniel/Chloe/Carly mess on the show, I'm really not interested in seeing Carly in another love triangle.

I wonder who Joshua & Jessica are going to see.

I'm really glad that Nicholas told Shawn-D about his and Andre's conversation. And I'm really glad that Ciara will be there when Trix learns about Lawrence.

[André DiMera]

Thanks for reading and commenting, heroicmuse, Kpatch and mae00!

---

Next week...

As word spreads of Lawrence’s demise...
JENNIFER: Are you serious?

...so do the amount of suspects.
SHAWN-D: You don’t honestly think he did this, do you?

Meanwhile, someone else who has killed gets a surprise visit.
GABI: What are you doing here?

Plus David confronts his ex.
DAVID: What’s really going on?

All this and more next week on THE MELASWEN PARADOX!

[heroicmuse]

I can't wait to see Gabi face Nick's parents! And for David to confront Trish.

The suspect list for Lawrence's murder could conceivably be the entire town. This should be interesting.

Great previews André DiMera.