In His Corner, Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Viki had been on the phone with The Banner for most of the morning.  What her managing editor had told her wasn’t good.  Their source at the LPD painted both Bo and Nora as licking their lips in anticipation of the mere thought of Todd on trial.  Nora was offering the DA’s office all the help she could give.  She was even ready to hunt down Marty Saybrooke and have her testify for the state.  Viki knew that Marty and Patrick weren’t going to be found.  They hadn’t even returned to Llanview for the funerals of their son and granddaughter. 

Viki looked at the clock and realized it was nearly lunchtime.  She made a move to call for room service when her cell phone went off.  She felt a measure of relief when she saw the Christmas photo of Bree and Ryder.  “Hello Jessie.”

“Mom, what the hell happened?”

“To be honest, I don’t know.  All that is certain is, Todd’s going on trial for rape,” Viki told her.

Jessica stood in the library of Llanfair, shaking her head.  “I can’t believe he’d do that!  Not with everything he went through and then because of…”

“I know, sweetie.”  Viki couldn’t think if what else to say.

“You should know, Bo and Nora are…”

“Yes, I spoke to the paper.  I’m well aware that they are on this.”  Viki let out a sigh.  “At least Todd’s out of jail.  They granted bail, but he’s tethered to an apartment…”  She realized she was just about to say Blair’s name.

Jessica knew what would be coming after the last word.  “I’m guessing Blair’s up there?”  She had known Todd’s ex had been at Llanfair from Lois, but she also knew Blair.  While Todd was capable of a lot of things, she knew that Blair knew this was not who Todd would ever be again.

“Yes, she was with me when Starr called.  She insisted.”

A smile settled on Jessica’s face.  “I’m glad she’s there for him, but I know it’ll cause problems with Tea.”

“It already has, but Blair, well, she’s cut ties to Tomas Delgado,” Viki said.  “She and Tea have already spoken and it was not a happy conversation.”

Jessica could only imagine.  “Do you need any help, Mom?  I can come up and bring the kids.  Todd seemed to charm them while he was still living here.  I could even bring Sam and Jack up with me.”

“You know, I think you bringing Bree and Ryder up could lift his spirits.  Skye Chandler-Quartermaine is here with Lila Rae and it could do them both some good, and you know Todd will appreciate your support.”  Then she let out a sigh.  “As for Sam and Jack, I know Sam wants to see his uncle, but Jack is a whole other story.  I think its best we leave them to Blair’s decisions.”

“Okay.  Let me get their stuff together and get a flight.  I can be up there by tonight, if everything moves along.”  Jess paused, adding, “Tell Uncle Todd I’m by his side.  I’ll see you soon.”  With that, she ended the call.

She turned to head upstairs and pack some things when she saw her twin sister standing in the doorway.  “Really, Jess, you’re going to defend Todd?” Nat asked, bewildered.

“Natalie, you really don’t know the real Todd.  I do and I know he could never do this,” she answered as she headed out of the room.

“And how do you know that?” was her sister’s response.

Jessica stopped and turned around.  “The night he and Blair got remarried, when she was pregnant with Starr, Mom told him what our grandfather did to her, right here in these stairs.  He was so afraid he could do that to his daughter, he nearly left Blair at the altar.  When Mom told him about Mitch Lawrence, he could still remember what he did to Marty Saybrooke.”  Jessica stood there, arms folded over her chest.  “You want answers, come with me.  Bring Liam, and ask him yourself.” 

Natalie stood there, unsure.  While they may not have been identical twins, they had gained enough insight in each other to strengthen their trust in each other’s intuition.  “Fine, I’ll come.  I want to hear him explain it himself.”  She went past her sister and began to get ready.   

******

It was unusually quiet in the lobby of the MetroCourt and Carly was glad for it.  Not too many people were staring at her, thinking they knew what had happened.  The staff was still walking on eggshells around her, but that was quite normal. 

It all seemed to be going her way.  Sonny was ready to kill Todd, Michael looked like he was done with AJ, and Todd was going to pay for what he did to her.  What he did to Jason.  This would be her sweetest revenge. 

It was amazing how all the pieces fell into place.  Trashing Todd’s room and falling asleep drunk and naked in it had helped to set the scene.  The nurse-cum-makeup salesman had aided even more.  Who knew a door-to-door salesman could be that effective.

Now, all she had to do was keep up the façade and Todd Manning would soon be roadkill.

There were some minor bumps, though.  Blair Cramer kept arguing that she knew Todd was not capable of doing something like this again.  When Carly had finally looked at the information there was on him, on his family, the thought did pass through her brain that it may not work.  But who would argue with a woman who claimed rape?  Well, Scott Baldwin, it seemed, but she figured the old animosity between him and Luke was fueling his defense of Todd.  That, and the nice fat check she was sure Todd was writing.

AJ was also going to be a problem, but one that she felt was manageable.  AJ’s reputation in town was just as bad as Todd’s, now that everyone knew he had switched Sam’s baby and obstructed justice in the death of his granddaughter.  AJ would side with Todd on principle, but she expected little to come from it.

As she thought of all this, she caught sight on Sam Morgan.  Sam had an unreadable look on her face and Carly turned away.  Just looking at Sam made her feel her betrayal of Jason down to her bones.

When she turned back, Sam was at the desk.  The dark-hair woman looked at her, wordless. 

“Come to say more, ‘I told you sos’?” she asked bitterly.

“Carly…” her voice trailed off.

“Cause you were right, Sam.  You were right about Todd.  You and Jason, you warned me about him but I didn’t listen.  I defended him at every turn.  I confided in him when Jason was gone,” She was trying hard to fight the tears.  They, at least, were genuine. 

The things that Carly was saying seemed unusual to Sam.  They bespoke more of a betrayal than an attack.  “Carly, what he did to you…I can imagine what you are going through, because I’ve been there.”

Carly gave her a cold glare.  “Franco was a monster.  Todd used me, manipulated me…then he…”  She slapped her two hands on top of the counter.  “You know what?  I’m done talking about it.  I’ll do it at the trial, but no more.  I want to move on.”  Then she froze in place. 

Sam turned and saw an elegant older lady approach.  “Mrs. Jacks, I’m going to need another room.  My daughters will be coming to see me and they are bringing three children with them.”

“More for the Todd Support Brigade?” Carly snarked.

“Yes, if you want to look at it that way,” the woman answered.  “Please add the charges to my card.”  The woman turned and stopped dead in her tracks.  “I’m going to guess you are Sam Morgan.”

“And how would you guess that?”

“Because McBain is the father of her grandson, right?” came the snide answer from Carly.

Realization dawned on Sam.  “You’re Natalie’s mother,” she murmured. 

“Viki Davidson,” she replied holding out her hand.  It was an unexpected gesture but couldn’t refuse it. 

“Mrs. Davidson…I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything,” she assured Sam calmly.  Then her face changed.  “But I am going to warn you, Natalie is on her way up and the last time she faced a woman trying to come between her and a man, a shotgun was involved.”

Sam took the warning to heart.  “I’ll keep out of the way.”  Sam started to leave when, seeing Carly was gone from the lobby, said. “John asked me to look into the case independently.  I’m not promising anything…”

“Thank you,” Viki replied and headed back towards the elevators.  Sam sighed and pulled out her phone.  “Spinelli, can you meet me at the office?  I need your help with a case.”

Sam was heading out of the hotel when Carly came back out.  She was at the desk and answered the phone that had just rung.  “MetroCourt Hotel, how can I help you?”

“Is this Carly Jacks?” a feminine voice asked.

“Yes this is,” Carly answered.

“Then the question is, how can I help you?”

******

Blair’s face had disappeared from the screen and Todd sat back.  It was weird on a number of levels what had been going on in his life lately.  Not just the arrests, he was use to that, but working together again with Blair, having her on his side.  If things were different, he’d relish having her back, at least in this way. 

But he feared himself.  He knew what he was capable of and he knew that he could destroy Blair with his words and his actions.  That was the last thing he wanted to so. 

“You want me to get us some lunch?” Starr asked, bring Todd out of his musings.

“Yeah, head down to Kelly’s, get me a burger with the works.”  Todd stood up grabbing cash out of his pocket.  As Starr put on her coat, Todd opened the door and found Luke Spencer standing outside it. 

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Starr looked to the man, then to her dad.  “I can stay…” she offered.

“No, go on.  I’ll probably be alright.”  Starr left and Luke walked in.  Closing the door, Todd put his hands in his pockets.  “Well…you were right.”

“How so?” the older man asked.

“You told me I had not yet met the real Carly.  I’m guessing this is what you meant.”

Luke walked around the room, as if circling his prey.  “That depends.”  He turned and looked Todd squarely in the eyes.  “Did you rape my niece?”

There was no hesitation in Todd’s voice.  He met the man head on.  “No, I did not.”

“Then what in the hell did you do to rain down the wrath of Caroline on you?”

“I lied to her,” Todd said simply. 

“Well, my sweet niece is an expert in that department.  You must have told her a whopper,” Luke said to him.  “What did you lie to her about?”

“Everything.”  Luke sat down and waited for further explanation.  “I lied when I took Sam Morgan’s baby and switched it with my stillborn nephew, though the idea wasn’t mine originally.  I lied when I never told her I knew the baby was in fact Jason Morgan’s.  I lied when I told her I had no idea why Johnny Zacchara married Kate Howard, excuse me, Connie Falconeri.  I lied when I told her I was ready to move on from the only woman who has ever loved me.  I even lied when I told her my son was a hockey player after she found a mask I had in my room from when I was forced to go check up on a hostage Heather had in the woods.”  Todd sat down and looked at Luke.

“Yeah, I knew it was you.”  Todd looked at him, questioningly.  “Next time you have to pull a job like that, change into crappy old shoes, not Italian leather.”

“They’re English,’ Todd retorted.

Luke smiled at him.  “So this is all about getting back at you for lying?  Little over the top, don’t you think?”

“Well, Diane Miller said she’d flatten me when she found out the truth.  Consider me flattened…and leashed.”  He lifted his leg and flashed the monitor.

“Yeah, your lawyer informed me,” Luke said, standing to take his coat off.  Then he looked back at Todd.  “You gonna offer me a drink?”

“It’s a little early, even by my standards,” Todd winced. 

“Sadly, I’m dry as a bone.  But a soda would be appreciated.”  Todd went to the refrigerator and got out two cans.  He handed one to his guest, and opened his own.  Luke opened his and before taking a sip, told his host, “Baldwin told me he told you about me.”

Todd stared, stone-faced.  After blinking a few times, he said, “None of my concern.  What you do behind closed doors…”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, I do understand where you’re coming from,” Luke said.

“You have no idea where I’m coming from.”  Todd stood up and walked to the counter dividing the kitchen from the living area.

Luke watched him then noticed a picture on the desk.  It was of a beautiful blonde and two small children.  The older one, a girl, he recognized as the young woman who had left to get lunch.  “Your kids?”

Todd turned his head.  “Yeah, Starr and Jack.  It’s an old picture.  Jack’s in high school now and Starr, well, you saw her.”

“When I mentioned a daughter that night, you were ready to release me.  I’m guessing your daughter means as much to you as mine does to me,” Luke said. 

“She was the best thing I ever did,” he said.  “And I was so scared of the mere thought of her, even before she was born.  My own father…well, you ever hear of Victor Lord?”

“Newspaper publisher.  I have a vague memory of a biography on him, years ago.  But then again, I was never a big reader.”  Luke’s eyes softened.  “I do know other things about him.”

Todd merely nodded. 

Luke took another slug of the soda.  “Caroline is running a hustle here.  I know it in my bones.  I’m going to look into things for you.  May even have to cozy up to the enemy.  But, considering the hypocrisy she’s displaying right now, I won’t let her get away with it.”  As he opened the door, Luke asked, “Is there any hint you can give that may expose her?”

Todd remained silent.  “Look, I appreciate what you want to do, but I have to face the fact that I used her, that I made her my pawn, against Zacchara, against Sonny, hell, even against Blair a bit.  She was my friend and I used her.”

Luke smiled for some reason.  “Well, there’s the fault in your logic.”  At Todd’s look, he explained, “Carly doesn’t have friends, save for one person.  I’d bet every dollar I have socked away overseas, she was just using you too.  Don’t let your guilt get to you.  She’ll use it to pull you under even more.” 

Luke left Todd thinking.  He had always considered himself some great schemer, the master of the endgame.  Had he finally met his match?