EPISODE 52

“A HITCH IN HIS PLANS”

The third floor hallway of Covington Bay High School was crowded, bustling with students going to and from their last class of the school day. The excitement in the air that came from the day almost being over was palpable. Already many students were making after school plans; meeting at Velvet Freeze, hanging out at Covington Bay Park with friends, going to after school jobs and for a chosen few, doing some studying. Of course, these plans only included the students remaining, some had cut out an hour early for the day and were already engaged in after school plans.

Nikki Lassiter and Nina Tamakai were two of the students getting ready to go the last class of the day. For Nikki, it was English, a breeze class for a young writer like herself. For Nina, it was music class where she'd do some serious rehearsing for her piano recital at school over the weekend. Right now however, class was the last thing on either girls' mind, especially Nikki. She had a wide grin on her face. And as much as she enjoyed English class, it never made her smile like she was doing right now. No, the young dark haired girl had something to be proud of and she'd just shared it with her very best friend.

Nina shook her head in disbelief as Nikki continued to grin from ear to ear. "I don't believe it. How were you able to pull this off?"

"Easily." Nikki shrugged nonchalantly. "Just like I told you, all I had to do was talk to my father and I knew I could convince him to talk Mom into forgetting all about grounding me."

"And you really think he can do it?" Nina's voice was rife with skepticism.

"Of course he can. Mom's all blustery and cranky when it comes to dealing with me, but she's an old softy with Daddy. He can talk her into anything. I had no doubt that by the time I get back from my evening with James Greyhawk, I'll no longer be grounded."

The young Asian-American looked at Nikki in surprise. "You mean you're not going to even see if things work out before you go to meet James?"

"No, why should I?" Nikki sounded as confident as she felt, an attitude that came from usually getting what she want from everyone; her father, her friends, her teachers, everyone. Her mother was the exception, but as usual, she found a way to get around her.

"What if it doesn't work out? You could get into all kinds of trouble." Nina's brow furrowed with worry.

"Nina, I've dealt with my parents long enough to know how to work things to my advantage. It'll be no problem."

Nina sighed as the girls arrived at Nikki's locker. "I hope not. I'd hate to see you get into any more trouble…dealing with a creep like James Greyhawk could be trouble enough already. Are you sure you want to hang around that guy?"

That Nikki wasn't sure of. She didn't like James Greyhawk, or Greyhawks in general. That family had always been bad news, especially for the Lassiters, who'd been feuding with James' family since before Nikki was born. Of course, Nikki had to put that aside, especially if she wanted to succeed at her reasons for seeing Greyhawk to begin with.

Looking at Nina, Nikki absentmindedly dialed the combination to her locker. "What choice do I have? Richie's convinced James killed Candice. I may not like Greyhawk, but I'm not sure if he's a killer. But, how else can I find out if he did or not unless I can get close enough to find out what he's all about?"

Once again concern crept into Nina's voice. "And if Richie's right? What if Greyhawk did kill Candice and he finds out you are sniffing around him looking for evidence. You could be next. If he killed once, he could kill again. And you're going to be on a boat with him all by yourself. What will you do then?"

* * * * * *

In his spacious office at the law offices of Collier and Associates, Michael Tamakai leaned forward in his comfortable leather chair as he looked up at his boss, Sabrina Collier, surprised by what he'd just learned from her.

"You're kidding." Michael said. "Right after you hung the phone up, you came face to face with Jerry Nyland?"

Sabrina, sitting on the edge of Michael's huge L-shaped desk, nodded. She still got a little chill thinking of the huge, heavily muscled man glaring at her. They had been standing in a crowded hallway at the time, but he still unnerved her…and scared her a little too. But she'd never admit that to anyone.

"Yeah, he wanted to talk to me…make sure I wasn't telling anyone about my suspicions where he was concerned." Sabrina explained.

"What did you tell him?"

Sabrina got up and started to pace the plush white carpeting of the office. "Nothing. I certainly didn't let him know what I'd told Walter Stone and Evan Maitland. I just said we were still investigating the accident and that I'd probably be in touch."

"What did he say to that?"

"He said I probably was just wasting my time with this whole thing…especially since my client wouldn't live through the day."

Michael was puzzled for a moment. "What does that mean?" His eyes then widened in surprise. "Did he know about Nathan's heart attack?"

Sabrina nodded. "Yes. He was in the hospital when it happened.”

“What?” Michael said in horror.

“Oh yeah. He was visiting a sick friend, he claims."

"And did you believe him?"

"I don't know what to believe. It certainly would be easy enough to check out that's for sure. Anyway, I called Lucas. He's got a stop to make first, but then he's going to come here so we can have a meeting."

The frown that appeared on Michael's face was no surprise to Sabrina. There was no love lost between Michael and Lucas Greyhawk and it had been that way since the two of them were kids.

"Do I have to be there? The meeting with Greyhawk this morning was enough for the week, much less a day." Michael grumbled.

"Michael, I know you don't like Lucas, or this case, but you're part of both."

"Why do you want to meet with Lucas now?"

"I want him to investigate Jerry Nyland."

Michael was clearly surprised. "You want to give him another case? He hasn't even started working on getting evidence to clear Nathan."

"Michael, will you give Lucas and me a break?" Sabrina was growing annoyed with Michael's constant criticism of her handing of this case, which had been going on since Day 1.

"You really think Nyland is responsible for Nathan's accident, not to mention his heart attack? Don't you think that's reaching?"

"I don't know…maybe it is." Sabrina said. "But there's something about Jerry Nyland that I don't like. Maybe it's just his demeanor…or maybe it's more. All I know is that…"

Sabrina's words were cut off when the door flew open and his younger sister Patricia Tamakai-Lassiter burst in, her face streaked with worry…and with tears.

"Michael, I need to talk to you." She said.

Michael leapt to his feet, anger sweeping across his face. "Patricia, haven't you ever heard of knocking!?"

The Asian-American journalist shook her head, her long black hair sweeping about her shoulders. "I don't have time for social amenities. Michael, my life is falling apart. I'm about to lose everything!"

* * * * * *

"I don't get it," Kevin Lassiter said as he stood in his cousin A.J.'s bedroom. "Quentin Greyhawk bought the Covington Bay Times so he could write this article about you?"

A.J. shook his head as he got dressed, his dark brown hair still wet from the shower he'd taken before Kevin had arrived a few minutes ago. "That and many other articles like it. Apparently, he's going to use the Times for his personal Lassiter bashing post. The whole family is a target…he just took aim at me first."

"But this is a pack of lies. Doesn't he realize that you can take him to court over this? When you and Patricia get up on and the stand and refute this entire thing that he's going to turn out to be the loser."

"That's what I thought at first, but I should've realized that while Greyhawk is many things, he's no fool. He knows exactly what he is doing."

"Didn't you tell him you'd sue?"

A.J. pulled on a pair of well worn jeans. "Of course I did. The problem with that is I'd need Patricia to go along with it. She's not going to refute the article. I thought she'd be loyal to people that have treated her like family, Greyhawk dangled power and prestige in her face and she went for it."

Kevin's eyes widened in shock. "She's siding with the Greyhawks?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe it. I gave her every chance to change her mind, but she didn't. She let Greyhawk seduce her with promises of a Pulitzer on her mantle someday. Of course Greyhawk loved every moment of it. Humiliating me, airing our family business in the press, turning Patricia…my friend…my wife, against me. He has done damage to me, my career and a relationship I've had since I was a child."

"And knowing him, it's just the start." Kevin said grimly.

"He promised that." A.J. replied. "Quentin Greyhawk has waited for years to get revenge on this family…to destroy us all. You can bet what he did to me today is just the tip of the iceberg."

* * * * * *

A silence fell over the paneled boardroom in the Greyhawk MedTech building as Quentin sat at the head of the huge oval table, a smile creeping across his age lined face. He'd just informed three of his four sons; Lucas, Nigel and James, of his plans for the Lassiters in the coming days, weeks and months. He sat back, waiting for a response. He'd worked hard on his plan for revenge, went over every detail of his intricate scheme of the Lassiters destruction with a fine tooth comb. He wanted their comments, their opinions and hopefully, their praise.

"Well," Quentin asked. "What do you think?"

Lucas was the first to speak. "Dad, it's amazing. The Lassiters don't have a prayer. They'll be ruined completely by the time you're done with them."

Quentin smirked. "That's the idea."

"Lucas is right." James agreed. "The Lassiters are toast."

"They'll kick and scream…they'll even fight back. But they won't win. I will finally have paid them back for all they've done to this family. It will have taken a long time, but I will have done it."

"It's going to be fun to watch, that's for sure." James said.

"Looks like I came back to town at the right time." Lucas added.

Quentin grinned, glad to hear the agreement from his two youngest sons, but he wanted to hear what Nigel had to say most of all. Not only because Nigel was the oldest, but because he would be the toughest nut to crack. The elder Greyhawk turned to Nigel, who sat there, a troubled expression on his face.

"Well, Nigel?" Quentin asked. "What do you think?"

Nigel hesitated, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dad, I don't like it. I just don't like it."

* * * * * *

Michael sighed wearily, tired of his sister's antics. She'd only been in town less than twenty four hours and she'd created more havoc than most people caused in a lifetime. Whatever the latest crisis was, Michael didn't want to hear it. He had problems of his own to deal with.

"Patty, whatever this is will have to wait. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm working right now." Michael said angrily.

"Michael, I have to talk to you." She sobbed. "Everything's fallen apart. I don't know what to do. I don't know how I'm going to get out this."

"Patty, I told you at the hospital, that there was one way to get out of your problems." Michael said. "I haven't changed my mind now. And anyway, I thought you resolved your last crisis."

"I did, but there's something else." Patricia wiped tears from her face with a crumpled tissue.

"With you, there always is." Michael said with little sympathy. "But like I said, I'm busy…"

"Michael, why don't you talk to your sister?" Sabrina suggested. "Lucas won't be here for awhile."

"But, Sabrina…" Michael said.

"It's okay. I have the feeling you'll want to hear all about this." Sabrina opined, walking out, closing the door behind her.

"What did that mean? Does she know about this latest disaster?" Michael asked.

"The whole town probably knows by now." Sabrina said. "I'm surprised A.J. hasn't called you."

Michael shook his head. "No. I haven't heard from A.J.. What's going on?"

Patricia pulled a copy of the Covington Bay Times from her purse. "This."

Michael took the paper and upon reading the headline, looked at it, then at his sister in horror. "Patricia, what in the hell have you done!?"

* * * * * *

"Did Greyhawk give any idea what he'll do next?" Kevin asked and A.J. walked out of his bedroom and into the living room.

"No. But we have to be prepared for anything." A.J. went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and started taking out the fixings for a ham sandwich. "You want anything?"

"No." Kevin shook his head. "Maybe we should have a family meeting…band together…see if we can retaliate or strike back before Greyhawk strikes us."

A.J. pulled two slices of bread from a loaf of sourdough. "I can't imagine this family banding together over anything….and I think it's too soon to treat ourselves to a family meeting."

"What should we do in the meantime?"

"I'm going to drop by my Aunt Sabrina's office." A.J. spread mayo on the bread. "She might be able to come up with some sort of legal action that could bring this thing to a halt here and now."

"I hope so." Kevin said. "Let me know what happens."

"Of course." A.J. responded.

Kevin sighed. "I guess now I know what Nigel meant."

A.J. looked puzzled. "Nigel? Nigel Greyhawk? You've talked to him about this?"

"Not exactly. He tried to warn me something was going to happen."

"When?"

"This morning."

"This morning!? But, this morning you had Alec's memorial service." And then it dawned on the reporter. "My God. Nigel Greyhawk came to the memorial service?! Kevin, do you know what that means!?"

* * * * * *

Quentin was surprised. He thought he might get some reservations, certainly some doubt from Nigel. His eldest was the most careful, thoughtful and reserved of his four sons. But he certainly didn't expect this response.

"You don’t like it!?" Quentin asked.

"Nigel," James said. "How can you not like it? This plan is perfect!"

Nigel nodded. "You're right. If everything falls into place, it could very well ruin the Lassiters. By the time we're done they will have lost their good name, their respectability, maybe even their fortune."

"So we are on the same page." Quentin grinned.

"I wouldn't say that." Nigel concurred. "I'm just worried. This feud has hurt so many people over the years. I hate the idea of it being revived all over again, causing everyone more pain."

"The Lassiters will be the only ones to get hurt, son." Quentin said.

"And you can be sure of that? The Lassiters aren't pushovers. They won't like down and just let this happen." Nigel pointed out. "They'll fight back, and they'll fight hard and dirty."

"Good! Let them!" Quentin cried. "I want them to fight. But they'll learn very quickly that no matter what they do, they don't have a prayer. They are certain to lose."

"And how will this affect Monica and Vicki?" Nigel asked. "Like it or not, Vicki is Eric's daughter. She is a Lassiter. How is she going to feel when she finds out her step-grandfather is responsible for trying to destroy her family?"

"Nigel, I realize your concern for your family." Quentin said. "And we will protect Vicki and Monica. I don't want either of them to be hurt by this either."

"I don't see how it can be avoided." Nigel pointed out.

"Maybe it can't be avoided." Quentin admitted. "But it can be diminished. And we'll do all we can to see to that."

"It would just be better if we could forget this revenge, drop it before it gets worse." Nigel said.

"But we can never forget and we can't go back." Quentin insisted. "Surely you must know that by now."

* * * * * *

Amidst the throng of bustling students in the hallway, Nikki shook her head with her usual bravado. "Nina, I can handle James Greyhawk."

"Oh really?" Nina asked. "When was the last time you came face to face with a killer?"

Never, of course, was the answer. And if Nikki was honest with herself, she hadn't thought of what to do if she really found out James killed Candice. How would she handle herself in a dangerous situation? Could she protect herself from James? Nikki was sure she could, but she really didn't think it would be necessary. She wouldn't get caught. Simple as that.

"Nina, if James killed Candice, it was a crime of passion or something. He killed her because he was jealous about her relationship with Nathan. He's not some serial killer." Nikki said.

"And that makes a difference?" Nina frowned.

"It means he's not some cunning, methodical killer who would even suspect me."

"But what if he's more methodical and cunning than you think?" Nina’s questions were getting annoying. They were making Nikki have second thoughts about going on that boat alone with James. But she couldn't back out now. The whole plan was just getting underway. She'd have to quell her nagging doubts.

"Nina, I am going to be careful." Nikki promised. "If Richie's right and James is the killer, he won't suspect a thing until the police slap on the cuffs."

Nina shook her head. "You sure like to take risks, don't you?"

Nikki opened her locker. "Makes life interesting. Don't you ever wish for a little adventure in your life, Nina?"

"Ice cream before dinner is about as adventurous as I'm ever going to get."

"And I guess the flavor you'd choose would be vanilla?" Nikki grinned as she spotted Richie running toward them.

"Nikki! Nikki!" Richie cried.

"Richie, hi. How did your meeting with Sabrina Collier go? Was she able to help you figure out..." Nikki noticed the troubled, tormented look on her boyfriend's face. "Richie, you look awful. What's wrong?"

"It's Nathan, Nikki." Richie's voice cracked.

"Look, I know seeing go back to jail was tough, but..." Nikki began.

Richie sighed, burying his face in his hands. "I wish he was back in jail, Nikki, but he never made it."

"Never made it? Why?"

Tears started rolling down Richie's face. "Nathan's had a heart attack, Nikki. And the doctors don't know if he's going to make it."

* * * * * *

Michael could hardly believe what he'd just heard. "You sided with the Greyhawks? Patricia, how could you?"

Patricia shook her head. "I didn't side with the Greyhawks. I think what he did to A.J. was horrible. I hated what that man did to A.J., and to me."

"Then why are you still on his payroll? Why didn't you leave with A.J., go to nearest attorney -- me for example -- and slap a lawsuit on him?" Michael asked.

"I couldn't." Patricia insisted. "He swore he would ruin my career if I didn't."

"And your career is worth turning your back on A.J., your family, your self-respect?"

"Michael, being a reporter is important to me. I want to be a success. I just wish A.J. would see that and understand the position I'm in. Working at that paper is my shot at the big time. Quentin Greyhawk is a powerful man. He can take me places... or ruin any chance I'll ever have at making it."

"Quentin Greyhawk is using you. You are just a pawn in his game. And you're a fool if you can't see that. Patricia, this has got to stop. You have to quit this job and do everything you can to help A.J. put a stop to Quentin's schemes before it gets more out of hand than it already is. And once that is done, you can lay your card on the table and tell him why you came back to Covington Bay. Then, the lies will be over."

"I can't do that." Patricia insisted. "I can't quit my job and I can't tell A.J. the truth…especially now. Because of what's happened…I may never be able to."

* * * * * *

"A.J., I don't know what you're talking about." Kevin shook his head.

"Kevin, you cannot tell me you don't think Nigel coming to Alec's funeral doesn't mean anything?"

"He didn't come to the service. He came by to pick up a toy Vicki left behind when she visited over the weekend."

"That could’ve been an excuse to see you.”

“He didn’t even know I’d be there.” Kevin shook his head.

“And you believed him?”

Kevin groaned. “A.J., why are you turning this into more than it is?”

“Because I remember when you and Nigel were together. I know how much you love each other back then.”

“Yes, we loved each other as much as a couple of kids who didn’t know any better could.” Kevin agreed. ”And that was years ago… a lifetime ago. Nigel and I have both loved other people since then. Hell, he’s happily married. It's over with Nigel and me. It's been over for years."

"Really? Are you telling me you have no feelings for Nigel Lassiter?” A.J. asked pointed. “Because if you can, that’s one thing. But if you can’t, then that tells me the two of you aren’t finished, even after all this time. Well, cousin? What’s your answer?”

* * * * * *

"Nigel," Quentin said. "I know you're concerned, but don't worry. I'm going to protect our family."

"I know." Nigel wasn't just concerned for Monica and Vicki, but for Kevin as well. Unfortunately, it was out of Nigel's power to protect Kevin. And no one would ever know how badly that hurt.

"Is that it?" Lucas asked. "I've got a business meeting and I'm already running late."

"Exactly what is this business?" Quentin asked.

"Yeah." James wondered. "What is it that brought you to Covington Bay? Nothing ever happens here."

"I wouldn't call the Nathan James murder case nothing." Lucas replied.

"You're involved in that?" James asked, stunned.

"Yes." Lucas nodded.

"How? The police have their man." Quentin said. "There was supposed to be a trial, but the James boy wound up in the hospital."

"I know, but there is still an investigation…on the defense side anyway. I'm working for Sabrina Collier. She hired me to look into the case…find out who really killed Nathan James." Lucas announced.

"What!?" James cried. "Lucas, you've got to drop this case, and drop it now!"

* * * * * *

Coming Up In Covington Bay

· Nikki and Richie plan a getaway.

· Lucas gains a suspect in the Nathan James murder investigation.

· Kevin and Nigel deal with their tangled past.

· Michael issues Patricia an ultimatum.

· Sabrina seeks a little solace.