This is half as much as I had planned for this chapter, but I ran out of time. Sorry 😛  I don’t know why, other than my keyboard keeps sticking. I need to get it fixed.

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Saturday, September 6, 2024

Webber House: Kitchen

It hadn’t been a terrible nightmare, Jake thought, coming around a corner from the living room the kitchen and finding his father at the sink, pouring water into the coffee carafe.

He was used to being the first person in the kitchen on mornings their mother didn’t work — she was only a morning person when the scheduled forced it, she’d say, then laugh, hugging Aiden to her side, because his youngest brother would sleep through an earthquake, and maybe even a tornado.

“Mom always said you’re the reason I’m a morning person.”

Jason turned at the sound of his voice, smiling faintly, then set the carafe back in the machine, pressed start. “I never needed much sleep. It drove her—” He paused, took a deep. “It drives her crazy.”

Right, because they weren’t going to talk about his mom like she wasn’t coming home.

“Did she tell you that I also like to drink coffee?” Jake said, sliding onto the stool on the other side of the island. “I think I get that from you, too. Mom didn’t start drinking it until she became a nurse.”

“I made enough for you,” Jason confirmed, retrieving two mugs from a cabinet. “And I remember. She and my sister used to split two packets of hot chocolate.” There was another faint smile, this one sad. “Whipped cream and sprinkles.”

Jake didn’t know what to say to any of that — there were a few pictures of his aunt around, most of them with Cameron who didn’t remember her other than saying — “She was warm. Hugs. Smiles.” She’d died when he was a baby, and he wondered what that was like for his dad, for his mom, to lose someone who must have been so essential to them both. He knew he’d been “dead” for the years he’d been with the Cassadines, but that all felt like a bad dream now, and he’d been home longer than he’d been gone.

His aunt was never coming back.

“Uh, I remember Aiden liked to sleep in until some around noon,” Jason said, facing Jake. “Is that still true?”

“Yeah. I mean, maybe not today because I couldn’t sleep much, and I know if he wakes up, he might not roll over and go back to sleep. If you have to do something—”

“No, I—I mean, there are things I want to check on. But I was hoping we’d have a little time before he got up. Not that we can’t talk about any of this with him around,” Jason said. He retrieved the carafe and poured coffee into both mugs. “But I thought maybe it would be easier for you.”

“Talk about what?” Jake asked, turning the mug in his hands, waiting for it to cool. “We know what’s happening. Mom’s in jail. Diane’s gonna get her out. She’s innocent, so we’re good.” He didn’t like how grim his father looked when Jake raised his gaze. “Dad? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“They took you and Danny into the station on Monday because of me.” Jason waited a beat. “But they couldn’t do anything because I had an alibi.”

“Alibi makes it sound weird. You don’t have an alibi, Dad. You didn’t do it. Danny and I saw you come out of the house after the shots.” Jake pressed his lips together. “An alibi makes it sound like it was something we came up with.”

“I know. The thing is—” Jason paused. “They didn’t have to charge your mom with the murder. Not on Friday. They could have waited for tests to come back. Because they charged her on this evidence, it’s almost sure to get dismissed at the bail hearing.”

“Yeah, Diane said that. So it’s all for nothing—” Jake paused. “But it’s not, is it?”

“No. I think the FBI wants to make it very clear that they have the power. Maybe we should have let you and Danny give statements, but it just seemed—” Jason hesitated. “They twist your words, you know? So it’s just easier not to talk to them. Let them prove their case. So we made sure they can’t talk to you or your brother without a lawyer.”

“So as long as that holds, we’re good. Good. Okay, well, I’m glad we’re on the same page. I’ll—you know, keep my distance until this finishes out. Tell me if you need anything.”

 Sonny’s words from the night before echoed in Jake’s mind, and he wondered about them all over again.

“So then what we do have to talk about?”

“They’re holding your mother over the weekend, and Diane thinks they’re going to push bail as far as they can, at least until Tuesday or Wednesday. We think it’s put pressure on you. And to a certain, extent, me,” Jason added.

Jake squinted. “Because they think you did it.”

“Yeah.”

“And they think I’m lying.”

“They do.”

Jake sipped his coffee, pondered that theory. It made sense, in a way. And his mom was the one person he and his dad had in common. “But you didn’t do it, and I’m not lying.”

“Which is why they’re going to fail, but that doesn’t change how this is going to be. You did a good job on Monday,” Jason continued. “You kept your cool and didn’t say anything. And they shouldn’t be able to talk to you again, but if they do get you in the room—”

“I’ll tell them the truth—”

“They’re going to play with what a truth is,” Jason said. “They’ll play mind games. Did you really see this, did you hear this? You’re a kid, it’s okay to make mistakes.” He rested his hands on the counter. “He’s going to try to make you feel like he’s on your side. He’s not. He’s on his side. Not yours.”

All of that sounded right to Jake, and yet — “It doesn’t matter. I know what I heard and saw.”

“I know. And you’re a tough kid. Tougher than you should have to be. But we need to do everything just right to make sure they can’t play games with your mom during her hearing. We have one goal, right? Get her home.”

“Right. But that’s just the first goal, right?” Jake asked. “Because someone put a gun in her car. We need to know who did that. Don’t we?”

“That comes later, yeah. First, your mother.”

“I know, but until she’s here—” Jake paused. “Do you know who could have done this? Where do we start looking?”

Jason opened his mouth, but stopped when Aiden stumbled in, rubbing his eyes. “I’m gonna make pancakes,” he mumbled. “Blueberries.”

Penthouse: Living Room

 Dante set his half-finished coffee on the desk, and started to rifle through the stack of mail. “I was thinking maybe Danny might wanna come with me and Rocco today. Out to the shooting range—” He sighed when Sam shot him a look. “We’ve got guns around the house, Sam. There’s nothing wrong with teaching them safety—”

“Danny can be safe by not using it,” Sam grumbled.

Dante just shook his head, and was grateful at the knock on the door. He went over to check who was on the other side, then took a long beat to steady himself, and pulled open the door. “Agent Caldwell,” he said.

Sam folded her arms, tensing, and Dante remembered it wasn’t the first time they’d met. “Agent,” she said in short clipped tones.

“Miss McCall. I see you’ve returned to your maiden name. Wise choice considering your decision to cohabitate with an officer.” Caldwell lifted his brows. “Can I come in?”

“I’ll call my mother,” Sam told Dante, heading for the phone on the desk. “She’s my lawyer—”

“I remember, but I’m not here for that,” Caldwell said, and Sam paused. “I mean, surely, there’s no harm in letting me talk to your son. Dante here can vouch for his rights, don’t you think?”

Dante pressed his lips into a thin, angry line but remained silent. He couldn’t disagree with the FBI agent, and Sam knew she’d been neatly boxed into a corner. She set the phone back on the base, looked towards the stairs.

“Danny, come down here!”

A few beats later, footsteps thundered down the steps, and as Danny turned the corner on the landing, he was already complaining. “Did you find another piece of my soul to take away?” he bit out, then stopped dead halfway down the last set up of steps when he saw the FBI agent by the desk. “Am I being arrested or something?”

“Of course not.” Caldwell smiled broadly. “We didn’t have a chance to talk on Monday before your dad took you home. I thought we could have a conversation.”

Danny slid nervous eyes to his mother who dropped her gaze. “Mom? I’m not supposed to talk to him without Diane. Dad said. And Jake’s mom was super pissed that he didn’t have a lawyer. Can we call Diane or Grandma?”

“It’s okay,” Sam said slowly, but still couldn’t meet Danny’s eyes. “Dante and I are here. You’ll be fine. You didn’t do anything wrong, remember?”

“I know, but—” Danny sighed, looked at Cadwell. “Lawyers are supposed to protect your rights.”

“You don’t think Dante, a decorated police officer is capable of that?” Caldwell asked, and Dante’s featured creased into a scowl.

“Ask your questions, Caldwell.” Dante came over to stand by Danny, put a hand on his shoulder. “And if we don’t like them, you’ll leave.”

“Fair enough. I’d like to start with Monday, just before eight in the evening—”

“You already know this. Jake and I talked to the cops at the Qs.”

“Then tell me,” Caldwell pressed, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“You wanna waste your time, fine. Jake and I were on the terrace. Rocco and Aiden went inside, and we were just waiting. Dad was supposed to meet us there with Jake’s mom. She was down talking to Michael—”

“Could you see her?”

“Uh, no,” Danny said, creasing her brows. “They were in the rose garden. You can’t see that. Jake and I heard gunshots—”

“How many?”

“I don’t know, dude, I wasn’t counting. Stop interrupting—”

“Danny,” Sam said softly, and Danny scowled at her.

“Well, he is, and you always yell at me when I do it. Whatever, man. Rules are just like suggestions for everyone else but me. We heard the shots, Jake and I were just like — is that what we heard, and then Dad ran out — he came over to us, making sure we weren’t, like, hit, you know? And then we told him that Liz and Michael were in the direction of the shots, and he took off — jumped right of the terrace. Not as cool as when he jumped that bridge last spring,” Danny told his mother who closed her eyes. “But I didn’t get to see that, so this was pretty lit—”

“Lit?” Caldwell questioned.

“Sorry, let me speak old dude.” Danny cleared his throat and spoke slowly, exaggerating his tone and facial expressions. “My father jumped—” He made a gesture with his hands that mimicked the motion, “—over the terrace railing and I was very pleased with the visual experience. My brother and I were quite impressed since my father is, how do you say, from the ancient times.” He raised his brows. “Do we understand each other now?”

“Your resemblance to your brother is uncanny,” Caldwell said dryly, as Sam rubbed her temples, and Dante looked away to hide his smile. “You’re sure it was after the gunshots?”

“Yeah. Like I know it makes your job easier if I don’t say that, but like, truth is truth. Dad was freaked out. You know, gunshots and like, the four people you like most in the line of fire, right? So yeah. It happens like this—” Danny lifted his finger, counting as he continued to speak. “One, we hear the shots. Two, Dad runs out. Three, he checks to see if we’re okay. Four, he finds out gunshots are coming from the same place Michael and Liz went, and five, he leaps terrace railings to get to them. I dunno how much more clear I can be.”

“But you don’t remember how shots they were,” Caldwell continued.

“It was more than one, my guy. Like you know how many hit the dead guy, right? How do I know that?”

“But Elizabeth Webber did go in the direction of the boat house prior to the gunshots?”

Danny’s eyes narrowed into little slits. “You think she hid a gun in her sundress? Dude. Have you see how tiny Jake’s mom is? Where’s she putting that thing? How’d you get to be in charge?”

“Danny,” Dante said, with a shake of his head.

“Well, this is all just stupid. Michael called in the whole thing! How’s he gonna do that when he’s standing next to the murderer? I don’t wanna do this anymore,” Danny said with a scowl directed at his mother. “I don’t want to do this anymore. He’s trying to make it like Dad or Jake’s mom did something wrong, and they didn’t. I’m not doing anything that hurts them, so leave me the hell alone. And I’m not talking to you again without a lawyer. Dad was right.”

“Danny—” Sam started towards him, but he sprinted up the stairs, then they heard the door slam a short time later. She pursed her lips, looked towards the FBI agent. “He wasn’t very articulate, but he’s not wrong, Agent. You’re looking at the wrong people.”

“Well, I suppose we’ll see about that. I’m not trying to hurt Danny or anyone else, Miss McCall. But I have a job to do. And Danny’s right to worry about his brother. Miss Webber is facing some serious charges—”

“Flimsy charges Diane will have dismissed in five minutes,” Sam said flatly. “And I know they’re flimsy because no one is dumb enough to hide the murder weapon in their own trunk and talk about it around people who can hear. My God, how do you not smell the setup?”

Caldwell smiled thinly. “Well, I’m sure your support will be a great comfort to Miss Webber from her jail sail in Syracause.”

He started towards the door, but Dante put out a hand. “Whoa, what?”

Caldwell turned back, lifted a brow. “You didn’t hear? We’re having her transferred out of Port Charles. She’ll be at Onondaga County Holding Center in Syracuse until the hearing on Wednesday.”

When the agent had left, Sam dragged her hands down her face. “Oh my God. They’re really serious about this—”

“Yeah, well, the murder charge sort of indicated that. Sam—”

“She’s in federal custody. Not just the PCPD—It was one thing when I thought—” Sam folded her arms. “And now Danny’s more furious than ever, and he’s pissed off the FBI—and they probably think Jason told him not to cooperate—”

“Because he did,” Dante said. “Not saying he was wrong—” he added when Sam snapped her head head. “But Jason absolutely coached those boys not to talk to cops or authorities.”

“Which only makes him look more guilty! Everything he does, even when he’s trying to help — it just makes it worse.”

“Come on, Sam.”

“No, I’m going to handle this. Once and for all.” She snatched up her  keys, and was out the door before he could stop her.

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