Written in 70 minutes.

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Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Miller & Davis: Spinelli’s Office

Diane rapped on the open office door, and folded her arms. “I just heard from Michael’s lawyer.”

Spinelli rubbed his mouth and sighed. “The injunction was lifted.”

“Yes. Our only saving grace is that it’s raining again today,” Diane said, nodding to the window behind Spinelli where raindrops pounded the glass. “But the weather forecast is clear tomorrow.”

“Which means the FBI will be up here searching.” Spinelli pushed away from the desk and crossed over to his bulletin board, studying it as if it the answers would somehow highlight themselves when they hadn’t given him anything in more than a week. “It’s not the end of the world. There’s no guarantee they’ll find anything to help themselves. Especially with the rain over the last few weeks.”

“Three weeks is a long time for evidence to sit at a crime scene,” Diane agreed. “So no, the search itself isn’t the problem—”

“We’re running out of time to avoid a trial.” Spinelli grimaced, met Diane’s gaze. “If I could cut through of the red tape, we might have more. I’d already have the footage, the car data—”

“We’ve been over this, Spinelli. First, this conversation isn’t happening. And second, the feds aren’t really interested in the truth. They almost certainly know Elizabeth didn’t pull that trigger. They want Jason. They’ll ignore anything we turn up and point to any hint of illegality.”

“I know. I know.” Spinelli stared hard at the crime scene photo. “If this goes to trial—”

“I’m relatively confident that I have enough for reasonable doubt. The timing is too tight, the alibi from Michael is unchallenged. But juries are unpredictable,” Diane reminded him. “And I don’t exactly have a smoking gun. I can’t even prove the gun was planted.” She pressed her lips together, then took a deep breath. “But we have time. We likely won’t get the case dismissed next week, but a trial won’t happen for six months or longer. I can push it, keep Elizabeth out on bail.”

“Kick the can down the road,” Spinelli murmured. He looked at Diane. “Have you called them?”

“No. Elizabeth’s at work, and I wanted to tell you before I called Jason. But this isn’t anything we didn’t expect.”

“I know. All the same—if it’s all right, I’ll head down to the warehouse and tell him myself. Maybe pick his brain a little—not about my theory,” Spinelli added when Diane opened her mouth. “I want more weight on my side before I bring that up. The footage, the techstream data from the car—but it won’t hurt to talk to him about Cates. Maybe there’s something we’re missing.”

James M. Hanley Federal Building: Courtroom

Alexis rose to her feet, her reading glasses in one hand. “It’s all in my amended petition, Your Honor. Giglio and Franks made it very clear that any case whose foundation is investigative misconduct needs to be dismissed with prejudice.”

Reynolds shook his head. “Ms. Davis is misreading those cases, Your Honor. Our case against Ms. Corinthos Davis is not based only on Agent Cates’ affidavit. We have sworn testimony from Ava Jerome, the victim—”

“Alleged victim,” Alexis snapped. “It’s only on Agent Cates’ say-so that Ava Jerome was even a federal witness — I’ve still seen no records that prove that. And if she wasn’t, this case doesn’t fall under federal jurisdiction.”

Judge McAvoy lifted his brows, looked at the Assistant U.S. Attorney. “Can the Government provide additional evidence at this time outside of John Cates?”

Reynolds hesitated. “Not at the moment, but with further investigation—”

“That isn’t the standard,” Alexis interrupted. “John Cates’ credibility has come under serious attack with the forensics reports suggesting that he was willing to fabricate evidence to get what he wanted. He’s not available to be cross-examined. I might also add that I was not made aware of that forensics report by the U.S Attorney’s office, but by the local police department. Under Giglio, that alone is reason enough for a dismissal.”

“The forensics report was from an unrelated case,” Reynolds argued. “The delay is understandable—”

“But not permissible. I’m going to give you two choices, Mr. Reynolds,” the judge said. “Dismiss the charges on your own without prejudice to be presented at a time when you have the necessary evidence. Or I’ll dismiss them with prejudice right now. And this case dies today. What’s it going to be?”

Quartermaine Mansion: Kitchen

Brook Lynn huffed and picked up her phone, scrolling to her contacts. “What’s the point of having an influential name if we can’t pull strings?” she demanded.

Michael stirred sugar into his coffee, not responding to his cousin’s remarks. She was as disappointed as he was to learn the injunction had been dismissed. They’d known it was a long shot, but he’d wanted more time.

“It’s not that I don’t have faith in Chase,” Brook continued, sitting down at the table, continuing to flick though her phone. “But I really thought we’d have found something. It’s so obviously a setup! The FBI is basically calling you a liar! Isn’t anyone thinking about that?”

“I’m surprised,” Michael said a bit slowly, “they haven’t done more to challenge me. They really went after Jake and Danny. Going to the school, talking to Danny on his own — they tried really hard to break Jason’s alibi.”

“Exactly! It’s just proof that they don’t think Elizabeth really did it! This is just bananas. Obviously some crazy person was following Cates around, and we just happened to be the place where he lost control.” Brook made a face, looked at Michael. “What do we do next? What can we do to help?”

“Not much.” Michael sat at the table. “Neither of us have any real power. I might…” he hesitated. “I might try to talk to someone at the Sun. I wish Alexis were still working there.” He scratched his jaw. “Maybe I’ll find out if she has any connections. We could use more press on this.”

“I just hate it. We were having a perfectly nice family gathering, and some bastard had to come along to ruin it.” Brook scowled. “I guess we gave the FBI a headache, but I’m not satisfied. We have to do more.”

“I know. I’ll talk to Molly. Maybe she has some other ideas.” Michael paused. “But maybe I should call Diane. It has to mean something the FBI never came back to talk to me. I’m the alibi witness. Me and the kids. We all make it impossible for Elizabeth to have done this. That’s going to kill them at trial. Why don’t they care about that?”

“That’s a very good question.” Brook leaned forward. “They’re not expecting to go to trial, are they?”

“No. They’re not.” He tipped his head, considering that angle. “They still think Jason did this. They must think Jason will come forward or that Elizabeth will turn him in. That’s why they tried to break his alibi, and not hers.”

“That has to be some kind of misconduct or whatever, right? The feds prosecuting a case they don’t even believe in?” Brook pursed her lips. “How do we use that? That’s our next angle. Man, why don’t we own a newspaper or a media outlet? You should look into that.”

“I’ll get right on it, but I don’t think there’s enough time,” Michael said dryly. “I’m going to call Diane. Maybe she’ll have some ideas.”

Syracuse, NY: The York Restaurant

Sam lifted her glass. “To Alexis Davis, making her triumphant return to the courtroom and wiping the floor with anyone who gets in her way.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Kristina said, tapping her glass against her sister’s, then her mothers. They were both drinking iced tea as a show of support to their mother’s recovery. “And now that Mom has performed miracles in getting my case dropped, I’m sure we’ll see similar results tomorrow.”

“Not likely,” Sam said with a grimace. She set her glass down, picked up her fork. “Mom made it very clear I don’t have a shot in hell of winning.”

“That’s not precisely what I said,” Alexis said. “You’ll need to make some concessions, but I have every confidence we’ll be able to get visitation—’

“Supervised,” Sam said with a wrinkle of her nose. “Maybe. For Danny. But now that Drew knows about Saturday—”

“Drew?” Kristina frowned. “How did he find out? I thought Elizabeth wasn’t pressing charges.”

“She’s not. It would make her look awful for her case,” Sam said, “so we both agreed to just let it go, I guess. But the cops made it a problem—”

“They had no choice,” Alexis reminded Sam gently. “Once they saw the footage, they had to write a report. I imagine word of mouth got to Drew. He’s not backing down on custody.”

“It’s for his stupid campaign. So he looks like a family man.” Her appetite gone, Sam pushed her plate away. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“So that’s just it?” Kristina demanded, looking at their mother. “Sam loses custody of her kids because she made one mistake?”

“A trio of very mistakes,” Alexis corrected gently. “Leaving Danny at the police station, refusing consent to treat, and then beginning a physical altercation—I’m sorry, Sam. You know if I thought we had an angle to fight this, I would—”

“But you had a good reason for all of that,” Kristina said to her sister. “You know you did. Danny was perfectly awful to you! He’d been getting worse. And then he pulled that stunt! Why not leave him with his father? And so what if you hesitated in putting him therapy? You were right to worry that Elizabeth was trying to get influence over Danny—”

“None of that matters in court. They’re not going to care that Elizabeth manipulating my son,” Sam bit out. “Are they, Mom?”

Alexis hesitated when both her daughters turned their gazes on her. “If the manipulation is that Elizabeth convinced Danny to get therapy, found him a well-regarded doctor in the field, and then tried to help him reach out to you to participate in that therapy — no, I don’t think so.”

“So you’re taking her side in all of this?” Kristina wanted to know. “Mom!”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m laying out the facts as Diane wrote them in her petition. The history between you and Elizabeth — we can work that in, I suppose. But it’s not going to help very much. The court isn’t going to care that the two of you have been locked in this competition for twenty years.”

“No, they never care about what really matters.” Kristina huffed, turned to Sam. “We’re going to get your kids back. Now that my case is over, I’m going to do whatever I can to help. I won’t let this happen to you without a fight.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason rubbed the side of his face, grimacing. “I guess it was too much to hope that we’d get a break,” he told Spinelli, closing the door. “When’s the search?”

“Tomorrow, probably.” Spinelli leaned against the desk, facing his mentor and friend. “They’re going to be looking for the missing bullet — they only recovered three and couldn’t match them. The fourth — if they find it undamaged, they’ll be able to match it.”

“Because of course they will,” Jason muttered, pacing to the end of the office, then turning back to Spinelli. “And there’s nothing we can do to stop any of this.”

“Not legally. Not yet. Not before the dismissal hearing,” Spinelli admitted. “Everything Diane has will help at trial. Michael came by a little while ago to talk about his alibi. Everything Caldwell did to investigate — he tried to break your alibi. He went after your kids. He never talked to Michael or any of the other witnesses who saw Elizabeth leave with him. They didn’t care about breaking her alibi—”

“Because they know she didn’t do it,” Jason cut in sharply, then exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’m not frustrated with you—I know you’re doing everything you can, and I know we have to stay inside the lines on this, but damn it—the Feds are going after her to get to me.”

“I know, but it’s not going to work — because you didn’t do this—”

“No, but they don’t give a damn. They don’t care that they’re destroying Elizabeth’s life to get to me.” He stared at the window that looked out over the warehouse floor, though there was no view with the blinds drawn. “It’s always been that way. Someone using her, hurting her, to get to me. From the day we met.  Nothing I’ve ever done can stop it.”

“Well, no, because despite what you think, Stone Cold, you don’t control the world.”

Jason scowled, turned to face the younger man. “What?”

Spinelli didn’t even flinch at the fury in Jason’s voice. “I used to think you were right, you know. When you told me all the reasons you couldn’t be with Little Stone Cold and Fair Elizabeth. I thought you were the smartest man I knew, and that you were doing the right thing, even though you were clearly miserable.”

“Spinelli—”

“Then I became a father myself and Maxie nearly talked me out of keeping our daughter,” Spinelli continued, and Jason closed his mouth. “It’s complicated, and we don’t really have time for the backstory, but I remembered you and how much I believed you when you said mothers have that right. That they go through the hell of pregnancy and labor, and that gives them some special power. And then Maxie wanted me to give up Georgie because she was trying to be noble—and I realized it was bullshit. Sure, moms are amazing, and there’s money in the world you could pay me to do what they do. But I got to hold my little girl, and I knew that you were wrong. That she was wrong. The world is dumb, and it’s awful, and sometimes it’s evil. You kept trying to leave your family to protect them.” Spinelli straightened. “You were an idiot not to realize the best way to protect them was to be right next to them.”

Jason was quiet for a beat, then nodded. “I know that—”

“No, you don’t. Obviously. Because you still thought it was a good idea to let everyone think you were dead for over two years.”

Jason looked away, scrubbed a hand through his hair. “No, but once I made that decision, I should have seen it through. I should have done all of it better. Should have stayed off the radar after Dante got shot. And blowing the whole thing by letting Anna tip off Valentin—if I hadn’t done that, none of this would be happening. Cates would have his guy, and he might have gone away—”

“You’re still an idiot.”

Jason closed his mouth, furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Arresting Pikeman was never your job. Yeah, you were an idiot to let Anna Devane talk you into giving Valentin a chance to flee. But you did what you said you were gonna do. You gave up your life and your freedom to get that name. You gave it to Cates. It was never your job to finish.” Spinelli lifted his brows. “And now the FBI is taking their incompetence out on you. They think you killed Cates to get rid of him. But they don’t know you. Because if they did, they’d know you’d never involve Elizabeth with a gun in her car.” Spinelli stopped. “Listen, I get you’re frustrated. I am, too. Because I want this to be over. I want you and Fair Elizabeth to ride off into the sunset like you should have decades ago. But you better stop planning that I think you’re planning.”

Jason folded his arms. “And what’s that?”

“Turning yourself in to get the target off Elizabeth’s back.” When Jason looked away, Spinelli nodded. “You know that would be a mistake.”

“I’m not letting her go to jail. That’s not an option—”

“I’m going to find out what happened,” Spinelli promised. “I’ll find the answers, and I’ll find them the right way. Diane’s right. We need to do this by the book.”

“I’m not saying I’d do it tomorrow,” Jason said slowly, “but—”

“But nothing. Trust me. Have I ever you down?” Spinelli wanted to know.

“No. No. And I do trust you—I just—” Jason sat down in the wooden chair in front of the desk, stared at the floor. “You didn’t see Jake and Aiden when Elizabeth was in jail. Or talk to Cameron on the phone. They need her—”

“And they have her. We got her out of there, didn’t we? Because we played the right cards. Let’s keep doing it, Stone Cold. The Jackal is on the case, and I’m not giving up until it’s over.”

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