Days of our Haiden
Season 1 Episode 7:
Rafe and Lani rang the doorbell at the Kiriakis mansion. Now that they had gotten Chad's full statement about what he had found in one of the secret rooms, they had to investigate. Hope was sitting this case out and Lani was Rafe's partner on this case instead. Both Roman and he agreed that this case was too personal for Hope since it had involved her.
Harold answered the door and Rafe and Lani both flashed their badges.
"Salem PD." Rafe pulled out a warrant and handed it to Harold. "We have a warrant to search the premises."
Harold nodded and stepped back.
"Thank you for your cooperation" Lani said to Harold as Harold closed the door behind them.
"What is the meaning of all this?" Stefano asked when he saw Rafe and Lani enter the living room.
"They have a warrant Mr. Dimera." Harold handed Stefano the warrant.
Andre came into the room then and looked over Stefano's shoulder. "Well, what can we do? They have a warrant. We must let them search."
Stefano nodded. "Do as you wish."
Rafe eyed them both suspiciously. "Thank you." He knew they had something up their sleeves and he was more than sure they had already wiped the place clean, but he still had to look in case they missed something.
"Chad said the room was behind the fireplace. That seems weird," Lani said.
Rafe headed over to the fireplace and took out the gate. He set it aside then leaned in and pressed the bricks where Chad had instructed him to press. Sure enough, the back wall turned into a doorway as the wall pushed backward revealing a set of stairs.
Rafe looked over his shoulder at Lani. "Everything involving the Dimeras is weird."
Lani looked shocked. She nodded. "Fair enough." She regained her composure and followed him into the fireplace. They then headed down the stairs.
The door was closed. Rafe tried the knob and it opened right up. He looked at Lani. "They've been expecting us." He then opened the door and walked in.
Lani headed in behind him, and they both surveyed the room.
"You gotta be kidding me," Lani stated.
Rafe crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.
*This love came back to me.*
Hope lie in bed tossing and turning. She kept thinking about hers and Aiden's wedding night. They were so happy and in love. Or so she had thought. She remembered making love with him only to have him strangle her almost to death shortly after. She thought of him apologizing to her, tears in his eyes over what he had done. She thought of Chase's plea to not testify against him. She knew she had to testify, but could she find it in her to plead with the judge and possible jury to go easy on him? Could she tell them that he only did it because he was forced into it? Did she herself even buy that reasoning? Could she ever forgive Aiden for turning on her and trying to kill her—on their wedding night nonetheless? Did she really think he wouldn't try to hurt someone else? Did he kill his ex-wife after all? Was this just something he did—get women to fall in love with him and marry him and then kille them for their life insurance policies?
She sighed, and rolled over to her other side. She pictured the nights she spent with Bo in this bed, and the nights she spent with Aiden. Bo had been her one true love for as long as she could remember. Then Aiden had come along and she had fallen in love when she had thought she'd never fall in love again. She had fallen hard for Aiden, and she had thought he had fallen just as hard for her. He claimed it had been real love, but now she wasn't so sure. Then there was Rafe. He was there for her as a friend when she was going through all the crap she had to go through with what Aiden had done to her and then Bo dying. Then it quickly grew into something more. She loved Rafe. She did. Did she love him like Bo? Not even close! However, Rafe meant so much to her as both a lover and a friend. She loved him. As for Aiden, she honestly wasn't sure how she felt about him. She had loved him so much she had been willing to spend the rest of her life with him, but look how that had turned out. No matter what his reasoning was, the fact remained that he had still tried to kill her—on her wedding night at that!
She sighed again, and turned to her other side. She honestly didn't know what she was going to do the next day at the hearing, and frankly, right now she was just too tired to think any more on the matter. She closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.
*This love came back to me.*
Rafe and Lani looked around every inch of the room but it was no use. It had been wiped clean. There was no IV stand or IV. There was no gurney table, ball, chain, or any other sign that someone had been chained there. Even the walls had no signs of having had chains attached to them. All that was in the room were shelves filled with boxes of old family pictures and a lot of cleaning supplies and toiletries. There was also a working toilet and sink.
"Seems odd to me that they would have a working toilet in here if all this room is used for is storage," Lani quipped.
Rafe nodded. "I wanna get this place dusted for prints, but I have a feeling there won't be any since they went through all the trouble to make it look like no one was here."
"Chad wouldn't have made up a lie to help Aiden would he have?" Lani asked.
Rafe shook his head. "No. Chad wouldn't do that. He's not like the rest of his family. Anyway, how else would Aiden have been fixed up, and where would he have been for the past year? He definitely had a serious gunshot wound. That couldn't be faked. The Dimera doctor saving his life and then Stefano and Andre keeping him captive here is the only thing that makes any sense. I know the Dimeras. They're just really good at covering their tracks."
Lani nodded in understanding. She opened her fingerprint dusting kit. "Well, even though they more than likely had this place wiped clean, it's still better to be safe than sorry right?"
Rafe nodded. "Right!"
They got to work.
*This love came back to me*
"What's the matter Detectives? Didn't you find anything?" Andre asked, feigning surprise an hour later.
Rafe scowled. "You already knew that."
"Poor Mr. Jennings isn't right in the head imagining things that didn't happen," Andre said, shaking his head in mock pity and making a clicking noise with his tongue.
"You son corroborated his story," Lani replied.
Andre shrugged. "My brother has never been that fond of me. It doesn't surprise me that he is making up stories."
"Why was there a toilet down there if all you seem to use the room for is storage?" Lani asked.
"We let the servants use that bathroom. My father and I don't like to make a habit of sharing our private bathrooms with the help," Andre said simply.
"Are you going to be charging us with anything?" Stefano asked.
Rafe glanced from Stefano to Andre, to back to Stefano. "No. I have no evidence to charge to you with anything." He knew he could call Andre and Stefano in for questioning, but it was late and he didn't feel like dealing with the paperwork. Besides, what good would it do? It was Chad and Aiden's word against Stefano and Andre's. Andre and Stefano had people on the inside that would have them back in their cozy beds within the hour.
"You win," he said looking at both Dimeras with distaste. "For now."
Rafe then left with Lani leading the way.
"Well, that was a big waste of time," Lani said.
Rafe nodded at the fingerprints they had managed to find and collect. "I can guarantee those fingerprints you collected are only going to belong to the servants—possibly Andre or Stefano as well— but let's get them to forensics then we can call it a night."
Lani nodded. "Sounds good, Partner. I don't know about you but I am more than ready for this night to end." She yawned.
Rafe nodded. "You and I both."
*This love came back to me.*
It was 11:45 the next day and Aiden and his lawyer were sitting in the court room waiting for the preliminary hearing to start.
They had had a long discussion prior to the hearing and finally decided on pleading guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter. There was no use in pleading not guilty when Hope was just going to prove him wrong anyway. Not to mention there were doctor's reports of Hope's strangulation that would no doubt be given to the judge as evidence. Anyway, Aiden knew that lying about it was not the way to win Hope back. As for the insanity plea, Aiden had known what he was doing even if the circumstances didn't allow him to thoroughly think through the consequences. Both Aiden and his lawyer Frank, felt that maybe he would get some leniency not only because of the unusual circumstances he was under, but also for admitting to his wrong doings.
Aiden looked around the courtroom. Chase wasn't there. He had gone to school as Aiden had instructed him to. Roman was there, and of course being the DA, Justin was there. Lani was there, as was Chad. Hope and Rafe were yet to be seen.
Aiden glanced at the clock on the wall. It was now ten minutes until the hearing started. He didn't know whether he was surprised that Andre and Stefano weren't there or not. He definitely wasn't surprised that they hadn't been arrested.
"Hey" Chad said coming up behind him. "Do you know anything about this judge? I was hoping we'd get a judge my father knows. Then maybe I could have persuaded him to see things your way, but sadly, this one doesn't work for us. Then again, knowing my brother and father, that may be a good thing."
Aiden nodded. "He's fair."
"He has a son around Chase's age. This could be a very lucky break!" Frank said.
"You're thinking he might sympathize with Aiden when he hears his story," Chad stated.
Frank nodded. "Exactly!"
Chad clapped a hand over top of Aiden's shoulder. "Here's hoping. Good luck, Buddy!"
Aiden looked over his shoulder at him and nodded. "Thanks."
Chad then took his seat.
The courtroom doors opened then. Aiden looked behind him to see Rafe walking into the room with Hope by his side.
Rafe made eye contact with him, his eyes cold, and his lip curled in a slight snarl.
Aiden sighed. He wished he could punch him in the face.
Hope met his gaze then. Her expression was unreadable. She looked away as soon as they made eye contact.
Rafe and Hope took a seat.
Aiden sighed again.
The bailiff came into the room. "All rise for the Honorable Judge Evan Winters is now presiding."
Everyone rose while the judge came in and took his seat. The judge had small round wire-framed glasses and a full head of gray hair making him look a lot older than the fifty years that he was.
"The court is now in session. You may be seated," the bailiff finished.
Everyone took their seat.
Judge Winters surveyed the courtroom. "I'm a very busy man, and I haven't got all day, so I am going to move this right along. I have reviewed the case." He turned his attention to Frank. "Mr. Walker, how does your client plead?"
Frank stood up. "Guilty of Attempted Voluntary Manslaughter your Honor."
"I'd like to hear the reasoning behind such a plea," Judge Winters stated.
Frank nodded. "My client would like to take the stand to explain himself."
"Very well then," Judge Winters agreed.
The bailiff called Aiden to the stand and swore him in.
Aiden placed his right hand on the Bible and swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth then he took his seat.
"Tell me now, Mr. Jennings, why did you try to kill your wife; the supposed love of your life?" Judge Winters asked.
Aiden sighed. "I owed a lot of money to a bookie. The Dimeras paid him off without my permission, and then expected me to pay them back. I had no way of paying them back, so they threatened to kill my son if I didn't pay. The only way to get the money and protect my son was to kill Hope for the life insurance money. Several times I wanted to back out. I couldn't go through with it! However, every time I told them no they threatened my son's life. At one point, Mr. Andre Dimera threatened to kill both my son and me if I didn't kill Hope and get them their money."
"Your Honor, may I ask the defendant a few questions?" Justin asked.
Judge Winters nodded. "As long as you keep it short. Remember this isn't a trial."
Justin nodded. "Of course." He walked over to Aiden. "Mr. Jennings, why didn't you just go to Detective Brady about this? Or you could have gone to your best man, Detective Hernandez. Heck, you could have come to Commissioner Brady, or even myself! You loved your fiancé so much you wanted to marry her, yet you couldn't trust her with a problem like this?"
Aiden glanced at Hope, who looked sad. She wouldn't meet his eyes.
Aiden sighed. "I couldn't think straight. Trust me, I did not want to kill Hope. I begged and pleaded for Andre and Stefano to let me pay them off any other way!"
"Please just answer my question," Mr. Jennings," Justin said coolly.
Aiden managed to look Justin in the eyes. "I was a fool. I was worried that if I went to the police, Andre or Stefano—or both—would find a way for my son to be killed. I just couldn't think straight! I know now how foolish it was of me, but honestly, all I could think about at the time was the surefire way to save my son that would leave no what ifs. I could make sur everyone thought it was the necktie killer, no one would ever know it was me, and I'd get the money to protect my son."
"Didn't you take into consideration how you would be leaving poor Ciara without a mother? She had thought her father abandoned her, now you were going to kill her mother too? And Shawn's? What about Hope's parents and relatives? They have all already been through so much in life, but you didn't even care about that or stop to think about that, did you?" Justin asked.
Aiden felt his heart sink. He looked down at the floor for just a moment.
"Objection, Your Honor, the DA is badgering the witness!" Frank objected.
"Your Honor, I'm just seeing if he can truly grasp the consequences of what he tried to do," Justin explained.
"Overruled. Answer the question Mr. Jennings," Judge Winters ordered.
Aiden looked at Justin. "I knew Ciara would have plenty of family to take care of her. Shawn is all grown up now. I knew it was still so wrong, but I had to think about the more important consequence, which was my son's life. With Hope dying, her kids would be fine. With Hope not dying, my son would be dead."
"So, the life of the woman than you loved didn't matter just so long as your son lived?" Aiden asked.
Again, Aiden looked down to the floor. "I would handle things better this time. Now that I've had a year to think of it, held prisoner in a—whatever kind of room that was—her life did and does matter." He looked at Justin again. "My son's mother died when my son was very young. All his life I've had to protect him. He depended on me his dad to take care of him and protect him from harm. It is my job as a parent to protect him. That was all I could think of doing when I tried to kill Hope. Now, however, I could never hurt Hope, let alone try to kill her. I know now that what I did was terribly wrong, and that I should have just gone to the police and let them do their jobs."
"All right. That's easy for you to say now, but how do we know that you wouldn't do it again if you were put in the same position?" Justin asked.
Aiden shook his head. "Honestly, you don't. ButI know I wouldn't. The moment I thought I had killed her, I would have killed myself had I not needed to stay alive to protect my son. I knew then that I what I had just done was so incredibly wrong, and that I could never do that or anything like it again. Ever. I couldn't hurt or try to kill anyone, let alone the love of my life. It's not the way to protect my son."
"How do we know you didn't kill your first wife; that this isn't something you do on a regular basis—find a woman to woo and get to marry you, then kill her, come up with a story, and take her life insurance policy?" Justin asked.
Aiden narrowed his eye at him. "I did not kill my wife."
Frank stood up and slammed his hands on the desk. "Objection, Your Honor! My client is not on trial for the murder of his first wife. That was ruled an accident besides."
Judge Winters nodded. "Sustained. DA Kiriakis, please stay on topic."
Justin held up his hands. "You're right. My apologies Your Honor. I'm through with my questioning."
"Mr. Walker, do you have any further questioning?" Judge Winters asked.
Frank shook his head. "No your Honor, but I would like to call to the stand Mr. Chad Dimera."
"All right, you pay proceed," Judge Winters agreed.
Chad walked to the bench and got sworn in, then he sat down.
Frank walked up to him. "Please, Mr. Dimera, share with the courtroom what it was you saw when you first found Mr. Jennings alive."
Chad then told the story of how he had discovered Aiden, and how he had Aiden had worked to escape from Andre and Stefano. He also made sure the court knew that he had heard his brother and father confess to what they had done to Aiden. He also told them about Andre having told him there would be another killing the night Aiden tried to kill Hope.
"My brother made Aiden do it so that everyone would think that he was the necktie killer and therefore I would be released from jail," Chad explained.
"Did you tell anyone?" Frank asked.
Chad nodded. "I told the guard but he wouldn't listen. He just thought I was trying to get out of jail. I didn't know that Aiden was who my brother was going to make pose as the necktie killer, nor did I know that he was going to try to kill Hope."
"Thank you. That is all the questioning I have for you," Frank said.
The judge asked Justin if he wanted to cross-examine but, Justin declined.
Aiden knew it was more than likely because Justin knew that Chad had been telling the truth on that part. Surely Justin must have heard Chad's warning that night, but like the guard, Justin hadn't believed him and therefor did nothing. It was just a guess, but Aiden was pretty sure of it.
Over the next half hour, Rafe and Lani both testified on the stand about having found nothing when examining the Dimera mansion. The fingerprints they had collected belonged to the maids and Harold—no one else. Rafe admitted that there had been a report that Chad had said there was going to be another murder but no one believed him. But he had only confessed that when Frank asked him straight out about it.
Aiden smirked. Rafe couldn't lie on the stand. He had been forced to tell the truth even though it meant helping him.
Rafe also described the scene when he arrived at Hope's house after Aiden had tried to kill her and Aiden had ultimately had the final battle with Bo. Rafe told the court that Aiden did appear to be dead, and that his story about being kidnapped by the Dimeras and treated by their surgeon was the only possible explanation of how Aiden was still here today. Of course, that was just circumstantial; nothing that could put away Andre or Stefano.
"Do we have any more witnesses before I decide whether or not this goes to trial?" Judge Winters asked.
"Yes. The DA would like to call to the stand Detective Hope Brady," Justin said.
Aiden felt his heart pound. He knew this was coming, now here it was.
Hope walked to the stand and got sworn in before sitting down. Her eyes locked with Aiden's, and this time she didn't look away right away.
She didn't look angry to Aiden, but at the same time, she didn't look at him with the love in her eyes that she always used to look at him with. Not that he had expected her to look at him with that love. That would take a while to see that again, he knew. Even so, Aiden couldn't read her expression. Was she angry? Sad? Disappointed? Out for revenge?"
He looked away as the DA began to question her. He guessed he was about to find out.
