Part 9

Elizabeth stands in Ewen's blue shirt, looking at the painting he's hung in his bedroom. He has a way of making the paint transparent, of showing what's underneath the subject. It takes sensitivity to accomplish that technique.

Out of the corner of her eye she catches site of box, the one Helena tried to give her during her latest pregnancy. A coldness settles into her bones and she shivers at the site of it. It frightens her, so she deliberately walks toward it and flips it open. Inside she finds a bronze watch fob. The leather strap is old and warn, cracked in many places but still in good shape for the apparent age. The bronze is tarnished, with a dull patina.

She picks it up and runs her fingers over the flat circle. The image seems familiar but she doesn't know how. It feels heavy in her hand. It makes her think of the past and how people can't live in two places at one time. Helena is steeped in the past. She's never moved beyond the loss of Mykos and Stavros. Elizabeth knows her past is part of her but she chooses to have it make her stronger and live in the present. She's happier that way.

Still she wonders about the significance of the fob and why Helena wanted to give her the box. She wonders why it was tucked safely away in the tunnel and she wonders if it has anything to do with Cassandra's murder. She shakes her head no, that would be putting far to much significance upon herself and her child.

"It's just more of Helena's games," she says out loud.

She puts the fob back in the box as she hears Ewen return from the kitchen. He carries a pot of tea and some fruit.

"Sorry, this is all that I found that didn't need to be cooked," he says.

"Can't cook?" She asks, curious to learn more about him.

"I have a fair way around a grill," he grins. "Mostly I eat a lot of institutional food."

"I know the feeling. It's just easier, one less thing to think about when getting myself and the boys ready in the morning."

"I like General Hospital's food better than at Shadybrooke. At least there I have more options, like the hamburger and pizza bar."

Elizabeth laughs and eyes his lean bare chest. "Lies, I've eaten lunch with you at least four times a week and I've yet to see you eat a hamburger. Fish and chicken yes."

"I only eat the pizza and hamburgers on your days off."

She sits down on the bed and grabs a cracker and says,"Vanity the name is Ewen."

"So you only eat chef salads then?" he asks.

"Caught red handed. I also enjoy the hamburger bar on your days off."

"Now that we have that out in the open, maybe we can order hamburgers the next time we meet for lunch?"

"It's a date. Do you have any other food secrets I need to know about?"

"Like do I eat peanut butter from a spoon? Do I drink orange juice from the carton?"

"Absolutely, these are make it or break it relationship issues."

He turns pensive, "More important than being a murder suspect?"

"I thought we discussed this earlier. You do think I'm crazy because I believe you're innocent?"

"From my understanding of how the courts work in this country, one is presumed innocent anyway," he says settling next to her on the bed. "In my professional opinion, you are not crazy. I am very much concerned about you getting mixed up in my mess, however."

"I'm already ..."

He plays with her free hand and interrupts, "I know you're already mixed up in this mess. But right now you have a choice. One leads you deeper into my mess and the other..."

Now Elizabeth interrupts, "Sets me free? If I believed it, I might consider taking a break; if only because of the boys, but I don't think it will help. I'm already in your 'mess' and if that box is more than coincidence, maybe it's the other way around and you are caught up in my mess. I've been in Port Charles a lot longer than you. I've been mixed up in the Spencer/Cassadine war from the moment I met Lucky and Nikolas."

"You really believe this Helena may have killed Cassandra?"

"If not her then one of her many henchmen."

"Why would she kill Cassandra?"

"No one really knows how Helena thinks. She could have killed Cassandra just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time or because she looked at her wrong. Then again, Helena can threaten to kill someone and let them go if the mood strikes her. Cassandra was in a relationship with Ethan, that could be enough of a reason for Helena to have her killed. Helena loves to torture the Spencer men."

"Right now pinning Cassandra's murder is as much conjecture as the police pinning it on me. I find myself hoping you are right. At least she's a known player in this sick game, otherwise the possibilities are endless. I also find myself disquieted by the idea of that box and how it might involve you."

Elizabeth gets off the bed and goes to the box. She opens it and brings the fob to Ewen.

She asks, "What do you make of this? I have no way of knowing if it was in the box when Helena tried giving it to me but it's there now."

He held it up to the light and says, "It's very old. It looks like a sun symbol with some strange letters."

Elizabeth says, "It feels familiar to me. But I can't figure out why."

He hands it back to her, "When the time is right, you'll figure it out."

"Yeah, maybe I'll ask Nikolas about it the next time we Skype. It's probably nothing. "

Elizabeth puts the fob back in the gold box. "Are you sure you want to stay here alone?"

"I have a feeling I won't be alone for long. The police won't be keeping Ethan in custody either. He'll probably stop by."

"Maybe I should stay? I can call Gram."

"No don't do that. He and I will have to face it each other at some time. We can be more honest, without an audience. I'll take you back to the city."

"Okay, but you have to call me first thing in the morning."

"At sunrise?"

She looks a bit sheepish for being so demanding, "No, but before nine. Or I'll have Dante come check on you."

He kisses her then says, "I wouldn't want to have to bother Detective Falconari. I'll call you before nine."

"Good."