"Where do you think you're going?" Roger asked Holly a few hours later. She had just picked her bags from the luggage carousel at Springfield's airport and was obviously going to leave without saying goodbye. They had not spoken since leaving Boston a few hours ago.

Roger grabbed Holly by the arm and she faced him coldly. "I thought we weren't talking," she replied.

"We're not, but you're still coming to my place."

Holly was about to protest when Susan walked past them, luggage in hand. "Yeah, you're coming, Holly. And you two better patch things up real quickly, because this fight of yours is getting old."

Holly and Roger exchanged a look and followed the ex-agent into a taxi.

They only had time to take off their coats at Roger's apartment before someone rang the doorbell. Roger looked into the peephole and opened the door.

Mallet and Ross stood on the other side, their faces a mix of curiosity, annoyance and suspicion. "You wanted to see us?" Ross asked Roger curtly. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Holly but said nothing.

"I did. As I told you this morning, Holly needs our help." Roger said. "Why don't you all go to the living room and help yourself to the bar. I'm still waiting for a two people."

The party complied but all settled on sparkling water, except Susan, who poured herself a scotch. Roger soon appeared flanked by Blake and Ed. "Mom!" Blake cried before hugging and sitting by her mother.

Roger stood in the middle of the room, demanding silence before introducing Susan to everyone. "We have no time to lose, so I'll go straight to the point. As some of you know, I have suspected for a few weeks now that Daniel St. John has been involved in the murder of his lover four years ago in Boston -"

There was an instant clamor covering the end of his sentence.

"That's preposterous! Daniel is my brother's best friend!" Ross exclaimed. "We've been through this before, Roger, and Daniel has nothing to hide!" Ed added, while Blake covered her mouth in horror. Only Mallet and Susan remained unaffected by the sudden tension, waiting patiently to see what Roger would have to say.

"Will you just listen to me for one second?" Roger shouted impatiently. "Or if not, would you listen to Holly?" He glanced toward his ex-wife, who cleared her throat before speaking.

"I have to admit that I was also very skeptical about Roger's accusations until yesterday. However, given Daniel's recent attitude towards me, and what we just found out in Boston-"

Ed's eyes went from Roger to Holly and he couldn't help but interrupt. "You two were in Boston together? When?"

"We just came back. What we discovered what…really unsettling," Holly said before she told them everything that they had learned from the chief-of-staff, Jean Wetterill, Ray Bellevue and, most importantly, Cassie Kennedy Bellevue.

When she was done, they all remained in dismayed silence for a few minutes.

"This doesn't look good," Ross admitted.

"Not for Daniel, but even less for Holly," Mallet said. He popped a mint into his mouth and seemed to think for a second. "There's no proof against Daniel, and even if there were, we could not investigate ourselves. The Boston police would have to be in charge."

"I know that," Roger said. "What I'd like to know is what CAN we do?"

"Nothing, unless of course Daniel confesses to the murder."

"I will be working on him, but if I show my hand, I need to know that Holly will be protected. Once Daniel knows that I'm on to him, there's no telling what he might do in order to keep her."

Ross scratched in head, obviously upset. "We cannot offer her police protection and you know it, Roger. Not as long as there has been no accusation. As far as the law goes, Daniel is innocent."

"Holly, why don't you just simply call off the engagement and set Daniel loose?" Ed suggested. "He doesn't have to know that we suspect him of anything and you can both go your own way."

Holly smiled sadly. "I wish it was that simple. If I do that, I might end up like that poor Carol Donaldson, and frankly, that's not a chance that I'm willing to take."

"Then you will have to hide until we nail him. I don't trust any bodyguard to be enough to keep you safe." Roger said while looking her straight in the eyes. The glance lingered for a few seconds too long, a fact that did not escape Ed.

"You can stay at my place," the latter proposed. "Blake can come and see you anytime and it won't look suspicious."

"I don't think this would be a good idea, Ed," Mallet intervened. "You could be putting Michelle and Maureen in danger. Besides, Holly has to go where Daniel will never think to look for her."

"That also rules out my place, I guess," Ross observed.

"I know what I could do," Holly suddenly said.

They all turned their eyes on her. "I could just stay here," she simply said.


Before the meeting was adjourned, Mallet and Ross promised to contact their colleagues of the Boston police to see if there was something else that could be learned about the way the investigation had been conducted. That way, they might be able to reopen the case. It was a slim chance but it was worth making some calls. Ed said that he would keep tabs on Daniel at the hospital as best as he could.

The three of them left together and Mallet took his leave in the underground garage while the two friends stayed behind for a few more minutes.

"I can't believe that Holly would actually be willing to stay under Roger's roof for any amount of time," Ross began.

Ed shrugged. "It's the most practical solution, I guess. Blake can visit her and she can go on running the station, since she's going to see Roger every day. Oh, and she can go on having sex with him too," he added, seemingly as an afterthought.

Ross stopped in his tracks. "I beg your pardon?" He looked more closely at Ed and could now see the anger behind his facade. "Tell me you're not serious."

"I know that look in her eyes. I've seen it once before, and that's when she was cheating on me with him."

"Don't you think that your mind is running wild here?" Ross said, sounding skeptical.

"I know Holly almost better than I know myself. Beside, you could cut the tension between them with a knife."

"If that's true, how can you be taking this so calmly? We have to get her out of there!"

"No, we don't! There is no way that I will let them suck me back into their drama. Maureen would leave me if I did, and I wouldn't blame her. And the same goes for you, Ross. Don't you remember why you broke things off with Holly in the first place?"

"Because I was afraid that something like this would happen," Ross mumbled dispiritedly. Even after leaving her, a part of him was still hoping that Holly meant it whenever she swore that she hated Roger. Now it looked that she had been lying to him, and maybe even to herself.

"I may look as if I don't care, Ross, but on the contrary, I do. That's why I can't get involved, not even a little. If I stay too close to the situation and I see that he's hurting her, like he's bound to do, than I might end up doing stupid things, like drinking again. That's just not an option for me."

"What are you going to do then? Cut her out of your life?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that HE cannot be in my life."

"Nor in mine. God, this is such a screwed up situation."

"One we both knew was going to come sooner or later, Ross, if we're being truly honest. I'm starting to believe that only death could do them part, and since Roger did not die fifteen years ago down that cliff…"

"…They were bound to be together again," Ross concluded.

"I just hope she doesn't regret it."

"How could she not?" Ross wondered before getting into his car. "From Daniel to Roger! Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire!"


Meanwhile, Susan, Blake, Holly and Roger had stayed behind to discuss the rest of the plan.

"We have to find a plausible explanation as to why Holly had to stay out of town for a few more days," Susan said.

Blake turned to her mother. "You could tell Daniel that it's taking you longer than expected to close that deal in Boston."

Holly shook her head. "I told him it was in Chicago, remember? Besides, I'm afraid Chicago is too close to Springfield and I'm afraid that he'll insist on coming for the weekend."

"Could you be having a family emergency? A relative that has fallen ill somewhere outside of Illinois?" Susan inquired.

"There is always my mother in California," Holly said doubtfully. She looked at Roger, silently asking for his input.

"He might call at your mother's house or at the hospital. I have a better idea. Do you remember that broadcaster's annual meeting that we decide to skip?" Roger said.

"The one in New York?"

"Yes, it starts in two days. You could just say that you had to go after all. We'll register you for real and book you a hotel room in case he calls for you there. Blake, do you mind taking care of it later today at the office?"

"I'm on it," his daughter replied, only too happy to help.

"But what happens when he does call at my hotel? They'll tell him that I never showed up."

"That's easily taken care of. Susan will go and pretend she's you."

"I'm a great actress AND I have the right hair color for the part!" Susan said with a wink.

"She'll tell us whenever he leaves a message and you can call him back from here."

Holly breathed deeply. "Okay. Do you think that we can actually pull this off?"

Roger smiled. "I'm sure we can. The hardest part will be to make him confess. Knowing that you're going to be safe, I can focus on that part now and find a way to make him spill the beans."

"How long will it take?"

Roger shrugged, looking unsure. "I don't know, but the conference gives us a week."

"What about my clothes? If I'm gone for a week I have to go and get a few more things from home or else it will look suspicious."

Susan shook her head. "You're not going back. I'll call the hospital and ask for Daniel's schedule today and I'll go when he's at work."

She got up and grabbed her coat on the back of her chair. "I better start making arrangements now for my trip to New York. Fortunately, the hubby is in New Jersey, so we'll see each other."

"I can never thank you enough for what you're doing, Susan," Holly said as she saw her to the door. "And you too Blake," she added to her daughter who was also preparing to leave. The two hugged and Holly made Blake promise to stay out of Daniel's way.

When they were alone, Roger and Holly slowly went back to the living room. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Roger finally said," I can't believe that you actually want to stay here."

"I thought it would be best," Holly simply retorted. Whatever her feelings for Roger were, she could not deny that she felt safest when he was around lately.

"Well, I'm glad that you trust me with your safety," Roger replied. Maybe someday you can trust me with you heart, he added to himself.

Holly looked around and took a few steps down the corridor leading out of the living room. "You know what's funny? I just realized that you never gave me the tour of this place."

Roger understood the tacit question and smiled. "There isn't much too see, but I'll show you later. There's the bathroom, the kitchen, my room and the guest room. You can sleep there."

There was another awkward pause between them which Holly finally broke. "I'm sorry about last night," she said earnestly.

"About which part?"

"About running away in the middle of the night. It was rude and selfish of me."

Roger stayed motionless. Only the rapid batting of his eyes betrayed his emotion. "Okay, thank you for saying that."

"I won't do it again. Use you like that, I mean. It's probably best if we stayed out of each other's bed anyway until the whole thing with Daniel is resolved."

"You don't owe him anything anymore. You don't have to be faithful to him."

Holly opened her eyes in surprise. "Of course not! Daniel and I are finished, so that's not what I meant. I meant to say that emotions are running high right now and I'm not sure what my feelings are, about anything. Maybe you don't know what you're feeling for me either. Maybe you're mistaking your concern for something more. Let's not rush into something that we might regret later on, when the dust settles down."

"You mean like having an affair?" Roger said sadly.

"Yes, like having an affair. I know I'm asking a lot of you right now, especially since I'm the one who came to you the last time. I just didn't think that…" her voice trailed off and she looked away.

"That what?"

"That it would hurt you."

Roger took a few steps in her direction. "It did."

"Yeah, I know that now. It won't happen again, I promise. I'm done playing with people's feelings."