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Chapter 51

Jason was pissed by the time he got to the police station. Francis was waiting outside because this was not a conversation he wanted to have in front of the entire police department, and the Feds, who had arrived about ten minutes ago. "What the fuck happened!?" Jason asked in a harsh whisper.

Johnny was also waiting for an explanation.

"She confessed to killing Spencer." Francis was still shocked. "I told her not to answer any question without my approval or volunteer any information. She spit the answer out before I could stop her." Honestly he had no clue she was even going to do this.

"She confessed to protect Jason?" Johnny was guessing.

"Yeah." Francis knew instantly why she had done it. "Is there any way we can match her story?"

"Which was what exactly?" Jason asked his lawyer.

"That Lucky broke into her hotel room, beat her up, and tried to grab Cameron. She said she stabbed him and then dragged the body to her car. On the way to the hospital she pulled over and pushed him down an embankment. She told Harper that she had no clue if he was even still alive when she did it. But that he didn't move or make a sound during the ride." Francis filled them in.

"I had the evidence of him in the ER destroyed." Jason told Francis and Johnny. "It was the only proof we had that he was still alive after she stabbed him." Jason was kicking himself.

"Any chance of him turning up?" Which was as close as Francis was going to come to asking about the body.

"No." Johnny answered that one. Spencer's remains had been cremated an hour after he died. "Shit, are they going to charge her?" Taggert was probably dancing on his desk.

"There's no body, so I can work with that. The Oregon police's slow response time will help too." Because the hotel was in a rundown neighborhood the cops had not responded quickly. It took them almost an hour to check out the noise complaint. The motel Elizabeth had chosen was known to be frequented by hookers, the cops just figured it was a customer that got out of hand.

"I need to see Elizabeth." Jason headed for the steps with his friends following him.


They had to wait forty-five minutes while she was processed, because Taggert had indeed arrested her. Right now the police commissioner was in his office with the agent the Feds had sent down to sort things out. Jason was sitting in an interrogation room waiting for his wife. Francis had made sure the recording devices were off, but Johnny gave his brother in-law a jammer just in case.

They brought her in wearing the blue pants and top issued to prisoners and with her hands cuffed. Jason was ready to kill someone. It got worse when it was clear that the officer who escorted Liz up was planning on staying in the room. Francis had to go toe to toe with the commissioner but after fifteen minutes of yelling the officer was removed. Jason wasted no time in pulling her close. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Elizabeth just leaned into him. "They put me in a cell by myself."

"You shouldn't be down there at all. Why did you confess?" Jason asked her.

"I don't want you to get in trouble." She told him.

Jason just took a deep breath. "Elizabeth, we have everything under control. You didn't need to do this. Taggert is going to try to make the charges stick." He would try to use Elizabeth to stick it too Jason.

"I'll be okay, even if I have to go to trial, I'll be okay." Elizabeth told him. "Just tell Cameron I love him."

"You can tell him yourself, you aren't staying here over night." Jason told her.

"The officer told me I can't go before the judge until tomorrow." Elizabeth passed along, so yeah that meant a night in jail.

"I DEMAND TO TALK TO THE POLICE COMMISSIONER THIS INSTANT!" Jason and Elizabeth both turned at the commotion.

"What was that?" She asked her husband.

Jason just grinned. "I think the Calvary just arrived." Jason said giving her a squeeze. Going to the door he opened it and looked out. Sure enough Edward was standing in the middle of the bullpen looking murderous.

"This is an outrage and I will not stand for it!" Edward continued his attack. "My granddaughter is not a murderer."

"She confessed Mr. Quartermaine." Taggert had come out of his office. His victory over Jason was already slipping through his fingers, the Feds were not interested in pressing charges and he was going to have a hard time holding Elizabeth Morgan without them backing him. He didn't need Edward making it worse.

"To what exactly, protecting her son. Something the police or the FBI couldn't seem to do?" Edward had done a discreet background check on Elizabeth after Jason announced the marriage. There was no Elizabeth Webber in the system, but Justus was good and using Elizabeth and Cameron's first names he stumbled across a case from a small town in Colorado. The pictures confirmed it was her, and the story had made him sick to his stomach.

Taggert just sighed. That was the problem. The Feds had screwed up and just wanted this to go away. Spencer had escaped custody and they hadn't bothered to do anything about Donnelly. If the story got out they would look bad. "Murder is still a crime, and we only have her word that Spencer attacked her first." Her story was pretty damned tight though. No matter how many times Taggert had her repeat it she never wavered. "We are holding her at least overnight on murder charges and identity fraud."

"I will have the Governor himself down here before the sun sets if you don't let my granddaughter go this instant." Edward threatened.

"Mr. Quartermaine, you can have the President himself come over. We are still holding her until she goes before the judge tomorrow morning." Taggert wasn't backing down.

"Do you want to keep your job?" Edward asked in a very calm tone. "I'm sure the Mayor will love the press that comes from you prosecuting a mother who was protecting her son from a known child abuser and a suspected murderer." Edward would see that this story landed on the front page. One call would do it.

Before either man could speak, Alexis Davis walked in the room. "Would someone like to explain just what the hell is going on?" The DA asked.

"Elizabeth Morgan confessed to the murder of Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr." Taggert told the city's top lawyer.

"Who is he?" Alexis pointed to the man behind Taggert.

"Special Agent John McBain, from the Buffalo office of the FBI." The commissioner made the introduction.

"Why are you here?" Alexis wanted to know.

"He-" Taggert started.

"I think he can speak for himself." Alexis stopped the police commissioner. She had a sinking feeling about this. Taggert got down right rabid where Jason Morgan and Johnny O'Brien were concerned. The city didn't need another lawsuit. She had heard Edward's threat and already the acid in her stomach was boiling. "Well?"

"Mrs. Morgan was being stalked by Spencer. After several assaults to both her and her son, Cameron, she took him and fled. At some point they all ended up in Portland where Mrs. Morgan said she stabbed him and pushed him into a ravine, presumably killing him." McBain told the DA. He was sent here with one job to accomplish, make this mess go away. His supervisor didn't care how it happened, the Bureau just wanted to close this case, and make sure it stayed that way. Elizabeth Morgan was walking out of here today, even if John had to call the state Attorney General to make that happen.

"Portland, Oregon?" Alexis asked waiting to be clear.

"Yes ma'am." McBain responded.

"So you are here to take her into custody." Alexis would happily sign the transfer order.

"No, ma'am. The Bureau has no interest in pursuing this matter." McBain announced. "I already told Commissioner Taggert that."

"So why is she still in custody?" Alexis looked at Taggert.

"Even if we drop those charges we are still looking at identity fraud." Taggert answered.

"Fraud and not theft?" Alexis asked feeling a headache forming. The Mayor was less than pleased with what was happening. Edward had called him before coming down. Floyd called her, and said to fix this mess. The Mayor wanted Elizabeth Morgan out of custody as soon as possible.

"She applied for a job at the hospital using a false name." Taggert still had her.

"Seriously?" Alexis looked at Taggert as if he had lost his mind. "I'm guessing that this false name was to keep the lunatic who was stalking her from finding her."

"If he is dead, she didn't need a fake name." Taggert pointed out.

McBain cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "We don't know for a fact he is dead. Plus Spencer's family is suspected of aiding him in the deaths of Jeff, Carolyn, and Sarah Hardy. Spencer's godfather was the Chief of Police of the town they lived in, and a search of his house yesterday turned up proof that he did indeed help cover up those crimes." He left out that Donnelly was dead. The timing was suspect, but the Bureau was making sure the death did not get investigated. "So Lucky Spencer was not the only person Mrs. Morgan was running from. In fact it was Spencer's brother who broke the case open when he made a call from the hospital."

"Who did he call, if Spencer is dead?" Alexis asked wanting a large martini.

"According to the phone log he called an international number which we traced to Ireland. Our contacts in Interpol confirm that Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Sr. was indeed in the country as late as yesterday. From what they are hearing he left shortly after the call, possibly coming here." McBain added.

Johnny caught Jason's eye and gave a small nod. He had Spinelli make the change last night, just to be on the safe side. Luke was already dead, but no one in this room needed to know that. Elizabeth's confession, while not necessary, might insure that none of the sudden disappearances and deaths of the people involved in this case got looked at too closely. Even if Spencer's body had turned up it was almost guaranteed that the whole case would have been swept under the rug. The Feds wanted this gone and they weren't going to stop until it happened. It was actually kind of funny.

"So you will be letting my granddaughter go?" Edward asked again.

"Identify fraud is a felony." Taggert wasn't backing down.

"I'm the head of the hospital board, we do not intend to press charges." Edward stated knowing everyone else on the board would back him. "Let her go."

"I don't work for you." Taggert pointed out.

"By this time tomorrow you won't work for anyone." Edward threatened.

"As the DA, I have no intention of prosecuting Mrs. Morgan for taking the necessary steps to protect her son. As for the murder charges, since this is a federal case they can decide whether or not they want to press charges." Alexis very neatly passed the buck.

"We don't." McBain assured her.

"Well then, the matter is settled." Alexis looked at Harper. "Where is Mrs. Morgan?"

The detective pointed up the hall to where the woman in question was standing with her husband.

"You booked her!" Alexis said exasperated.

"She confessed." Taggert was pissed.

"You're suspended. Hand over your badge and gun. I want you in for an evaluation from the department psychologist and I'm calling for a review by the police board. This is nothing more than an abuse of power." Alexis was dumbfounded that Taggert would be so reckless. They'd be lucky not to get sued.

Without a word Taggert did as instructed. "I'm calling my union rep."

"See that you do, I'm sure Mr. Corelli will be happy to tell him exactly what Elizabeth Morgan is suing you for." Alexis took the weapon and shield. "Harper get those cuffs off, get Mrs. Morgan processed out, and then remove her from the system. Someone get her clothes. I also need an officer to escort Taggert to his office to make sure he doesn't take anything he shouldn't." Alexis turned to Francis. "Restraining order?"

"Oh yeah." He told her.

"I can handle that. I need a fax number." McBain offered. A federal restraining order would let them know if Taggert was stirring up trouble that they didn't need. Stepping out into the main hall McBain placed a call. Five minutes later he was back. "The paperwork will be here within the hour."

"Anything else?" Alexis needed to get back to the courtroom where she was trying a case. Her ADA was currently holding down the fort. She couldn't wait to tell Mac this over dinner tonight.

"That should do it." Edward said grinning. No one messed with the Quartermaines. Even if Elizabeth had confessed while covered in Spencer's blood he would have made sure she walked.


When she was once again in her scrubs Elizabeth came out of the changing area to find Jason, Johnny, Francis, and Edward waiting. She walked over to her Grandfather to give him a big hug and kiss. "Thank you."

Edward gave her his most charming grin. "You, my dear, are quite welcome. It's not often these days I get to rescue a pretty damsel."

Jason just rolled his eyes. "Stop flirting with my wife."

"I saved her from certain doom, I get to flirt for a few minutes." Edward scowled at Jason, before turning and smiling at Elizabeth. "You bring my great-grandson to dinner tonight."

"Yes sir." Elizabeth couldn't deny him that request.

"Well, now that I've showed you youngsters how it's done I need to go back to work. I think you can handle it from here." Edward said before heading to his limo. His walk had a bit of swagger in it.

"I need to get back to the hospital and finish my shift." Elizabeth looked at the clock. It had been an eventful two and a half hours. Seemed like longer to her.

"I don't think so. We are going home." Jason told her. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine. I promise." She added before he could object. "Francis I'm sorry, for putting you in that position. There wasn't time to explain before the detective came back into the room."

"Don't do it again." Francis told her. "But I have to admit, you thought fast on your feet. Is this what you expected?"

"Pretty much, even if it went to trial I'm certain I wouldn't have been convicted." Elizabeth had rolled the dice and won.

"That's a hell of a gamble, kid." Johnny thought she had a lot of moxie.

"The Feds were tripping over themselves to keep me from suing and making them look like idiots in the press when Lucky escaped from custody. I figured they still were. Me on the witness stand is very bad for them." Elizabeth shrugged. "So who is going to give me a ride back to work? I need to tell Emily what happened." She figured she was in for a long lecture from her hubby when she got home, but for now he was just happy she wasn't going to be spending the night in jail.


Going back to work didn't happen. Instead Jason took his wife home. Cameron was out with Georgie and Ben, so they had the penthouse to themselves. "Sit down Elizabeth." Jason instructed pointing to the couch.

"Jason." Elizabeth started.

"No. Sit down." Jason repeated. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. The car ride home had given him a chance to calm him his nerves. He sat on the coffee table and faced his stubborn, beautiful wife. This time tomorrow this whole situation would be pretty funny. Right now, not so much. "Promise me you won't do anything like this again."

"I can't promise not to do everything in my power to keep us safe." Elizabeth hoped they weren't about to have a really nasty fight. "I knew this would work, and that it would make this problem go away. I feel bad that I upset everyone, but like I told Francis there wasn't time to give him the information I had. I don't foresee me ever being in this situation again, but if I am I will request to speak with my lawyer before agreeing to talk with anyone." She could give him that. "But I won't ever back down when I see a chance to protect the people I love."

"Baby this could have gone very badly." Jason needed her to see that.

"I know." Elizabeth admitted softly. "I was terrified. Right up until they took the handcuffs off, I was so scared they were going to keep me there overnight." She could share this with him. "But I knew Cameron would be safe with you."

"I was terrified too. When Francis called me..all I could think was that I was going to lose you." Jason leaned forward and she met him for a soft kiss. "I love you." He told her. "I've never said those words to a woman before and meant them." He had said them to Courtney and Sam because he was expected to, but he never felt them until Elizabeth came into his life. "I cannot lose you."

"I can't lose you either." Elizabeth told him. "I love you too much. I'm sorry I scared you."

"Thank you." Jason grinned. His girl was smart and strong and brave. Sometimes too brave for his mental well-being.

"Come upstairs with me. I want to take a shower." She got why he wanted to shower when he came home after Taggert brought him in for questioning. "I need someone to scrub my back."

"That's a job I am more than qualified for." Jason said shaking the afternoon off. His wife was home and safe. That was all the mattered.


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