As if things in Emmeline's life couldn't go downhill anymore, Jonathon Kent got thrown in prison, suspected of shooting Lionel Luthor. Emmeline knew one thing. She didn't care what anyone said. Jonathon Kent wouldn't shoot someone.

Before school, she went to go visit him, feeling as if after all his son had done for her, she owed it to him.

"Hi, Mr. Kent," she said with a sad smile as she was led to the holding cell.

"Emmeline," Jonathon said, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought it might be nice to see a familiar face."

Jonathon smiled at her. "You're right."

"If you don't mind my asking…what happened?"

"You know, I…I don't really remember. I went to a bar, had a drink—not even a full one—and when I went back to the truck, I'm not exactly sure what happened. The next thing I knew, I was waking up with a gun in my hand and Ethan arresting me."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think you did anything to Lionel Luthor. I know that you may have a sore spot against them, but that's not you."

"I'm glad you think so, Emmeline. I don't think other people are going to think so. Not after how much I've voiced my hate for them."

"You'd be surprised. I'm sure there may be more people rooting for you than you think.
After all, between you and Mrs. Kent, you hold this town together."

Jonathon smiled. "Clark was right. You do know just what to say."

Emmeline let out a small laugh. The door opened behind her and Sheriff Ethan stepped in. "Time's up, ma'am."

Emmeline looked at Jonathon. "Just hang in there. We'll figure out the truth."

She headed off to school and met up with Chloe in the Torch office.

"I just saw Mr. Kent," she said to her.

"How's he doing?"

"He's okay, considering the circumstances. I feel really bad for him. We gotta find out who really did this."

"Yeah. Unfortunately for now, we've got to run a story for the Torch…and we have to leave opinion out of it."

Emmeline sighed. "Let me see the article and I'll get proofreading."

The two of them worked in silence as they tried to write the story about Mr. Kent. It wasn't long before Lana stepped in.

Hey," she said cheerfully. Noticing their grim looks, she asked, "Are you guys okay?"

"Sometimes being an objective journalist really sucks," Chloe said.

"I can imagine. I still can't believe Henry didn't take Mr. Kent's case."

"Okay, usually when I do this, people seem to get really mad at me, but…I found it really odd that your dad passed up an opportunity to take on a Luthor so I ran a search on his legal history." She paused and waited for Lana's reaction. "And since you don't seem to be freaking out, I guess I should continue?"

"If it helps explain why he won't defend Mr. Kent, then I want to know."

Chloe smiled and went to take out a file from her drawer. "Okay. It turns out that Mr. Small was a top white-collar criminal defense lawyer. He and his firm did a lot of business with—surprise, surprise—LuthorCorp."

"Maybe he considered the Kent case a conflict of interest."

"As opposed to all the other times he's taken on Lionel and his buddies? This is interesting, though. LuthorCorp files a complaint against Henry Small that got him fired from his firm."

"Okay. So, uh, that explains why he might hate the Luthors, but it doesn't explain why he won't take the case."

"You know, Lana, my computer only spits out cold hard facts. If you want explanations, you're gonna have to go to the source."

"Take it from someone who knows," Emmeline put in. "I know that trying to talk to someone about an awkward issue is really uncomfortable, but Chloe's right. If you want answers, ask Henry yourself. He's the only one who can give you the straight answer. And believe me, I know. I should be taking my own advice."

Lana and Chloe smiled at their friend as Lana contemplated what she was saying to her.


The next day, Emmeline quickly ran into Smallville Medical Center. She burst into the room where Pete was.

"Pete!" she exclaimed. "I just heard! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Em."

"What happened?"

"Clark and I went to the bar Mr. Kent went to in order to see if we could get some answers."

"Did you?"

"We think the bartender spiked Mr. Kent's drink, which would mean he's working with whoever actually shot Lionel Luthor."

"So how did you end up here?"

"When we were driving back, a huge semi truck came straight for us. Clearly, we're getting too close and someone wants us to stop digging."

"Well, while I'm happy that you seem to be getting close, please do not get yourself killed over this."

"You worry too much, Em. We'll be okay. We can take care of ourselves. Especially if Clark is around."

Emmeline laughed. "Maybe one of these days, we can figure out how he always manages to save the day."


Sheriff Ethan.

That was who shot Lionel Luthor. Clark caught him in the act and he was arrested. He had planned the whole thing, even though he was one of Jonathon Kent's friends.

Emmeline went over to Pete's house to give him the work he had missed during his hospital stay. When she rang the doorbell, he was the one to answer.

"Hey, Em. What's up?"

"I brought by your homework. I thought I would help you understand the Geometry portion because believe me, it is confusing."

"Sure! Come on in."

Emmeline stepped inside the familiar house.

"Hi, Emmeline!" Pete's mom greeted her. "It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Mrs. Ross. How's the job?"

"I'm just thankful I don't have to hold Jonathon's case."

"I understand."

"Well, I'll let you two study."

She left the room and Pete and Emmeline went to the couch as Emmeline pulled out her books.

"Hey, Em," Pete said. "I know that these past few weeks have been kind of crazy and a lot of stuff has happened. I was thinking we could go catch a movie later this week and kind of wind down."

Emmeline smiled. "That sounds great. I look forward to it."