Johnny pulled his jeep up to the Desmonds' house just as the last rays of sunlight dropped behind the horizon, leaving Johnny in a haze of quickly darkening twilight. He stepped out of his jeep, tapping the top of his cane in thought. What would he say when he went to the door? Would they be willing to talk with him again?

He knew he couldn't just outright accuse them of trying to steal Jessica's money. He didn't even know if this whole thing was about the money. In fact, he didn't even know *what* it was about, and that fact was driving him crazy. He was going in very small circles, all of them leading him right back to the beginning. Who sent him the picture and why?

Johnny approached the door of the Desmonds' home, but stopped in his tracks when the door cracked open slightly, letting a stream of light through the door. Slowly the door opened the rest of the way, revealing a very meek looking Laura Desmond. She glanced behind her quickly then slipped through the narrowly opened door, closing it behind her quietly.

"Hello again, Mrs. Desmond," Johnny greeted her.

"I knew you would be back after you talked to Doug."

"Oh?" Johnny asked.

"There's a lot you don't know about this whole situation, Johnny."

"So I'm beginning to see," he agreed.

Laura sighed, her shoulders slouching. "My sister was a great woman. She was smart, beautiful and funny. So was Mike, her husband. We all thought they were the perfect couple. And when Jessica was born, we thought she would be the perfect child. We were wrong, on everything."

"Everything?" Johnny echoed.

"Lillah and Mike had a lot of problems. Mike was a workaholic, and that left Lillah at home by herself all day. She would call me constantly complaining of boredom. Finally I told her to go out, meet some new people, and maybe that would keep her occupied while Mike was away. She did, but not in the sense I had meant it."

Johnny raised his eyebrow and silently willed her to continue. She seemed to be struggling with her conscience. He could see the battle behind her eyes, so he decided to give her the push she needed.

"She had an affair?"

Laura sighed again. "Yes. It wasn't what I had intended her to do, but nothing I said could stop her. She said she was finally happy again. Someone was paying attention to her again."

"Who was she having the affair with?" Johnny inquired.

"Dr. Simmons," she answered. "He had never stopped loving her, and she was more than willing to run back to that affection when she couldn't get it from Mike.

"She and Dr. Simmons would go out together during the day, and Mike never suspected a thing. I didn't dare tell Alex, he was good friends with Mike. I didn't know what to do."

"So what happened?"

"When Lillah got pregnant with Jessica, she cut off the affair. She told me that Mike came to realize that his family was more important than his job. He was home more often, and the two of them were inseparable again. Like newlyweds."

"How did Dr. Simmons take it?"

"As well as one can imagine. He still loved her, but he said he wanted to make her happy. Every time he looked at her, I could see how much he loved her, but her eyes were once again only for Mike. That didn't stop him from coming around to visit and see her and Jessica. He was always over there, and when Jessica's mental health problems started, he was there almost constantly."

"And that was okay with your sister and her husband?"

"Of course. He was helping their daughter. For a while, she was doing wonderfully, then suddenly she turned for the worse. No one knows what happened."

This definitely put a new light on things. He could imagine what the household would be like with the extra person. He got eerie reflections of his own childhood with Gene Purdy as a constant presence with his mother and father. How did this affair fit into the equation?

"Why are you telling me this, Laura?" Johnny asked.

"Because I want to know what really happened to my sister. Why Jessica would do such a thing to her own parents that loved her so much."

Johnny nodded. "What about the money for her care? Mr. Carlisle says that you handle transferring the money from her trust, but yesterday you said you have nothing to do with it."

"I don't have anything to do with it," she answered, glancing back at the house, as if expecting to see someone behind her. "Alex does that for me. I just sign the paperwork."

"And you think that's wise after your husband tried to sue Jessica?"

"My husband may be stubborn, but he's honest. He would never do something illegal."

With that, she began backing towards the front door of her house. "Please let me know if you find anything, Johnny, but please do it discreetly. If Alex found out I was talking with you again, he'd kill the both of us."

She quickly turned on her heel and opened the door, slipping inside before another word could be said. Johnny stood there for several minutes, trying to organize his thoughts with little success. This was getting far more complicated than he ever thought it could. Now Lillah Richardson and Dr. Simmons had an affair, and Alex Desmond handled the money. Two new pieces to this already complex puzzle. He knew that talking with Mr. Desmond would be a wasted attempt by Laura's last statement. He obviously was not happy with Johnny's meddling.

Maybe there was a reason why he didn't want Johnny around. Was he probing too deep for the man's liking? Close to finding exactly what he was looking for?

He decided that he would have to talk with Dr. Simmons again. Maybe he could shine some light on this new angle.

Johnny turned back down the walkway, glancing at the living room window as he did. He saw Laura Desmond's face peeking out from behind some curtains, but as soon as their eyes met, she quickly closed them.

Johnny headed back to his jeep, trying to think of where to go next. Everything seemed to shed just a little more light on the situation, but it wasn't nearly enough to show him the whole picture. He listened to his cane clicking against the hard cement of the Desmonds' walkway, as if the steady beat would be able to steady his thoughts and figure this out for him.

As Johnny hit the dirt road again, he stopped in his tracks, the scenery seeming achingly familiar. He was hit with a tremendously strong case of déjà vu, and even as he continued slowly to his car, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had done this before.

Just as the realization hit him, Johnny felt a sharp jab of pain in his right shoulder, just to the right of his shoulder blade. He felt the cool liquid sensation of something oozing into his body, and he quickly turned towards his right, bringing his cane up into both hands as defense. As he turned, his attacker backhanded him across the face, throwing him to the dirt which sent him into a coughing fit as dust invaded his lungs.

Through the dust thrown into the air, Johnny saw a tall, dark silhouette towering over him, but could make out no features. Everything around him seemed to slow down, and he found it incredibly hard to keep his eyes open. The edges of his vision began to darken, slowly moving towards the center. He tried to speak, but his lips wouldn't move; he tried to get up, but nothing happened. His arms and legs wouldn't respond to any attempt to move. He felt paralyzed, and fear rose in his throat. Johnny fought to keep his eyes open, but they felt like they were made of lead, and slowly they fell despite his efforts.

"Goodnight, Mr. Smith," a male's voice said, and that was the last thing Johnny heard before he blacked out.