Jason Morgan knew he shouldn't be keeping a casual watch on Courtney's new apartment-if his wife found out she'd be furious. Something kept him coming back though; a gut-wrenching feeling every time he glanced into those dimly lit windows. He couldn't understand how she could walk away from him like that. She had known exactly who she marrying and what she was marrying into. Try as he might, Jason could not bring himself to be angry at her. He just wanted her back.
Somewhere deep inside, in a corner of his heart that hadn't been injured by the accident, he wanted to beg her to come back, wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her she couldn't leave him. Of course, that little part of him could never break through though; it couldn't get past the stoic face and the call of duty. As he walked quickly along the sidewalk to Kelly's, he realized he had never thought about having to choose between Sonny and Sonny's sister. They had fought so hard to be together in the first place and now the business was their obstacle again.
Striding into the café through the jingling door, he spotted Elizabeth Webber and flagged her down. She smiled at him both warmly and a little warily. She knew very well that Jason never visited for chitchat.
"Hey, Jase, can I get you some coffee? It's pretty chilly out there. I've got a fresh pot of black-just the way you like it."
"No thanks, Emily," he replied and leaned his head down to ask quietly. "Have you seen Courtney?"
Elizabeth's blue eyes narrowed in thought and she shook her head slowly.
"Well she came in a while ago to grab some coffee but that was maybe three hours ago. Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, no, just if you see her, tell her I'm looking for her."
Jason's curt answer matched with his darkened expression did nothing to convince Elizabeth however. As she sidled back to a curious looking Ric Lansing, he asked nonchalantly,
"What was that about?"
"You know I really don't know. Jason can't find Courtney, I guess."
Ric said nothing else about the subject but the gears in his mind were working overtime. He found that in this already tumultuous time for the Corinthos/Morgan family, it was incredibly eyebrow-raising that Courtney had disappeared. It was becoming well-known gossip that she had left her penthouse to stay in the apartment complex shared by a few PCPD officers. Snapping open his cell phone, he dialed his boss' number.
"Hey, Scott, I think I've learned something interesting…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Faith Rosco sat in her club, lazily swirling the olives in her empty martini glass, waiting for Zander's call. She was pleased her little boy toy had finally followed orders. Sometimes he was just too disobedient for her liking. He was willful and had these absurd affections for some people. He also had an untapped reservoir of anger and self-destruction; making him an invaluable resource. Plus, he was a hunky piece of man-meat she didn't mind having at her disposal.
Her little plan to snatch Courtney was going to be brilliant. And now if she played her cards right with the handsome new police officer, the finger would land on the necessary target. When her guard showed the tall, dark man in uniform in, the act began.
"Officer Beck, so glad you could come on such short notice."
She held out a manicured hand armed with a bewitching smile. Brian ignored it and urged her on.
"You said you had some valuable information. What is it?"
"Well, I'm sure you know that there's some bad blood between me and Jason Morgan. He's been bumbling around my assets for a while now and I've looked for any opportunity to crush him. That being said, my information has nothing to do with my vendetta against him. See, his wife-"
"Courtney?!" he interrupted much too quickly and eagerly. "This has to do with Courtney?" he cleared his throat, lowering his voice.
"Ah, I see you already know her. Poor, little thing caught up in a business much too big for her innocent britches. She got sick of the code and the way of life, you see. She was shacking up in an apartment complex where the enemy, law enforcement, lives. This is a big no-no in mob families and I have my sources that tell me she's disappeared. Are you getting the picture, Officer?"
Brian's head whirled. Trying to clear his eyesight of the color red, he swallowed hard. He knew his suspicions had been correct.
"Are you saying that Jason's involved in Courtney's disappearance?"
Faith leaned back in her chair and shook herself another martini. She shrugged lackadaisically and replied simply,
"I'm just advising you to keep your eye on him. If there's one thing Sonny has taught Jason, it's how to deal with women who betray him."
Brian's mouth was incurably dry and he tried to answer the deadly woman before him, but found he couldn't. Turning on his heels he trotted off at an increasing speed, determined to find Jason and find out what he bastard had done to his wife.
Meanwhile, Faith picked up her ringing phone with a triumphant grin. She listened intently and her face grew even brighter with glee.
"You've reached the farmhouse. Good. Keep her sedated until I have confirmation her hubby is fingered for this. Oh, yes, Zander darling, this is turning out quite well. Officer Beck is so infatuated with the Barbie doll; he didn't even need convincing."
She hung up without another word, confident that Zander could hold the fort in Vermont. He had never mentioned any soft spot for Courtney and so she wasn't concerned his affections would get in the way. The only thing left for her to do was to sit back and watch Jason Morgan's downfall.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jason barged up the apartment building's stairs, his long legs carrying him quickly to Courtney's door. He pounded on it, desperately hoping to hear her annoyed response. None came.
"Courtney? Courtney, come on! If you're in there, open up! It's an emergency, Courtney!"
Still there was nothing but silence from the other side of the door. Growling low in his throat, he took a few steps back and charged at the door, plowing his shoulder through. The frame snapped under the force, allowing him to hurtle into the room. Frantically he glanced around and even though he had expected it, his heart sank at the empty surroundings. He began to search the room now as quietly as possible, tearing through drawers and shuffling items on her nightstand. There had to be some clue of where she had gone. Elizabeth had said she had left Kelly's at least three hours ago; where else could she have gone after that?
Suddenly the sound of movement in the hallway distracted him. Straightening his stance, his hand automatically going to the gun tucked in the waistband of his jeans, he called out.
"Who's there?"
Brian Beck, backed by two other officers, came in, firearms drawn and pointed directly at Jason. Jason groaned and snapped,
"Beck, what the hell is this about?"
"I'm not sure, Jason. Why don't you tell me?" Brian asked icily. "What did you do with Courtney?"
"Courtney? What are you-" Jason stopped and his eyes glinted hard like granite. "I'm not saying anything else without my lawyer present. I don't know what your game plan is, Beck, but it's not gonna work. Now until you've got charges that are enough to bring me in, I've gotta go find my wife."
"Ah but you see, Mr. Morgan, we do have enough to haul your sorry butt in for questioning. You're under suspicion for kidnapping. So come on, let's take you back on home."
Brian waved the pair of handcuffs threateningly while the other officers kept their weapons trained on Jason. Jason, burned with rage, but was unable to see a way out besides a bloodbath. Somberly he turned around, wincing as Brian wrenched his wrists together. Courtney was missing… The truth rang with startling clarity inside his head. Suddenly a face appeared in his mind's eye and he knew exactly who had orchestrated this whole scheme. After Jason had finagled his way out of these charges, he would find his wife and then Faith Rosco would pay dearly and drastically.