CHAPTER EIGHT-NINE
Conspiracy Theories

When Jax arrived at the Grille a few minutes later, he was in a dangerous frame of mind. He needed the answers to too many questions. After talking with Mason, his earlier worries about Alexis had resurfaced for some reason. His concerns for both women overrode everything else. How could he have been so foolish regarding Sonny's motives. His track record with women spoke for himself. He'd been a fool to think that because it was Alexis that Sonny would be any different. If anyone could have changed him, it would have to be a woman like Alexis. But Sonny was too puffed up, conceited and selfish to see it. Angry at himself and for Alexis' blindness combined, he was not in the mood for superficial explanations. Sonny had better not try and hand him any.

Unfortunately for AJ Quartemaine, he was the first person Jax recognized as he entered the restaurant. He was sitting with his wife at the bar, oblivious to his presence until Jax approached them.

"I need to talk to you." he said to AJ. "Now."

"Make an appointment with my secretary, Mr. Business Tycoon. Business hours are over, and I'm not open for business. Just pleasure." He smiled at his wife and took her hand. "Unless you're beautiful, blonde – and my wife. And sorry, two out of three doesn't cut it." He laughed at his own joke.

"Liquid pleasure?" Jax asked sarcastically. He looked meaningfully at the bar. "I suppose Courtney should be thankful that you waited til after business hours to start. But that's none of my business."

"You're right, it is none of your business." Courtney interrupted him. "But for your information, we're at the bar only because we're waiting to be seated in the restaurant, Jax. And like my husband said, we're here to be together, not to discuss business. If you want to talk to him, make an appointment."

"This isn't about business. This is about Alexis."

"What about her?"

"Don't play games with me. I know you had words with her."

"Yeah. We spoke. What's it to you?"

"I want to know what about."

"Yeah, me too." The three of them turned to see Sonny standing there. "I want to know why Alexis wasted her time talking to you."

AJ slid off his stool and faced both Jax and Sonny. "You know what? That's none of either of you jerks' business. Isn't there such a thing as lawyer privileges – confidentiality or something like that?"

"That's client-attorney privileges- and you for sure were not or ever will be one of Alexis' clients." Sonny said.

"Yeah, you got that all sewed up, don't you, Sonny?" AJ shot back. "Are you now her exclusive client – no one else is worthy? Or has she just become another possession of yours?"

"Can we please not do this now?" Courtney pleaded with them. As tears filled her eyes, AJ slipped a protective arm around her.

"We're not going to do anything, sweetheart." He said. AJ glared at the two of them, but his gaze was tender when he turned it back to Courtney. He looked back at Jax once more. "Like I said – you want to talk to me, make it during business hours – and call and make an appointment first." Without looking at either man again, he turned around and left with his wife.

Sonny turned to Jax. "I'd like to know what was going on with AJ and Alexis? Did you get anything useful?"

Jax ignored his question, asking instead, one of his own.. "I want to know what's going on with you and Carly?"

"What are you talking about, Jax? There is no me and Carly. I told you when I came to the club that I didn't want to talk to Carly. Forget Carly. It's AJ that we need to concentrate on. Whatever he said about Alexis, it's a lie. You don't believe anything he told you, do you? He'd betray his own grandmother "

"He didn't tell me anything. But speaking about betrayal, let's stay on Carly for a moment, shall we? Because we all know how you deal with people who betray you, don't we, Sonny?"

Sonny turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know?"

"No, I don't. So spill. Have you talked to Alexis yet?"

Jax continued to ignore his questions until he got the answers he was looking for. "I got a question for you. Have you talked to Carly?"

"No. Like I said ten seconds ago, and like I told you already - I'm not trying to talk to her right now. What she does is no concern of mine's."

"I'm not convinced that's true." Jax looked at Sonny, marveling at how easily and smoothly Sonny could tell a lie.

"What are you talking about?"

"Carly's gone."

"Gone where?"

"A better question is why?"

"I gave up on trying to figure out why Carly does what she does a long time ago. Quit dancing and tell me what you think is going on."

Jax was more than happy to tell him. Carly was gone, leaving a note telling him that she was taking a few days off, the staff at the club who'd seen her had said she was acting strange when she left. And to cap it all off, she'd lied to her mother about it.

"Mason told us you were coming into the club; and when he did, I saw Carly's face. She was afraid of having to face you. Why was that?"

"She had no reason to be afraid of me." Sonny said. "Let's look at what you've got so far. Carly lied. And that has you thinking I must have something to do with her disappearance?"
Sonny snorted. "You don't know Carly half as well as you think you do."

"And you do?"

"Yeah, and that's why she's my EX-wife, Jax."

"Excuse me, did you say that you're ex-wife is missing?" Jax and Sonny turned to see ADA Cohen standing just behind them. Beyond him were two plains-clothes officers.

"She's not missing, she took a trip." Sonny answered him.

"Hmm...seems to me that her business partner thinks otherwise." Cohen looked more than a little pleased with himself. "She did come down to the PCPD the last time we met… and you were seen arguing there. This was before your attorney appeared. Now, both women seemed to have disappeared. I find that disturbing – don't you, Mr. Jax?"

Jax was silent, his eyes went from one man to the other.

"Yeah, Carly came down to the PCPD. I told her to go home. I didn't want her there." Sonny told him. His temper flared to match Jax's - since when did he have to explain himself to Jax or anyone else! He looked at Jax. "That was the last time I saw her - how about you? You're her business partner. You see more of her than I have these days."

"I saw her at the club earlier today. She seemed a little shaken up. Did you threaten her if she came near you again?"

"And that's an interesting bit of information." Cohen said. "Did either of these two ladies have anything to fear from you?"

Jax focused on Sonny as he spoke. "I received a message from Ms. Davis a short time ago. She had to take an unexpected trip. Family business."

"Are you sure about that?" Sonny asked sharply.

"That's interesting. I do have to wonder why it is that two women who are acquainted with you, Mr. Corinthos, find the need to take unexpected trips. Both of them perhaps privy to parts of your life that might make them – vulnerable?" Cohen asked, his eyes shining with interest.

"If you think I had anything to do with either of them disappearing, you're crazy." Sonny told him. "Is that why you're here, harassing me? You tried that last time and it got you nowhere."

"Oh no, Mr. Corinthos. I'm not here to harass you. Although this new information is, as they say, icing on the cake. I'm here to discuss other charges."

"Like?…"

"I have information tying you to Stefan Cassadine's untimely demise."

"Are you crazy?"

"Are you? I doubt that an insanity defense will help you in any way. I have strong evidence pointing to you that links you and the deceased. In light of that evidence, I think you lured Stefan Cassadine to your warehouse with the intent of killing him in that explosion."

"Why would I? Stefan Cassadine was no threat to me."

"It's been said that you and your attorney are very close. How close is something still to be determined, but in any case, maybe he didn't approve of the relationship – be it business or otherwise. And in order for it to continue, he needed to be removed. Or maybe you even saw a way to expand your power-base through the Cassadine connections. Alexis Davis could supply the means to that goal. In either scenario, Stefan Cassadine became a liability. What better way to remove him and at the same time, take all suspicions off of yourself by arranging an explosion within your own territory?

"And perhaps Ms. Davis and the ex-Mrs. Corinthos got wind of these plans and that's why they've suddenly vanished?"

"Get real. I don't threaten women." Sonny said angrily.

"Even when they are a threat to you?"

"Carly is no threat to me. And neither is Alexis." Sonny wasn't about to explain his relationship with either woman with Cohen. And especially not the relationship he had with Alexis. Cohen would never ever be able to begin to understand.

"Mr. Corinthos, all I know is what I know. Can you account for your whereabouts last night?"

"I was alone in my penthouse. My bodyguard can vouch for that."

"I'm sure he can." Cohen's voice was full of disbelief. "But without any other corroboration, I'm afraid that you're going to have to come downtown with me." Cohen glanced over his shoulder to his officers. His gaze, when he turned back to Sonny, was triumphant. "Are we going to need cuffs?" It was very plain to see that Cohen would like nothing better than to use them. But something in Sonny's eyes made him ask.

Sonny stared at him for one long and silent moment. Cohen mistook his silence for capitulation and put out a hand to place on his arm to take Sonny away.

"Don't touch me." Sonny's voice was quiet, yet filled to overflowing with menace and the power that had made greater, stronger, more lethal men than Cohen step back. The ADA did no less than them. His hand dropped as though he'd touched a live flame.

Sonny turned to Jax. "You know these charges are bogus. First off - I'd never do anything that would hurt Alexis in any way – and if you don't know anything else, you know that. Secondly," and he turned a look of open contempt onto the ADA, "If I were to be so stupid as to come up with such a plan, do you really believe that I'd be stupid enough to leave evidence around waiting for the first publicity-hungry junior district attorney to snap up?"

Without another word, Sonny turned away and walked from the restaurant, Cohen and his men following close behind.

Jax turned away, his mind whirling, unable to come to a decision about what was really going on. While he was trying to think, Mason appeared at his shoulder.

"That was – entertaining, to say the least. I've never seen a crime lord get taken down in person before. Usually those things only happen on the six 0'clock news."

"I'm not sure if they've got the right man this time." Jax muttered.

"What! I thought you two were enemies. We should be having a drink and celebrating!"

"I'm not up to celebrating right about now."

"And why is that?"

Jax looked at Mason, feeling a sudden distaste and disinclination for his company. "It's personal."

Mason backed off. "Fine. It's personal. I get it." He glanced at his watch. "I'll leave you to it."

"Yeah, why don't you do that." Without waiting for the other man to reply, Jax turned on his heel and walked out of the restaurant.

"Oh by the way, I did want to let you know that I'll be out of town for a few days. Some business up in New York City I have to take care of." Mason called after him. Jax never turned around. "I see that you'll miss me, darling. I'll miss you too And oh yes, give my love to Carly when you see her, won't you!"

Mason watched as Jax disappeared through the double doors of the restaurant. He stared after him for a long moment, then laughed long and loud.