***Chapter 4***

***Beach house***

Jonathan and Jennifer raced up to the third floor as fast they could, and collapsed onto the bed in a fit of laughter.

"You cheated".

"I did not".

"Yes, you did. I distinctly felt an elbow to my ribs on the second floor".

"House rules. Owner's rights".

"Hey, I'm an owner too, you know".

"You should have thought of it first".

"Jonathan!"

She kissed him and then got up and grabbed her dress off the chair.

"Wait here".

She went and put it on, and quickly straightened her hair.

"I'm not putting the shoes on. They are downstairs".

"I'll run get them, be right back".

She straightened her hair some more and did her makeup.

"Ok, Jonathan, turn over on your stomach and bury your face in the pillow".

She snuck out and grabbed the shoes, and then went back to the bathroom.

"Ok, you can roll over".

"Are you ready yet?"

"Almost".

She made one final adjustment, and then she was ready.

"Ok, here I come".

He sat up on the edge of the bed.

She came out and stood in front of him.

"Have mercy".

"You like it?"

"I definitely didn't see you in that last night, or we would have danced all night long, both types".

"Both types?"

He pulled her to him and she sat on his lap.

"Yes. Regular and horizontal mattress".

She blushed and cracked a smile.

She kissed him and then stood up and pulled him to the standing position.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear.

"If you really like me in the dress, you can always help me out of it".

She felt him unzip it as they kissed. He peeled it off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

"No panties? Were you that adventurous last night?"

"No. I had them on then. Just not today, for you".

She was unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his chest, while he was kicking his shoes off and unbuttoning his jeans.

She leaned down to take off her heels, and he stopped her.

"Let me".

He picked her up and laid her on the bed, and delicately undid the ankle straps on each one, rubbing her foot each time after he was done.

He then started with kisses and trailed his way up to her stomach. He kissed her right above her mound a few times, and then kept on going up, till he got to her boobs. He squeezed and played with them and kissed them for a bit, and she ran her fingers through his hair.

He worked his way on up and kissed her neck and then kissed her nice and slow, while she reached down and guided him to where she wanted him. In only a couple of thrusts, he was able to find her center and felt her tighten around him.

He stared into her eyes and whispered to her. "I want you so much, baby".

"Come on, baby".

She kissed him as they exploded in passion together.

"That was incredible".

"Make up sex is always the best, darling".

They were all tangled up in the sheets and each other's arms. They took a short nap, and were awakened by the phone.

Jennifer nudged him.
"Your turn".

"This better be good". He picked it up.

"Hello? Hi, how are you? Sure, we can meet you. We actually aren't home right now, so how about 2 hours, at our house? Perfect, see you then".

Jonathan hung up.

"Darling, who are we meeting?"

"Brent Tipton. He said he needs to talk to both of us".

***Willow Pond***

Jennifer and Jonathan got up and showered and got dressed.

They quickly changed the sheets and she threw the other ones in the washing machine.

She gathered her things and they headed back to Willow Pond.

When they got there, they went inside and she ran upstairs to change. Jonathan was in the kitchen, making coffee.

They were snuggled up on the couch when Brent Tipton arrived.

"Come on in, Brent."

"HI, thanks for agreeing to meet me".

"Sure. How can we help?"

"Well, I know that you and Jennifer are sometimes amateur detectives, and well, I received these photos in the mail yesterday. I took them to the police and we had that press conference today, and they say they are looking for her killer, but I just wanted a fresh set of eyes to look at them. If you don't mind?"

"Not at all".

Jonathan was looking at the pictures, while Jennifer was talking to Brent.

"Brent, my condolences. Stacy was such a lovely person".

"You had lunch with her that day, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did".

"What was she like?"

"Normal, like her old self".

Jennifer chose to not tell him about the adventures.

"I know that she had cheated on me in the past. But we had worked past that, and things were better. I just don't understand why she was still seeing this person".

"She didn't say anything about that to me".

"I hate to put you on the spot, but can you tell me the exact nature of what was talked about?"

"Brent, I cannot betray the other ladies' confidence. What I can tell you, is that this was my first time joining all of them for lunch, and that they told me that on Wednesdays, they go into Downtown LA and see a movie, or go shopping or get their nails done, after they eat. They wanted me to join them on a regular basis".

He nodded.

Jonathan brought the pictures back to the table.

"Brent, I don't see anything here that I can work with just yet. Do you mind if I make a copy of these, in case it comes to me later? I promise nobody else will see them".

"Sure, whatever you have to do".

Jonathan went to the study to make a copy and Brent and Jennifer stayed in the den.

"Brent, are there going to be services for Stacy?"

"I think so. I just have to find time to plan it. She wanted to be cremated and she wanted her ashes spread at sea, at sunset on her birthday. Other than that, she didn't really want a big service. She and I had just talked about this, actually. A few weeks ago, we had it all written out and filed with our lawyer, John Bristowe".

"Jonathan and I need to do that. It's good that you and Stacy did".

"I think so too".

Jonathan came back in and handed the originals to Brent.

"Well, I have taken up too much of your time. I'll be going now. Thanks for talking to me, and let me know if you figure anything out".

"Take care Brent".

They both hugged him and then he left.

***The next day***

Jennifer was at home working on her article, when she took a break to watch The Young and the Restless. She was doing the crossword puzzle in the paper while she watched. During a commercial break, she got up and got some water and came back to the couch.

She accidentally knocked over the papers, and the photographs that Brent had brought by fell to the floor.

On top was a copy of the envelope.

Jennifer didn't want to look at the photo, but she really had no choice. As she picked it up, something caught her eye.

She looked at each photo, and then looked at the photo of the envelope.

She gasped, and then called Jonathan.

"Hello, Hart Industries?"

"Hi Kelly, it's Jennifer. Can I speak to Jonathan, please?"

"Sure, right away".

She patched her through.

"Darling, there's something about these photos that doesn't make sense. And I just figured it out".

"Great. Listen, Brent said he wanted to meet with me again today-I am meeting him on the pier. He said it would be more private. Can you come here, and we can go together?"

"Sure. What time do you want me to meet you?"

"How about 4? I am meeting him at 5".

"Perfect. See you then."

She blew him a kiss as she hung up the phone.

She finished Y&R, and then went back to her article.

At 3, she left to go meet Jonathan.

***Hart Industries***

Jennifer came in and went to Jonathan's office. He was on the phone, but he waved her over to him.

She waited while he finished his phone call.

As soon as he hung up, he had one arm around her waist.

"I missed you".

"I missed you too".

She kissed him.

"Ok, what is this about the photos?"

"It's the TV."
"The TV?"
"Yes. Look at the TV".

"Ok".

"What do you see on the TV?"

"A blonde lady, rather attractive".

"Exactly. Now look at the postmark on the envelope".

"It's postmarked Wednesday".

"Yes! That's why it doesn't work".

"Jennifer-can you just lay this out for me?"

"Yes, darling. The lady in the photo, is Hayley. She lives in Genoa City and she's, well, she's a harlot. She has been out of town and in a coma, and just came back to town. But she didn't come back on Wednesday, she came back on Friday. So, there's no way that these pictures could have been taken on Wednesday, if she wasn't on the show then".

"Oh".

"Darling, Brent was claiming that these photos were taken the previous week. But the TV proves that they couldn't have been. So, what I think happened is that Brent followed Stacy, saw her with the other guy and took the photos himself. He waited till the guy left, and then killed Stacy. Then he left there, headed to develop the photos, and swung by the post office. He mailed himself a self-addressed stamp envelope. When he got the envelope in the mail, he dropped the photos in and took them to the police."

He pulled her into a loving embrace.

"Have I ever told you how smart you are?"

"Not since yesterday".

"Oh, well let me fix that".

He started kissing her neck.

"You are the most brilliant, most sexy, and the most adorable woman that I've ever known".

She kissed him.

"You're sweet. We need to figure out how we are going to confront Brent".

"I don't think we should. I think we should call Lt. Grey, after we meet with Brent, and give him your theory".

She nodded.

"I wonder what he's going to tell us".

"Only one way to find out".

They headed to the Pier.

***Pier***

Jennifer and Jonathan parked and then walked all the way to the end of the Pier. They didn't see Brent.

"Darling, did he say where on the Pier?"

"No, he didn't".

"Hmm…. Well, I guess he will see us".

The Pier was pretty empty, so they were able to find a bench to sit on with ease.

After about 45 minutes, they decided to head home and call Brent to come talk to them at their house.

Jonathan dropped Jennifer off at Hart Industries and told her he would pick up La Scala for dinner.

"See you at home, sweetheart".

She blew him a kiss and headed towards home.

***Willow Pond***

Jennifer pulled up and parked and went inside.

She went upstairs to change clothes, and then she came back downstairs and went to the kitchen.

As soon as she went into the kitchen, a hand came over her mouth from behind.

"Don't move, or make a noise. Do as I say and you won't get hurt".

***Jonathan***

Jonathan picked up La Scala, and stopped and got Jennifer some flowers.

He pulled up to the house and parked and went inside.

"Jennifer?"

No answer.

"Darling, where are you?"

He looked for her in the kitchen, and didn't find her. He went upstairs and didn't find her in the bedroom either. He thought maybe she was out on the patio, so he headed to the back door to look for her.

As he walked towards the door, he saw something on the ground. Jennifer's bracelet.

She's been here, he thought.

He started out the door and walked towards the patio.

He could hear someone trying to scream. He looked around but didn't see anyone.

He got closer to the guest house, and was looking over inch of their property. As he got to the porch of the guest house, he heard the scream sound louder. He looked up. Jennifer was up in the window on the second floor of the guest house, and she had a scarf tied around her mouth. She was banging on the window with her forehead.

He nodded to her, that he was coming.

He just had to figure out how.