Dr. Lois Cerullo felt uneasy, as if someone was watching her, when she hit the button on her key fob to lock her car in front of her house on 82nd Street. It was almost seven o'clock and basically dark except for the streetlights. She chided herself for her false fear as she took a few steps up the sidewalk. She was just over tired and her mind was playing tricks on her. It had been a really long day at the hospital after all. Then she saw him and screamed.
"It's just me, Lois, it's just me," Jax said in a voice Lois was sure he intended to be soothing but was more grating than anything.
"What are you doing here?" Lois asked afraid she knew the answer.
"I had a meeting with a new attorney in the city. I thought maybe we could have dinner before I head back to Port Charles," Jax said.
"Today is not a good day, Jax. Ma has a meeting at church at 7:30 and I need to get Brooke Lynn to bed because she has preschool on Tuesdays."
"Are you ok?" Jax asked.
"I'm fine. Like I said, it's been a long day and I really just need to get Brookie to bed."
"I went by your studio earlier," Jax said.
That revelation bothered Lois for several reasons. There was no reason for it. She had made it perfectly clear to Jax over a year ago, and then multiple times after, that she was not romantically interested in him. Somehow, he had deluded himself into believing that her divorce from Ned was a sign that she was meant to be with him. It wasn't and it was past time that Jax grasped reality and stopped pursuing her. However, Lois doubted that he had shared his visit to her studio to admit to a new level of stalking but rather as an opener for her to tell him where she had been all day. She had no interest in doing that and it was really none of his business.
"Goodnight, Jax," Lois said before she turned and started up the steps of her front porch.
XXXXXXXX
Rex Stanton left the Port Charles Savings & Trust on the Courthouse Square with a briefcase. Cash was his preferred commodity for untraceable transactions. He had learned the hard way that withdrawn cash had variable levels of traceability depending on financial institution. Thus, he kept a supply of cash in his safety deposit box for those occasions where discretion and privacy were a high priority. His meeting with Mark Carlin qualified as one of those occasions. Of course, first he needed to meet Lucy Coe for dinner at the Port Charles Grille. Making her feel loved and appreciated was critical to the next part of his plan.
XXXXXXXX
Jasper Jacks found himself still perseverating over his brief encounter with Lois while he awaited his plane to fuel. He hated the way she had simply dismissed him. Women didn't do that! Or at least most women didn't do that. Lois had dismissed him before with a similar excuse, that she had to get her daughter to bed.
September 5, 1996
"Jax, as scintillating as this conversation is, we're going to have to agree to disagree. Value judgments have no place in determining who should have access to healthcare. Anyway, I need to get my child to sleep," Lois Cerullo said with a quick roll of her eyes. She stood up from the couch and started tossing the multitude of toys, which her two-year-old daughter had strewn all over the living room while they had talked, into a basket.
"Of course, I'll just wait here while you get her down," Jax said.
Lois laughed. "Excuse you! It is possible to overstay your welcome, you know. It is also past time for you to leave."
She had stalked her way to her own front door, opened it, and then stood by her open front door until he had shamefully filed out. At the time he had thought he had hit a nerve by suggesting that he had some qualms about offering HIV treatment to those who had acquired the disease through intravenous drug use. Over a year later he wasn't quite sure what to think. The one thing he was sure of was that she was hiding something. Exactly what he wasn't sure; but he suddenly was desperate for information. He pulled out his cellular phone and connected to his private investigator.
XXXXXXXX
As she enjoyed her Shrimp Scampi at the Port Charles Grille, Lucy Coe contemplated her relationship with Rex Stanton. She still was rather curious about his actual net worth. He had been rather vague about the topic; of course, in her experience the really wealthy guys she had been involved with in the past, namely Dr. Alan Quartermaine and Scott Baldwin, had never mentioned their millions so that didn't necessarily mean anything. Lucy was pretty sure they would both argue that the money didn't matter. For them, perhaps it didn't.
For Lucy, who had grown up on the edge of poverty with alcoholic parents, money and social status were hard to overlook. Her Aunt Charlene thought that was what had drawn her to Alan Quartermaine back when he was just a third-year medical student. She had challenged that she longed to be Mrs. Quartermaine much more than she had any true affection for Alan himself. Perhaps Alan had sensed that because after an essentially celibate summer fling with Lucy he had returned to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and thrown himself into his studies. By the next summer he was applying to surgery residencies and dating Cornell first year medical student, Monica Baldwin. Ultimately, they married right before Christmas in 1975 when he was a second-year surgery resident at Port Charles General Hospital and Monica was a fourth-year medical student. For years Lucy considered him the one who got away.
She spent the first decade of Monica and Alan's marriage comparing all potential suitors to the legendary Dr. Alan Quartermaine, a man her Aunt Charlene challenged that she barely knew. In late 1985 she applied for a job in the medical library at PCGH intending to turn the one who got away into the only one. She had considered it kismet when she bumped into Alan at the hospital after her interview. He had been inviting a colleague to a New Year's Eve Party at his mansion when she walked up so she had considered that an invitation in itself.
December 31, 1985
Lucy Coe had seen impressive homes before but the Quartermaine mansion seemed to be on a different level entirely. She turned from Lilac Avenue and drove through the open wrought iron gates. The inlaid stone driveway was lined on both sides with luminaries which set the perfect tone for a festive evening. As a large brick colonial came into view Lucy was directed to a front drive where a hired valet took her keys. As she made her way to the marble front porch adorned with poinsettias she reflected on the local scuttlebutt regarding the mansion.
Apparently, Dr. Alan Quartermaine had surprised his wife with her dream home just before she headed to University of Pennsylvania for Cardiology fellowship in 1980. For a year Alan had lived in the house with his three-year-old son, Alan James. Then he had also ventured to University of Pennsylvania for a Pediatric Surgery fellowship at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. For a few years the gorgeous mansion had essentially been their vacation and holiday home. Then in June of 1983, Alan had returned with his children, AJ and Allison, but not his wife who apparently had two more years of interventional fellowship. Different people had different opinions on that. Lorena Barrington, who Lucy got the impression was one of Monica's friends, felt that it was only reasonable that Alan support his wife and her career. Madeline Richmond on the other hand definitely felt that Monica had been shirking her wifely duties. She personally had respected her husband's career enough to not try to undermine and she highly doubted that Alan and Monica's marriage would last long term. The last part had definitely made Lucy optimistic. Although she had told her Aunt Charlene that she had finally understood the point of family she truly had returned to Port Charles for one final chance with Dr. Alan Quartermaine.
When Lucy finally stepped into the front foyer, she found herself face to face with Dr. MonicaQuartermaine. Dressed in sparkly silver evening gown and a natural smile Monica appeared every bit the gracious host. "Good evening, Lucy, welcome to our home," she said.
"Ah, yes, I so enjoyed catching up with Alan at the hospital. He insisted I must come tonight," Lucy said.
Monica's smile didn't fade. "Unfortunately, Alan has already been called back to the hospital. New Years is such a bad night for trauma. I will be sure to pass on your regards."
Lucy didn't have a response so she just nodded and made her way into the ballroom. She heard Monica laughing with her friend Lorena and she feared they were laughing at her.
The evening had been, in a word, miserable. Lucy basically knew no one at the party. Dr. Alan Quartermaine had returned from the hospital in time to give his wife quite the kiss at midnight but ignored Lucy after Monica had brought him over to say hello. Plus, as the icing on the cake, that party had also been where Lucy had met Dr. Kevin O'Connor who she blamed for at least fifty percent of her criminal record. If she had never met Dr. O'Connor, she certainly would have never had an affair with him, never perjured herself to give him an alibi, and never been considered an essential piranha. Her piranha status had made her the first suspect in Ted Holmes and Sheriff Broder's suspicious deaths. She had only sent death threats to Dr. Patrick O'Connor and his girlfriend Terri in an effort to get the cops to take her seriously. It hadn't worked; she had been charged with harassment and it had only gotten worse from there. Over a decade later Lucy completely regretted her creative interpretation of an invitation.
"So, tell me how your new designs are coming," Rex asked pulling Lucy from her unpleasant thoughts.
Lucy smiled. Her designs were her favorite thing to talk about, but it wasn't just that, it was that Rex must have sensed her aura had changed and understood the need to reverse that for her. Kevin had never grasped that concept! "I'm working on this gown for fashion week! Velvet is so in right now so velvet and flowing but strapless with a fitted bodice," she said.
"That sounds gorgeous, I cannot wait to see it. I will talk to the travel agent tomorrow about making our flight arrangements for Fashion Week. Don't worry, first class all the way and it is my treat. Just consider it a little more investment in my favorite label."
Lucy realized she couldn't remember the last time Kevin had been excited about her designs. She also couldn't remember Kevin ever supporting her financially. Of course, even before he lost his medical license, Kevin hadn't had money not really. He might have technically been a physician but it wasn't like he was a trauma surgeon, or a neurosurgeon. When they had been together, Lucy had tried to convince herself that the money didn't matter because Kevin loved her.
Even after Kevin had kidnapped Felicia Jones, she had stood by him. She had spent thousands upon thousands on his defense and he had eventually agreed to a plea deal, because, he was, in a word, guilty! But somehow, she had accepted that. She had accepted a lot until their baby had died.
"You look so alluring when you contemplate designs, but please tell me more," Rex said.
Again, he pulled her from the unpleasant thoughts! "Bright colors are also very on point this season. I am working on a very bright orange and fuschia floral gown. It was more of a sari style which is definitely going to be the thing for 1998!"
"I can't imagine, I will have to see it!"
"Yes, you will! Perhaps you could come out to Temptations tomorrow and then we can get lunch. There is a new Portuguese place, over by PCU, I have been meaning to check out."
"I have several important conference calls tomorrow, but I will certainly try," Rex said. His words were followed immediately by the chirp of his cell phone as if to emphasize his point. "I am sorry, I think this is my niece Danielle. I really need to take this. She has been having some problems with her fiancé," Rex said as he stepped away from the table.
Just as Rex left, Lucy saw the ever-annoying Katherine Bell enter the restaurant with Nikolas Cassadine. As the maître d' led them to their table, Lucy tried to get back into her happy place, and failed. Katherine really knew how to kill a mood.
XXXXXXXX
Katherine Bell regarded her dinner companion carefully. She had originally met when Nikolas when he was volunteering at PCGH and she was dropping off a generous donation from Deceptions to fund a new Pediatrics Playroom. She had enjoyed his attention and decided to participate in the design process herself. At the time she had never imagined that their friendship would be a perfect set up for dating his Uncle Stefan, but it was.
"I'm surprised you turned down a trip to Greece, Nikolas," Katherine said.
"If you are referring to my Uncle's trip, I do not believe that I was ever invited."
Nikolas's tone was so dry. Some considered him aloof but Katherine knew it was a testament to his cultured upbringing.
"Perhaps I misunderstood. Does Stefan go often to check on the holdings in Greece?"
"Cassadine Enterprises is a multinational corporation so significant international travel is necessary," Nikolas said.
"Of course," Katherine said quickly.
XXXXXXXX
As he sat at a table in the River Rat, Rex felt slightly, but only slightly, badly about the half-truth he had spun for Lucy. She believed he was going to help Danielle with some crisis rather than meeting the less than punctual Mark Carlin in a bar.
Mark Carlin's claim to fame was breaking the Evan Jerome murder case over a decade earlier. Unfortunately, his fame quickly turned to infamy. His editors hadn't been impressed with the way he had exploited the real victim in the case, Camellia McKay. Purportedly Evan Jerome had been in the act of raping her when she had struck him over the head with a candlestick in self-defense. The charges had been dismissed and the Port Charles Herald fired him for lack of journalistic integrity.
Fifteen minutes after the agreed meeting time, Mark Carlin finally slunk into the River Rat looking ragged, hungover, and unshaved. He dropped into the chair across from Rex. "Ok, what do you have for me?" he asked.
"First things first, we did not meet, we do not know each other, and if I ever hear that you have suggested otherwise, I will go to the Llanview PD with evidence that you helped cover up Guy Armitage's murder," Rex said calmly.
Carlin's face showed anger. "I had nothing to do with his death!"
"Directly, no, but you failed to report and you benefited from your crime. You don't want anyone looking into where you got the money to start your paper. Then, if you're lucky you will go to prison; because that is clearly the safer option that having Todd Manning feel you crossed him."
"Ok, fine what do you want?" Carlin asked.
"Your rag seems to basically devote an entire issue to a scandalous expose. I have a subject for your next one, Scott Baldwin. The former prosecutor has more than a few skeletons in his closet and he has just been charged with rape 1. The Port Charles Herald won't touch this unless he is convicted but the public deserves to know the truth. There is a briefcase under the table with some information to get you started and some money to cover your costs and then some. If you do a good job there can be more where that came from.
Carlin didn't speak. He merely picked up the briefcase and left the bar.