**Full Chapter Title- Chapter 41: My Mother Told Me There Would Be Days Like This!**

October 9, 1997

Carly Ashton attempted to pry her eyes open as she sat with a cup of coffee in the breakfast nook in the Ashton kitchen. She was not a morning person; unfortunately, her husband was. Ned thought nothing of getting up before six so he could go to the gym before an eight AM meeting. He apparently also thought nothing of scheduling his wife's mani pedi for 8:30 AM.

"Did you want a breakfast smoothie, Carly?" Ned asked. He was standing over what what Carly presumed was really just an elaborate blender. He had already returned from his morning cardio session at the gym.

"It doesn't have raw eggs or something gross in it, right?" Carly asked.

Ned laughed. "No, I prefer to not start my morning off with an unhealthy dose of Salmonella. Milk, oatmeal, strawberries and blueberries," he said.

"Ok, uh, thanks," Carly said. She took another gulp of her coffee. It didn't really help. She was pretty sure there wasn't enough coffee in the world to make being up before seven thirty ok.

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At 15 Primrose Court, Allison Jordan gave her daughter a final kiss and laid her back into her crib. "Sweet dreams my very loved little girl," she whispered before she turned away just as she heard the doorbell ring. It was likely her mother in law, coming to watch Mackenzie. Although Marge Jordan had a key to her house, she still rang the doorbell. She considered it respectful of their privacy. Allison wasn't sure what to think.

Allison pulled the front door open to find, as expected, her mother in law.

"Brr. It is definitely nippy out there this morning. I almost drove just so I wouldn't have to brave the cold," Marge said as she stepped into the foyer and started to remove her Lands End parka.

When she had moved to Port Charles after her husband's death, Allison had used a chunk of his life insurance to purchase a home in the wealthy Lilac Park neighborhood he had grown up in. She lived within walking distance of his parents.

"Mac always used to say how Boston was so much warmer and I thought he was being silly but I guess he had a point," Allison admitted as she took her mother in law's coat to hang it up and then pulled her own coat from the closet.

"Mac might have complained about Port Charles winters but he liked the four seasons. I think he would be glad you were raising Mackenzie here," Marge said.

"I agree, but I should go. Alex and I need to meet with ADA Jensen at the courthouse at eight. I left three bottles of breast milk in the refrigerator. I should be home by six, I hope," Allison said as she started towards the kitchen and the mudroom entrance to the garage.

Marge followed behind her. "Mackenzie and I will see you then. Tom is preparing for a trial so he will be working late and I thought we could have dinner together. I can pull a casserole together if you like."

"Umm, sure, I have some chicken breasts in the refrigerator if that helps," Allison said.

"It does, I haven't made Chicken Divan in a while. I'll make that," Marge announced as Allison opened the door into the garage.

As she drove up Lilac Drive towards Main Street, Allison reflected on what Marge had said. She was quite certain that Mac would have been more invested in Mackenzie having easy access to her paternal grandparents than determined that she grow up shoveling snow. Sometimes she thought her mother in law put a lot of effort into not overstepping her place. She could appreciate that it was probably appropriate to defer to your daughter in law's mother to set the tone for grandparenting but the problem was that Catherine West wasn't any more interested in being an involved grandmother than she had been in being an involved mother.

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Carly Ashton blinked her eyes to smooth out her mascara. It was one of the few useful things Virginia had taught her. She reached into her cosmetics bags, pulled out a tube of lipstick and pouted at the mirror as she applied it.

"Do you need to put anything else into your suitcase before I take it to the car?" Ned called from the bedroom.

"No, and I'm almost ready. I won't make you late for that meeting, I promise," Carly said as she zipped her cosmetics bag and brought it back into the bedroom where she tossed it into her purse.

"You're fine. My FDA conference call got pushed back to nine so even if I don't get to ELQ right at eight it will be fine. Did you want to meet for lunch at the Grille?" Ned asked before he started downstairs with their suitcases.

What Carly really wanted was to order room service but she tried to decipher if Ned really wanted to meet for lunch or felt obligated to have lunch with her. She should indulge the former and let him off the hook for the latter. She just had to figure out which it was.

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Dara Jensen took a sip of her second cup of coffee and opened the file Rod Tagglione had left on her desk. DA, Abby Mitchell had reassigned the Scott Baldwin prosecution to her and she was supposed to be meeting with the investigating PCPD detectives in about ten minutes for a case update. From what she had gleaned so far it didn't look like a strong case. It seemed that the only evidence against Scott Baldwin came from the victim's statement. Admittedly, she had gotten convictions with less, but in those cases, there wasn't additional evidence that almost seemed to prove the defendant's innocence. Unfortunately, at least for the prosecution, from the preliminary forensics, that did seem to be the case in Scott Baldwin's case.

"I put all of the Baldwin files on your desk. Did you have any questions?" Rod Tagglione asked from the doorway.

Dara shook her head without looking up from the file. "No, I have a case conference with Detectives Garcia and Jordan in five minutes anyway."

"For the record, I didn't ask DA Mitchell to reassign the case," Rod said.

"I never suggested that you did, Rod. If there isn't anything else, I have work to do," Dara said. She flipped another page in the file and picked up a pencil. When she finally looked up a few minutes later Rod had disappeared and Alex Garcia had his hand raised as if he was about to knock.

"You can come in; close the door behind you," Dara said.

Dara waited until Alex and his new partner Allison Jordan had taken seats opposite her desk before she closed the folder and looked up. "So, did you bring me anything I can take before the grand jury? Is there even any evidence that a crime even happened?" she asked.

"All of the evidence from the rape kit and the purported crime scene processing basically exonerates Scott Baldwin, so, no. As far as whether a crime even happened; the victim was only sixteen and was intoxicated so legally she couldn't consent. I guess it is just also possible that the victim is actually also the perpetrator of a concurrent crime," Detective Jordan said.

New York state's statutory rape laws were written in such a way that technically if two sixteen-year olds were engaging in sexual relations they were both simultaneously perpetrators and victims of statutory rape. Some states had close in age exceptions, often dubbed Romeo and Juliet Laws, that created loopholes but New York did not. "So, does this mean you have traced the DNA back from the rape kit and have another suspect?" Dara asked.

"The crime lab initially ran the sample against Scott Baldwin's sample which was not a match and then they uploaded the profile and searched through both NYSDIS and CODIS and failed to find a match," Detective Jordan said.

Dara shook her head in frustration. That hadn't told her anything she didn't already know. "So why do you think that the rape was committed by another minor?" she asked.

"On the same night that Tiffany Peterson was raped there was an altercation at Neptune's Net. When Detective Garcia was helping a colleague go through all that footage, he spotted the victim leaving the club with a teenage male before ten PM."

"Ok, so have we talked to him yet?"

"We're still working on his identity at the moment. They got into a jeep with Pennsylvania plates. From the angle of the camera we were only able to get a partial plate. One of my colleagues is trying to run it through PA DMV records but we haven't gotten anything yet," Detective Garcia jumped in.

"I thought that you had a plate from the hospital security footage?" Dara asked.

"That was a different vehicle, a late model Lexus, which was reported missing from the Enterprise rental over at the airport," Alex said.

"So, she left Neptune's Net with some kid in a jeep before ten and then ended up dropped off at the hospital by a different vehicle about forty minutes later? Does that sound like a pimp drop off to anyone else?" Dara asked.

Detective Allison Jordan appeared uncomfortable at the insinuation. But then seemed to regain some composure before she spoke. "Maybe it's different here in Port Charles, but at least in Boston, Pimps usually didn't commit grand theft auto on their way to the hospital," she said.

Touché! Dara thought. Touché !

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In her office at Deceptions, Katherine Bell debated her next move. If she believed that Stefan was truly done with her which, sadly, she was starting to; then she could either accept that or fight it. Normally she would choose the latter but she wondered if she was better off exploring other options. After all, Nikolas was much more malleable and, in just over seven years, he would inherit control of the entire Cassadine fortune. So, in a way, accepting Stefan's declination just freed her to pursue an even more promising future with Nikolas.

The beep from the intercom pulled Katherine from her thoughts. She depressed the intercom button. "Yes?"

"Veronica Bowles is holding on line two. She wanted to know if you had a statement on the cosmetics testing on animals allegations," Lacey said.

What? Do we test cosmetics on animals? If we do, so what? Of course, Katherine knew she couldn't say any of that aloud though. Instead she took a deep breath. "Tell Ms. Bowles that everything Deception does is well within federal regulations. Also remind her that she knows she needs to go through media relations for official Deception Cosmetics statements," she said with forced calm.

"Right, of course, Ms. Bell, so sorry to bother you."

"Thank you, Lacey," Katherine said. She hid her annoyance until she had released the intercom. Then she exhaled again and silently cursed whomever had tossed a tidbit in the Shrew's direction.

Personally, Katherine had no idea how Deception tested their products but she was sure that since the company had become an ELQ subsidiary a year earlier that they followed any and all regulations implicitly and explicitly. Ned Ashton was basically a walking encyclopedia of FDA regulations.

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In Rejuvenate!, the spa inside the Port Charles Hotel, thirty three year old Katie Kennicott took a moment and regarded the young woman who had just entered her spa suite. She had heard the rumors that Quartermaine grandson, Ned Ashton had taken the plunge for a third time but hadn't made the connection that her eight thirty mani-pedi and facial was his newest bride until their newest manicurist, Roseana Delgado, had pointed that out. Sometimes it seemed that Roseana spent more time hawking the schedule and eavesdropping for gossip than actually doing nails.

Katie extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Katie, I'm going to be your esthetician today. Perhaps we could take a few moments to discuss your goals before we get started," she said.

Carly Ashton shook her hand quickly and then settled herself down on the edge of the treatment bed. Although the movement was abrupt it appeared to Katie, as if the newest Mrs. Ashton was more uncomfortable than dismissive. That was a sharp contrast to both of the prior Mrs. Ashtons.

Jennifer Eckert Ashton had been dismissive. She had made it very clear that she considered the spa staff peons unworthy of pleasantries or even eye contact. Katie had suffered through about six months of weekly facials between when Ned Ashton proposed in March and when he came home early from a business trip and found disgraced former ELQ Pro Counsel, Paul Hornsby, in his bed with his wife.

In contrast, Lois Cerullo, had been warm, and kind but also vibrant. She also hadn't been a frequent customer. Katie remembered when she had come for the first time with her mother in law, the Honorable Tracy Quartermaine-Grabler. It was maybe a month after the wedding and she had just learned she was pregnant. She had been concerned about the chemicals hurting the baby so they had done a natural facial. She had come a few more times and she always scheduled with Katie and asked about her parents. It was probably unprofessional but Katie had been sad when she had heard about the second Ashton divorce. She had felt for Ned and Lois but she had really felt for their daughter. It was hard to grow up in a divorced household. Her parents had divorced when she was almost eleven, after her sister's death.

Carly Ashton laughed nervously. "My goals?"

"Yes, I find that I can be most helpful if I clarify a client's skin treatment goals upfront," Katie said.

"Umm, I've never actually done this before. It was my husband's idea. He wanted me out of the house so the painters could paint the nursery."

"Oh, are you pregnant? We can do a natural facial, that doesn't have any chemicals which could hurt the baby. It is basically gentle a lemon and brown sugar exfoliator followed by coconut oil and cucumber moisturizing," Katie suggested.

"Umm, ok, uhh, thanks."

"Of course, just lie back, get comfortable, and please, let me know if anything is uncomfortable."

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"So how was the meeting with Detectives Garcia and Jordan?" DA, Abby Mitchell asked as she entered ADA Dara Jensen's office.

"With the exception of the victim's statement the evidence basically all excludes Scott Baldwin as a suspect. He has a verified alibi, and they have DNA evidence from the rape kit which is not a match to him. Plus, the police just found footage of the victim leaving Neptune's Net about forty-five minutes before she ended up in the ED with an unidentified teen. I presume you don't want me to bring this before the grand jury."

"Do you believe the victim?"

"I haven't spoken with the victim so I suppose I don't have an opinion."

"So, speak with the victim. If she is still sticking to the story that Scott Baldwin was her attacker and you find her credible then I think we need to be her voice to the grand jury."

"You know how rare it is for grand juries to not indict," Dara said.

"An indictment is not a conviction. Present all the evidence and let the grand jury decide what they think is justice."

"Does your stance on this have anything to do with Mayor McClintock's particular interest in this case?"

"As I told Mayor McClintock, this office is not in the habit of burying evidence. So definitely provide the DNA evidence to Baldwin's counsel as part of discovery. The victim's statement is also evidence and if we believe that is credible then we can't ignore or bury that either," Abby Mitchell said.

Dara could only shake her head after her boss left her office. She had a feeling her career was about to do another 180. She had been an impressionable, but so naïve, even if she hadn't seen that at the time, college student during the Jesse Hubbard trial. Hubbard, a black college student, had been accused of rape by a white classmate. There hadn't been any corroborating evidence so the evidence had boiled down to his word against hers. He was poor and black and she was wealthy and white. Ultimately Liza Colby had come unglued during the trial and admitted that she made the whole thing up. The inequity of the situation and the importance of defense counsel was not lost Dara. This was her motivation to attend law school and ultimately become a public defender.

She had spent almost six years as a public defender in Llantano County part of the expanded Philadelphia metropolis. Perhaps she had a voice for the wrongly accused, perhaps. Unfortunately, it seemed like what she really did was help gang members get out of jail to deal more drugs and shoot at each other catching innocent children in their crossfire. Eventually she had had enough. She had resigned from the public defender's office, relocated, and taken a job as a Port Charles City and Chapparal County Prosecutor. Initially she had felt like at least she wasn't advancing the gang agenda, although lately she was wondering if advancing Mayor McClintock's agenda was really any better.