In his Soho Office, Alex Masters printed the final page of the summary sheet for the report he had prepared for Jasper Jacks. In between various stints on the Llanview, Corinth, and Seattle police forces and a brief foray back into the FBI he had done some private investigator work and now he was resuming that career full time. Through his own experiences in law enforcement he had learned the hard way that the police didn't always have the full picture or all the evidence.
Alex collected the pages from the printer, and then shook his head with frustration when he saw that his secretary was still absent from her Ally wasn't his ex-wife's niece, he would have fired her months she was and things between him and Ava were tense enough so he was trying to tolerate her ineptitude and absences in there was also the issue that Ally was pregnant and somehow felt that entitled her to miss an entire day of work for a two PM prenatal appointment or some other idiocy.
"Why don't you come into my office, Mr. Jacks?" Alex said.
"I already faxed a copy of the report to your attorney, Mr. Ward, last week. Were there specific questions you had about the report?" Alex asked after the younger man had settled himself into one of the leather chairs opposite his desk.
"Actually, I was here to follow up on the other matter I retained your services on," Jasper Jacks said.
Alex nodded. Although background reports were a basic PI service, they weren't one he particularly cared for. He usually denied the request and only honored it because Mr. Jacks was an established client. Regardless, he had not enjoyed investigating Lois Cerullo and there really wasn't anything of consequence there. The woman had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. She owned a rowhome in Brooklyn a block over from where she had grown up and her mother still lived. She also held a NY state medical license and appeared to be a third-year neurology resident at Weill Cornell Medical Center. "I sent a copy of that report to you directly last week as well. Did you have questions on that report?" he asked.
Once the question was out, Alex wondered for the first time if the background check had been a test. He had not disclosed his discovery that Lois Cerullo was actually Dr. Lois Cerullo. His gut had told him not to disclose her medical license or her Weill Cornell affilitation. Was Jasper Jacks ready to call him out on perceived ineptitude?
"Not exactly, it was a very thorough background report. I suppose I was just looking for more detail on her daily comings and goings?" Jax asked.
The potential stalker vibe Alex had gotten earlier came back full force. The decision to not disclose everything felt much more appropriate. "It sounds like you want a surveillance operation," he said.
"Sure," Mr. Jacks said with a smug smile.
"This agency doesn't do private surveillance work unless it relates to a broader investigation," Alex said flatly.
"Who says it doesn't?" Mr. Jacks challenged.
"So, you're suggesting that Ms. Cerullo was responsible for planting the drugs in your luggage?" Alex asked.
"Of course not!" Mr. Jacks said.
"Then I don't think it is a surveillance case that the Spade & Marlowe Agency can take on. If there isn't anything else, I have another appointment at noon," Alex said. Then he stood, opened his office door and directed Jasper Jacks through.
Alex had been a little surprised when the man simply filed out. He had wondered if he was just so shocked that someone had told him no. It might have been the first time anyone had.
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Detective Alejandro Garcia took another gulp of lukewarm coffee as he waited for his lunch in the DK Diner. When he had contacted ADA Jensen for a DNA warrant, she had been optimistic that she might get Judge Lombardi to sign off even on the holiday and told them not to go too far. Then she had recommended the DK Diner in the Angel Square section of Llanview just across the Llantano River from Pine Valley. Apparently, prior to becoming a Port Charles/Chapparal County ADA, she had been a Llantano County Public Defender. That little tidbit had raised more than a few questions for him. The most obvious was the transition from defense to prosecution especially in light of her recent conviction rate. Then of course there was the question if she had known defense attorney Justus Ward during their time in Philadelphia.
"You look deep in thought," Detective Allison Jordan asked before she took another sip of her water.
Alex shrugged his shoulders. "Just thinking…" he offered.
"Anything case related?" Allison asked.
Alex shrugged his shoulders again. "Not really," he said as plates were set in front of them by a slightly surly guy in his late teens or possibly early twenties.
"Thank you," Allison said.
Their surly waiter nodded and then stepped away from their table.
Allison picked up her open face grilled cheese and tomato sandwich and took a bite. After she swallowed, she said, "So Dara is optimistic she can get the DNA warrant today?"
"That was what she said, but that depends on her finding Judge Lombardi to sign off on the warrant," Alex said. He found it doubtful at best.
"Well, then hopefully she is looking at Judge Casto's fishing cabin on Kemp Lake," Allison said before she took another bite of her sandwich.
Alex just shrugged his shoulders again. Sometimes it was a little unnerving the way his partner seemed to be on a first name basis with all the judges.
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204.5? What? Yikes! Ally Rescott Alden Bowman shuddered when Dr. Ranson's nurse announced her weight as she stepped off the scale. That couldn't be right, could it?
Moments later, alone in the exam room, Ally debated her next move. She had gained about fifty pounds when she had been pregnant with her son Tyler. It had taken months of diet pills, some not exactly legal, to get rid of all the weight. She had vowed to not gain so much ever again. Tony used to call her his voluptuous vixen but Ally was afraid she had just crossed over into fat!
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Throbbing pain pulled Katherine Bell from sleep. When she opened her eyes fully, she realized, with a bit a consternation, that she was not in her suite in the Port Charles Hotel. As she glanced around the room more, she realized that she was actually in some kind of hospital setting, likely Port Charles General Hospital.
Did Stefan know she was there? Did he care? She was still contemplating those questions when Stefan's ever annoying cousin, Alexis entered the room. Had Stefan sent her? What did it mean if he had? Katherine could only wonder.
"You really do have the moral perspicacity of seaweed. Stefan dumped you so you retaliate by seducing his nephew?" Alexis fumed.
Katherine laughed and then winced at the increased pain in her head. "Any relationship Nikolas and I may have is no business of yours, or Stefan's for that matter. Stefan lost the right to have any say in who is in my bed when he kicked me out of his. It is really that simple," she said. Then she smiled when she saw the discomfort register on Alexis's face.
"Nikolas is still a minor!"
"Not in the eyes of New York State. You're an attorney, I would think you would be up on this," Katherine said.
Alexis rolled her eyes and then exhaled with obvious exasperation. "You need to stay away from Nikolas!" she said.
Katherine laughed. "Or what? You will run tattling to Stefan? How did that work for you nine months ago?" she asked.
Alexis didn't answer she just turned and stalked out of the room.
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As he stood at the long butcher block island in their rowhouse kitchen, John Quartermaine laid provolone on top of the turkey and placed another slice of bread on top. He sliced the sandwich in half and then started to wrap up several packages of meat and cheese from the deli down the street.
"I hope you are still a fan of Turkey and Provolone," he said when his nephew descended the stairs into their kitchen.
"Definitely," Ned said as he set three pounds of Mocha Hazelnut and two pounds of Cinnamon Hazelnut down on the island counter. "Coffee reinforcements," he added with a grin.
"You have impeccable timing; I had to break into the last pound of Mocha Hazelnut this morning," John said as he turned to add three of the bags to the freezer. He would put the remaining two down in the chest freezer in the basement after lunch.
"I do what I can," Ned said with a sly smile as he pulled out one of the stools that flanked one side of the island counter and sat down.
John filled two glasses from the water dispenser in the refrigerator and then sat down beside his nephew with his own roast beef and swiss sandwich. "Abby was hoping that Carly might have been able to join you since we haven't gotten much of a chance to get to know her," he said.
"We didn't want to take any chances with her traveling with the pregnancy. Of course, we look forward to traveling as a family once our son is here," Ned said.
His nephew's explanation certainly sounded reasonable but it also sounded rehearsed and forced. John wasn't sure what to make of that. Of course, maybe that fit because uncertainty and awkwardness had been a big part of his relationship with his nephew over the years. Some of it was probably just the age gap. Or rather, the lack of a significant age gap. John had been only six and a half years old when Ned had been born. In contrast, his older brother, Alan, had been approaching sixteen and those nine extra years had given him a lot of credibility as an uncle. There was also the issue that to an extent, since they had lived in the same house and John's mother had been very involved in raising Ned while his sister Tracy was finishing up a BA in economics and finance theory and then pursuing a law degree ; he and Ned had more of a defacto sibling relationship. Again, in contrast, Alan had graduated from high school early and gone off to Columbia University shortly after his sixteenth birthday.
Being pseudo siblings hadn't exactly been bad. Sometimes it had been nice to not be the youngest anymore. Of course, other times he just wanted some time to hang out with his friends Riley Welles and Tommy Hardy without a preschooler following. Tracy had graduated from law school in May 1975 and that December she had bought a new construction home on Tulip Drive at the outer edge of the Lilac Park neighborhood. Although he had never admitted it aloud, that Christmas he had kind of missed Ned coming into his room super early on Christmas morning all excited about the anticipated presents under the tree.
"Abby still says it was much easier to travel with the boys when they were in utero. Of course, you and Lois traveled a lot with Brooke so you probably have a better system than we do. Perhaps I should have asked you for tips," John said before he took a bite of his sandwich.
John saw the way his nephew's face paled. He supposed that answered the unasked question that he still wasn't seeing his daughter with any regularity if at all. Should he apologize for that? Should he apologize for the dredging up of old memories which could now only be viewed through a lens of pain? While he debated internally, he took another bite of his roast beef and swiss.
"Most of the credit for that should go to Lois. If we were on speaking terms, I would definitely be asking her for tips," Ned said.
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PCPD Detective Allison Jordan wasn't sure if she was supposed to be grateful to her partner or resent the fact that he was treating her differently because she was female or maybe because she was a mom. "We could have stayed the night if that was necessary, you know," she said.
"ADA Jensen wanted us to come back because I'm supposed to be testifying in the Pierce Dorman murder trial tomorrow. Anyway, although it isn't a holiday there isn't a guarantee that Lombardi will sign off on the warrant quickly so we could be spending a night in Pine Valley for no reason," her partner said.
"So, you didn't tell Dara that I needed to get back to my child?" Allison asked.
Detective Alejandro Garcia shrugged his shoulders as he drove. "It never came up although I sort of presumed you did?" he said.
Allison did want to get back to her child but she felt like she was still trudging up the hill to acceptance within the department. She was one of two female detectives in the whole department and Detective Samantha Welles had made it quite clear that part of her commitment to the PCPD involved not having children.
"As I've said before, I have reliable childcare. My inlaws are great with Mackenzie and her life is richer because she has a multigenerational perspective," Allison said.
"I know that! I know I gave you a hard time in the beginning but whether you believe it or not, I am on your side. I can applaud doing your fair share but you don't have to do extra just to prove to me that you can be a mom and police detective," Alex said.
"Unfortunately, some of the rest of our department is not so enlightened," Allison said.
"Some of the rest of the department is misogynistic and some of our department is racist and then there is Andy Capelli. We all have our battles," Alex said.
Allison hadn't really thought about that. She had been so focused on her own struggles that she hadn't considered much beyond that. "I'm sorry, I guess it's true what they say about the importance of focusing on global equity not just on how you personally get a larger piece of the pie."
"I wasn't really calling you out there. I more meant sometimes you just have to believe in yourself and tune out the haters," Alex said.
"Is that what you do?"
Alex shrugged his shoulders again. "On my good days, sure," he said.