Chapter 11

4/17/1999

Elm Street Pier.

An early morning jogger sees blood near the Waterfront and a necklace with something hanging from it. He calls the PCPD. The patrol cops bag the necklace and collect blood samples from the pier's edge. As another officer takes pictures, Taggert walks by. "What do you have this morning, boys?"

"Uhh, Detective Taggert, a jogger this morning found blood and this (handing Taggert the evidence bag containing a chain and what appears to be some pendant).

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"I dunno, it looks like an old subway token. There is an inscription on the back. 'Lucky & Liz Forever,' what kind of name is Lucky?'"

The only one I know of belongs to Lucky Spencer. That could be his blood. God, I hate it when it's kids. I know where to find the father. I hope the girlfriend is okay. She's a good kid."

Taggert walks into Luke's Blues Club with a beat cop. "Detective, what do I owe the pleasure? Is it time for my monthly protection fee?"

"Luke, this is not a social call. When was the last time you saw Lucky?"

Luke stands, "Why? What have you heard?"

Taggert shows Luke the chain and token. "I saw the inscription. Does this belong to your son?"

"Where did you find it?"

"The Elm Street Pier. I'm sorry, Spencer, but there was blood around the pendant. Have you seen the Webber girl?"

"Last night. She was supposed to see my son yesterday, but he never showed up. Daymm!"

"Is she at home? I have some questions for her."

"No, she said she was sleeping at his apartment above Morgan's Motorcycle Shop."

Taggert mutters, "Great! Morgan is involved."

Sonny and Jason arrive; Taggert says, "Which one of you find upstanding citizens pissed off Moreno, or did you tick off some other low-life. If Lucky Spencer turns up dead, Morgan and Corthinios will be the first people I'll look at."

Jason says, "I offered to check on Elizabeth. My sister could be with her. I'll meet you there." Sonny offers to give Luke a ride.

Jason arrives at the shop and runs up the stairs. He knocks, and Emily answers. Jason hugs his sister and asks to speak with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth says, "Jason, did you hear from Lucky?"

"No, I'm sorry. Would you please come with me to the office? Detective Taggert found something he thinks belongs to Lucky."

Emily says, "Jason, what's going on?"

"Emily, Elizabeth, please let's go downstairs."

Taggert, Sonny, and Luke wait for them to arrive from upstairs. Taggert says, "Ms. Webber, I'm sorry to bother you, but could you identify something for me?"

Elizabeth grabs Emily's hand and holds it. She stammers, "Yes.…yessssss, uh… sure." Taggert holds the bag containing the subway token necklace. Elizabeth gasps. "Wh..wh..where did you find that?" She takes the bag and inspects the contents.

"Elm Street Pier this morning. The inscription says Liz and Lucky. Is this Lucky's necklace?" Elizabeth notices the blood, and a tear falls on her cheek. She nods. Jason and Emily guide Elizabeth to a bench outside the shop.

Taggert asks Elizabeth when she last saw Lucky. Elizabeth gulps. Two nights ago, Nikolas, Emily, Lucky, and I closed down Kelly's with dinner and brownies." Elizabeth recounts the last time they saw Lucky. Luke showed up, and about 20 minutes later, he left. Lucky helped me close Kelly's. We danced, and he left, saying he was going to his apartment. I drove home."

"What happened yesterday? Did you have plans?"

"Yes, but he didn't show. I went to Luke's Club and asked about him. Luke and Jason met me at the garage, and it looked like someone had rifled through Lucky's room. The only thing missing are some clothes and his laptop. Emily spent the night with me, and you all appeared this morning. Your turn. What do you know?"

"A jogger found it this morning, and I saw the inscription and went to Luke's. Your 'friends' came along for the ride. I'm sorry we don't have more, but I'll keep you informed." Taggert leaves, and Sonny mutters, "Asshole."

Jason asks Elizabeth if she needs anything. She shakes her head. "Just in case, I'll leave a message. I'm going to drive home and shower. Thank you, Jason, Luke, Mr. Corthinos."

Sonny says, "Please call me Sonny." Jason tells Emily he'll give her a ride home.

4/18/1999

Elizabeth sketches outside on Pier 52. She outlines Lucky holding his guitar. Jason stops and asks if she's heard from Taggert. She drops her head and shakes no.

Jason says, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Elizabeth chuckles, "Did Robin ask you to look after me? I'm sure you have other responsibilities."

"They can wait. I'm here because I care. Not only did Lucky work for me, but you are Emily's friend, and she's worried about you. Robin and I don't talk anymore. My news about her mostly comes from Sonny, Ned, or you. I want her to be happy, and she's happier in Paris." Jason glances at the sketch pad next to Elizabeth. "Is that Lucky?"

Elizabeth nods and smiles. "Yes, I submitted a painting of him and his guitar to the Art Academy in New York. Lucky and I were thinking about going. I know he wouldn't have left without me, so I thought I'd sketch it from memory.

"Mein Herr, young is waking again. He hasn't eaten since he's been here. He hasn't stopped screaming. What should I do? Do you want to keep him sedated?"

I might as well let him know I am here. His father hasn't been as forthcoming as I'd like with those diamonds." He enters the sparsely furnished room. There is a metal cot with a thin mattress. "Master Spencer, I apologize for the accommodations, but you should eat and save your strength. You aren't going anywhere. No one will hear your screams."

"Why are you doing this? You are a coward for not revealing yourself."

"Your father has been selling me pieces of the infamous Ice Princess. He thinks I'm Herr Krieg. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cesar Faison."

"Faison? My dad said you were dead."

"I'm flattered you know my name. Death could sometimes prove to be an illusion. Mine was, and soon yours will be a notion, too. It will be hard to deny with DNA and dental matches. You've been missing for over two days, and soon your body will wash ashore."

"Bastard! No one will believe it." Lucky swings his fist toward the older man but misses.

"Let me explain your situation. You can't escape. You will try, but do you want any harm to come to your loving mother, your adorable little sister, or the beautiful Elizabeth Webber?"

Faison turned on the television, and Lucky saw Elizabeth exiting Kelly's with her sketchbook. "I believe you know the young lady. So young, it would be even sadder if such youth, beauty, and potential were snuffed out because you were too stubborn to cooperate."

4/20/1999

Jason and Sonny are drinking coffee at Kelly's. Jason shows Sonny construction plans for the new warehouse. Elizabeth refills their cups. Sonny asks how she is doing. She shakes her head, "I'm back home. Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing. My dad's been hovering, and my Gram cooked casseroles. Emily and Nikolas call with the same question. I don't have the answers."

Taggert enters and asks Elizabeth if she can take a break. She nearly drops the carafe. Jason helps her steady it, takes it from her, and places it back on the counter. Elizabeth is flanked on either side by Sonny and Jason. Taggert glares at them, but they aren't budging. He says they found a body and think it's Lucky. Elizabeth crumples and Jason holds her. She wants to see the body. She won't believe it until she sees him. Taggert says she doesn't want to remember Lucky that way. Luke and Laura are making the identification. They will do DNA testing to be sure. Taggert says they tested the pendant, and the blood belongs to Lucky, but they don't need it for evidence. He returns it to Elizabeth. He stands to leave, and Elizabeth says, "Thank you for telling me yourself."

Elizabeth calls Laura and leaves a message for her. Tammy observes the interaction and tells Elizabeth to take the rest of the day off. Jason asks Elizabeth if she wants him to call Emily, but she declines. "I think I should tell Emily in person. I need to see Nikolas too. Thank you both for staying with me."

Elizabeth slowly exits, wiping a tear away. Jason calls out, "I'll go with you. I want to see my sister.

4/21-23/1999

Elizabeth sits in her room with Nikolas, and they talk about the early days of meeting him and the evolution of Lucky and Nikolas's friendship with brothers. She cries, and Nikolas embraces her. She says she doesn't want to know that Lucky is not coming back. She didn't know who she was without him. Emily arrives and says living with regrets is not what Lucky would want for them.

Elizabeth visits Laura and Lulu and offers guidance to the young girl who doesn't understand how her brother left her.

4/29/1999

Carly uses her key to let herself into Jason's PH. She hears the shower and enters the bedroom. She removes her jeans, unbuttons her shirt, and poses seductively on the bed. She waits for him to exit the shower. She stages a seduction scene designed to snare him. Jason is surprised to see her sitting there. Carly says, "Surprise! I can't stop thinking about you. My skin crawls when AJ touches me; the only thing that feels better is to have your hands on me."

"What are you doing here?" She seductively walked over to him and told him she knew he wanted her also. Carly continued to entice Jason. She said that if he told her to go, she would.

"The answer is still, and always will be, no."

Carly is angry. "It's because of Robin. It's always Robin."

It has nothing to do with Robin, and I have nothing against sex. There are many women I could sleep with; you are not one of them. Things were different before. There had been no Michael, and we weren't friends. That changed, though; we are now part of each other's lives. I never wanted to hurt you, but sleeping with you again will never happen.

Carly said it was humiliating to psych herself up to seduce him and be rejected. Jason asked why she had done it. Carly said she had done it because she wasn't stuck in the past like he was. It hadn't worked before because of Robin. Carly accused him of not trusting her.

He explained that Michael was caught in the middle. He wouldn't let her use Michael as a weapon against him; he'd rather be her friend. Carly wanted to prove that they could have both. Carly says, "Soon, I'll be Mrs. AJ Quartermaine."

Jason laughs. "My brother has asked you to marry him?"

"Not yet, but he will. Edward encouraged him, and I saw the big, beautiful rock Edward had bought to give to AJ. Give me six months to destroy AJ, and Michael will be ours."

"Carly, if you do what I think you are planning, you will regret it. I told you not to deviate from the agreement. You could lose Michael forever. You continue to believe I will rescue you. You are digging your own grave. Go home to the Quartermaines or beg Sonny to take you in but get the fuck out of my PH. I'll be changing the locks."

"Fucking bastard! I trusted you. How could you betray me like that?"

"I wanted us to be friends. You did this to yourself."