Previously...

Alex and Kyle argued over his innocence.  Alex continued taking pills to mask her unhappiness.  On the set of The Young at Heart, she nearly fell into the camera equipment, prompting Mackenzie to issue her a warning.  Duke informed Benji that he had a grudge against Jeff Branigan, who supplied drugs to Hunt Roberts, the man Renee was trying to set Sierra up with in New York.  Someone sent Duke a video of his girlfriend, Summer, with Jeff in the back of his car.  Suzanne daydreamed about having sex with Brett, then berated herself for it.  Brett told Stormy he was giving up the rights to The Standoff, which Stormy already knew was off the table due to a lawsuit over its contents.  Stephanie apologized to Jordan for her lack of emotional availability, then told him they were better off not seeing each other anymore.  Jackie arranged for Brooke and Kyle to be trapped together at the construction site at Moonshadows, hoping they would get close.  Despite her attempts to deny it, Brooke secretly enjoyed it when Kyle kissed her.  Jackie's gofer, Steven, was knocked unconscious by an unseen assailant, who then set the building on fire with Brooke and Kyle trapped inside.  Meanwhile, Jackie retrieved documents from T.T.'s safety deposit box, which included a police report claiming Royce Jenner's death was not an accident.

Episode 106

"Six Die in Fog"

Even as the filthy black smoke filled her lungs, Brooke refused to give in to the hand fate had dealt her.  She’d come too far, overcome too much to lie down and let this thing take her.  She made it through the earthquake, through her lover’s death.   If she could do that she could do anything.

Willing herself to rise from the floor, she coughed and sputtered.  Her clouded eyes moved across the room where she spotted Kyle desperately trying to pry open the boarded up windows and the malfunctioning door.   Flames licked at her feet from a beam that had fallen inward.  Quickly, she pulled her legs close to her chest and squirmed away from the hot spot.

When a spray of sparks shot like a fountain from the ceiling and caught Kyle in the arm, he dodged aside and brushed them away.  Moments later, the ceiling broke apart and a fiery mass came falling down, knocking him unconscious.  Brooke saw this and immediately leapt into action.  Swiftly, she raced toward him, smothering flames and desperately trying to jar him awake. 

Horror set in as she glanced upward and saw the ceiling of fire that hovered above them.  They were trapped.  She did the only thing she could think of and uselessly attempted to pull his weight out of harms way. 

As she was about to succumb to their fiery fate, the sounds of sirens in the distance injected renewed vigor into her body.  Coughing and wheezing, she stood up and waited.  Moments later, she heard someone pounding at the door.  Splinters of wood flew inward as David appeared, scouting around the blistering heat. 

“Brooke!” he yelled hoarsely, running over and sweeping her into his arms. 

“David, thank God!” she cried, then pointed to the floor.  “Kyle….”

Weaving through the maze of fireballs that dropped from the ceiling, David made his way outside and sat her down safely a few yeards down the beach.  He glanced back at the club, then a half mile down the road where the fire trucks were approaching. 

“Kyle,” Brooke coughed.  “He’s inside.   David, you have to go back.”

“The fire department is almost here,” he replied.  “They’ll go in for him.  It’s too dangerous.”

“It’ll be too late!” she cried, blond hair matted to her sweaty face.  “David please!  You can’t leave him in there to die!”

Popping and sizzling from the club caused them to both turn back to the burning building.  Every inch of the exterior was surrounded in flames, blazing through the boarded up windows and rocketing into the starry night sky. 

Finally realizing that he had no choice but to save Kyle, David raced back inside,.  He struggled to see through the smoke, wound his way through the inferno and finally located Kyle lying unconscious on the floor.  He lifted him and placed one arm over his shoulder for support.  Kyle stirred awake and began coughing, managing somehow to half walk out of the burning building. 

By the time they got outside Brooke was waiting anxiously and the rescue personnel had just arrived. 

“Anyone else inside?” asked the chief.

David shook his head and turned back to Brooke who was checking to ensure Kyle wasn’t hurt.

“What the hell did you do?” he screamed as the hoses began showering water over the incinerated building. 

“What?” Kyle asked, sputtering and spewing up black sludge.  A paramedic arrived and attempted to lead him to an ambulance where oxygen was waiting.

“What did you do, you son of a bitch?” David repeated, his face smeared with black soot and ash.  “This is how you get back at me for supposedly setting you up?  You burn down my club and take my sister along with it?”

“David stop it!” Brooke insisted.  “Kyle didn’t do this!”

“The hell he didn’t!  He’s been gunning for me since he got to town!  All the threats, the off the cuff remarks, the innuendos…  Jesus, Brooke, I told you this guy was bad news!”

Kyle pushed the paramedic away, bare-chested and glistening with dirt and sweat.  “Lay off, Jenner.  I didn’t do this.  I wouldn’t hurt her

“Come on!” David yelled, pushing out his chest and rushing up to him.  “How stupid do you think I am?”

“David stop!” Brooke repeated, throwing herself between them and shooting her brother a look of warning.  “Kyle didn’t do this.  We were lured here by somebody.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Here,” Brooke said, taking the note that Kyle had received and thrusting it at David.  He frowned while reading it.  None of this made sense.

“So how do I know it wasn’t you who left me that note?” Kyle demanded.  “You know you want me out of the picture.  Maybe you set this fire to get rid of me.”

David shook his head and grunted loudly.

Suddenly, one of the firemen shouted from the side of the building.  “Hey!  We’ve got someone else over here!”

Brooke and David raced toward them just as they lifted a barely conscious Steven to his feet and away from the site of the fire.  He sat down on the edge of a sand dune and shook his groggy head. 

“Who’s this?” David asked.

Brooke’s eyes flashed open wide.  “Your mother’s secret henchman,” she said, then glared at David.  “Jackie did this.  She lured us here and she started the fire.”

“Come on, that’s crazy.”

“She wants me out of the picture, David.”

He looked at her and then at Steven, eyes half closed as he teetered in and out of consciousness.

James was seated in his study at the Blackthorne mansion when he heard the staccato chimes of the doorbell ringing again and again.  After twenty rings, plus a number of door knocks, he realized he was alone and ventured out to the foyer to see what the commotion was all about. 

“What’s the emergency?” he asked when he pulled the giant doors open. 

“James, you have to help me,” Jackie Lamont said before rushing inside and heading straight for his study.  “The most horrible thing imaginable has happened.”

James was used to her melodramatics, which often turned out to be nothing, so he followed her into the study and cast a patronizing look in her direction.  “What is it this time, Jackie?  I’m very busy, so I’d appreciate it if you’d make this quick.”

“How much do you know about Royce’s car accident?” she asked, surprising even herself by the lack of fanfare leading up to the question.

He gauged her expression carefully.  Something told him this wasn’t Jackie playing her usual games.

“Probably no more than you do,” he answered.  “I was told he was on his way home from Santa Barbara.  The highway was foggy and there was a pileup.  He got caught in the middle of it and died along with several others.”

“But they never found out what caused the accident, did they?”

James ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.  “You know how dangerous that route is even when the weather is clear.   If you put fog into the equation there’s no wonder there was an accident.”

“That’s what we were led to believe,” Jackie said, revealing the envelope of evidence she’d obtained from the safety deposit box.  “I think Royce was murdered.”

“Murdered?” James asked.  “Who would want to murder Royce?  He was one of the most decent men I’ve ever met in my life.”

“I think he was involved with some people,” Jackie told him as she withdrew the information from the envelope and laid it out on the desk.  “I think Don Fenwick had something to do with it.”

“Don Fenwick?” James asked.  “Kyle’s father?”

“He and Royce did business together.”  She showed him the correspondence from the post office box.  “Don Fenwick’s company shipped in materials for Royce’s hotel in New York.  The one that blew up.”

“So?” James asked, reviewing the documents.  He came to a building inspection report and skimmed through it.  “Wait.  The hotel failed inspection after it was built.”

“Substandard construction materials,” Jackie informed him.  She’d read the document so many times it was now etched into her brain.  “Fenwick used substandard materials to build the hotel and Royce found out.  I think he sabotaged Royce’s car and that’s why he crashed that night.  Look, Stephanie Callahan did a report labeling the accident as suspicious.”

James took the page and read through it.  “She just filed this report a few weeks ago,” he said, noting the date.  “Sounds like she’s been conducting her own investigation.”

“It says his brakes were tampered with, James.  The fog had nothing to do with that accident.”

“Why wouldn’t she have said anything?” James asked, then looked at her with a deadpan expression.   “Unless she believes Kyle was in on it, in which case she’s wise to tread carefully around him.  He could be more dangerous than we know.”

Jackie had forgotten about her own personal vendettas for the time being.  The fact that she initially had looked into Kyle Fenwick’s past to use it again Brooke seemed very trivial now that there was a possibility that her ex-husband was murdered by his family.

The phone ringing sent her heart pounding inside her chest.  She watched as James went to his desk and answered hastily.   The look on his face as he spoke to the caller told her it was more bad news. 

“What is it?” she asked after he’d hung up.

“That was David.  There was a fire at Moonshadows.   Brooke and Kyle were almost killed.”

Jackie’s eyes widened in surprise and she followed him quickly to the door. 

“I’m telling you, I didn’t get a look at him,” Steven was saying while holding an ice pack against the back of his head.  “The sucker clobbered me from behind and the next thing I know I’m waking up and the entire building is toast.”

“What were you doing there?” Stephanie Callahan asked.  They were at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Steven seated on an examination table in the emergency room while David, Brooke and Kyle stood by. 

“Nothing.  I was….out for a run,” he said uneasily.

“He’s lying,” Brooke exclaimed, pointing to the young man and exchanging glances with David and Stephanie.  “He works for Jackie Lamont.  He does her dirty work.  She had him start that fire.  She’s been trying to get rid of me ever since she got to town.”

“Brooke, I know my mother is a little unpredictable,” David began, “but she’s not a murderer.  That’s just not her style.”

“Then why did she lure Kyle and I there?” she demanded.

“I’m still not sure she did,” Kyle interrupted, glaring at David.  “Murder may not be your mother’s style, but we all know it’s yours.”

“Or is it yours?” David challenged him from across the room.

“Knock it off, both of you,” Stephanie interjected.  “Does anyone know where Jackie Lamont is right now?”

“She wasn’t in her suite at Moonshadows,” David said with a shrug.

“Can you get her on the phone?”

“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice from across the room.

They turned just as Jackie entered, followed by James and Miranda. 

“What a coincidence,” Stephanie said.  “We were just talking about you.”

“David called us,” James said as he and Miranda went to Brooke’s side.  “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said with a smile as Miranda hugged her warmly.  “Kyle and I got trapped in the club and before we knew it it was on fire.  Luckily David showed up in the nick of time and got us out.”

“Conveniently,” Kyle said with a glare. 

“What does that mean?” Miranda asked, the room thick with suspicion.

“It means he thinks I started the fire,” David pronounced.

“Jackie started the fire,” Brooke lamented.

“Hold on everybody,” Stephanie interrupted again.  “One at a time.  Miss Lamont, is this your handwriting?”  She handed her the note that had been left for Kyle.

Jackie took the note and sighed.  “No,” she replied.  “It’s Steven’s.”

They all turned to the young man on the exam table.  His jaw dropped open in surprise, floored that she would throw him under the bus after he’d been willing to do anything she asked. 

“But I asked him to write it,” Jackie continued.

“And you had him call me pretending to be someone from David’s crew?” Brooke asked.  “So you did start that fire.  You wanted me to die in there, you bitch.”

Jackie, moderately threatened by the judgmental stares from the crowd, decided to use the truth to her advantage.  “I did arrange to have you and Kyle meet at the construction site.  I knew the door was malfunctioning and that you’d be trapped inside together.  I sent Steven there to make sure.  But I did not start that fire.  I have no idea who did.”

“Then why did you want them to get stuck together?” James demanded.   “Just what the hell are you up to, anyway?”

“I only wanted them to get close.  I figured being trapped together was the best way to accomplish that.  I’d hoped that by pairing them up I could sit back and watch the fallout.  I mean let’s face it, Kyle Fenwick’s reputation is a little…shall we say…tarnished around here.”

“And you hoped that Brooke would lose credibility if she were with Kyle,” David surmised with a shake of his head.  “Nice, mother.”

“How dare you,” Brooke seethed.  “I’m only relieved that now everyone sees what a manipulative snake you are.”

Jackie pursed her lips with an indifferent shrug of her shoulders.

“You’re messed up, lady,” Kyle added. 

“That’s all well and good,” Stephanie chimed in.  “But we still don’t know who set this fire.  The fire chief found a gas can tossed a few yards from the building leading me to believe it wasn’t an accident.”  She looked at Kyle and then at Brooke.  “Do either of you know who would have wanted you both dead?”

Kyle and David looked at each other wordlessly for several moments.  When no one responded, Stephanie threw her hands up in resignation. 

“Okay, I guess I’ve got some investigating to do,” she said.  She looked at Steven.  “You’re free to go, Mr. Chandler.”

As the crowd began to disperse, Miranda placed an arm around Brooke and led her to the door.  “Come on, I’ll take you home,” she said.

Brooke smiled, pausing and looking back at Kyle.  She looked into his mesmerizing green eyes, flashing back to the kiss they shared back at the club.  Judging from the way he looked at her, she knew it was on his mind too.  A brief smile formed on her lips and she finally turned and followed James and Miranda out into the hall. 

When Kyle got back to his house in Malibu, he walked in the door and stripped off his soot-covered t-shirt.  Reeling in the tension from the evening’s events, he walked into the living room and turned on the lamp.  It was then that he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Dad,” he said, surprised to find his father sitting in a chair in the dark room.   “What are you doing here?”

“Where else would I be?” Don Fenwick asked.  He was an intimidatingly confident man of sixty-two with a shock of gray hair and a four thousand dollar Armani suit tailed perfectly to his tall frame.  He spoke with a mildly detectable east coast accent.  “You’ve been making quite a spectacle of yourself since your release from prison.  News conferences, tabloid rumors.  You’ve been busy, Kyle.”

“How is mom?”  Kyle asked, deciding to ignore the obvious element of disapproval in the man’s voice. 

“Unaware of your recent shenanigans, lucky for you,” Don replied.  He rose to his feet and poured himself a drink at the bar.  “I hear you’re on a crusade to finger David Jenner as the person who set you up.”

“That’s right,” Kyle replied.  His relationship with his adoptive father was strained at best.  Even before he was sent to prison, the disapproval that he constantly had to try to overcome was insurmountable.  “I think it’s important to clear my name once and for all.”

“Do you?”  His reply was condescending and very brief.  “And how does Brooke Taylor fit into your plans?”

He shrugged.  “She doesn’t.”

“Oh really?”  Don asked with a chortle.  “The fact that Royce Jenner was her father is inconsequential to you?  The fact that David Jenner, her brother, is the man you claim blew up that hotel doesn’t factor into your scheme?”

“There’s no scheme.  I just want to get to the truth.”

“Have you found it?  The truth, I mean.”

Kyle dug his hands into his pockets and shook his head.  "Nothing concrete.”

Again, Don laughed as he made his way around the room.   “You’ve been back here for what, three months?  And you haven’t even made any headway in your big crusade?  Typical.  You never could follow through with anything.  That’s always been your problem, boy.”

“What are you doing here, Dad?” Kyle asked. 

He finished his drink and set the glass on the bar top.  “I told you.  I heard about some of your activities and thought it warranted a visit.  Have you been with her tonight?”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb.  Brooke Taylor.”

“Yes, but I-“

“Have you slept with her yet?” Don asked.

Kyle shook his head.

“You haven’t lost your touch, have you?” Don asked with a raised eyebrow.

“We were just talking.  There was a fire and we were trapped inside.”

“How awful,” Don deadpanned.  “I do hope the young lady made it out okay.”

“She isn’t anything like him, you know,” Kyle said, knowing that his father would be comparing her to Royce.  “You can’t blame her for your feud with him.”

He walked across the room and paused before him.  “Don’t confuse the situation, boy,” he said, patting him on the shoulder.  “Stay away from Brooke Taylor if you know what’s good for you.  Nothing good can come from you pursuing that woman.”

With that, he walked to the door and pulled it open.  Kyle watched him leave, thankful that their visit had been brief.   Turning back to the room, he saw his father’s jacket slung over a chair.  Quickly, he went to retrieve it.

“You forgot your coat,” he said, making his way out the door.  As he did, a gentle breeze from the water traveled up the beach.  The smell of gasoline filled his senses and he at first wondered if it was him, but then realized it came from the jacket. 

“We’ll talk soon,” Don said, taking the jacket from him and disappearing inside a limousine parked in the back. 

Kyle went inside and closed the door.  A chill ran up his spine and sent shivers over his bare skin.  He began to question his father’s reasons for being there.  Something told him it wasn’t just a fatherly check-in.

A mile down the beach, David pulled into his driveway and stepped out onto the pavement. He made his way tentatively up to the door and went inside, stripping off his suit jacket as soon as he entered.  Moments later, a knock at the door alerted him to a visitor.  He went back to the door and pulled it open with a sigh.  A late night visit was the last thing he wanted tonight. 

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Stephanie said from the porch. 

Surprised, David stood clear of the doorway.  “No, you’re not.”

“I felt like we needed to talk after the hospital.  Are you okay?”  She made her way inside, surveyed the meticulously decorated house, and turned to him. 

“I’ve been better.  Drink?”

“Sure.  I’m off duty.”  

He poured them each a glass of brandy and handed one to her.   “You think that fire is related to the hotel explosion, don’t you?”

She took the glass from him and looked at the amber liquid.  “I think it’s no coincidence that Brooke Taylor and Kyle Fenwick were both there when it went up.”

“What are we going to do about it?” David asked her. 

She shook her head and followed him to the sofa.  She had her suspicions, but nothing that she felt comfortable sharing with him yet.  Her investigation had much to do with his father’s business dealings with the Fenwicks.  That was all in the past.  If the fire tonight was related, then they were dealing with a lot more than they’d thought.

“Stephanie?” he asked her, wondering what was on her mind.  Her hands were trembling.  He took her glass from her and set it down, taking her hands in his in an effort to comfort her.  “Kyle Fenwick can’t hurt you.  You know that, don’t you?”

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes.  She was so tired of playing the role of the tough cop.  Sometimes she couldn’t keep it up.  She needed to let her guard down, if only for a few fleeing moments.  It just so happened that it would be David who was there when it happened. 

Unsure of how to reassure her, he pulled her into an embrace.  Quietly, he held her in his arms.  She was familiar, a constant source of mutual respect and someone he’d known for years.   Never had he seen her this vulnerable.  

“I need to be with someone right now,” she said, looking up at him.  “I’m hoping that someone can be you, because I really don’t think I can handle putting up with any B.S. from anyone else right now.” 

He knew what she meant and he was flattered that she’d chosen him to lean on in her time of need.  Slowly, he led her to the bedroom and sat on the end of his bed.  Standing before him, she let her hair out of her ponytail and let it cascade gently over her shoulders.  She began to undress, leaning forward and kissing him hard on the lips.  David peeled off his shirt and laid down on the bed, pulling her on top of him. 

Jordan decided to spend the next morning horseback riding at Moonshadows.  To his surprise, Benji and Duke eagerly joined him.  Not that his son wasn’t interested in horses – quite the opposite – but anything that could be construed as father-son activities seemed to have been strictly off limits for the better part of a year.  Maybe their relationship was changing.  Further evidence that Duke Summerfield seemed to have a positive influence on Benji.

After they saddled up, they rode along the track and up into the hills where trails wound their way through the steep ridges and canyons overlooking the ocean.  Naturally, Benji and Duke did everything to show him up, expertly showing off the equestrian training they’d received at Beau Solei.

When they returned to the stables, Miranda was there, perched atop the wooden fence that surrounded the riding yard.  She waved at Benji and Duke who raced their horses to the end of the yard.  Jordan dismounted from his mare, grinning from ear to ear as he approached Miranda, arms outstretched. 

“Hey stranger,” he said and embraced her warmly.  “What brings you here?  Going riding?”

She shook her head, patting the horse on the snout.  “No, I just heard you were here.  Haven’t seen you in a while and thought we could catch up.”

Jordan looked at his former step-daughter suspiciously.  He knew her all too well.  “Why do I get the feeling you’ve got more on your mind that catching up?  Everything okay with you and Eddie?”

“Yeah, everything's fine.”

“Okay,” he said, gesturing for her to follow him as he walked the horse around the riding yard.  “So what’s on your mind?”

“My mother,” Miranda said matter-of-factly.  She immediately detected the look of frustration on his face and quickly went to diffuse any protest he might come up with.  “I’m worried about her.  I think she’s getting into something she can’t handle.”

“I very much doubt there’s anything your mother can’t handle,” Jordan said with a knowing laugh.

“What about this Kyle Fenwick character she’s latched onto?” Miranda questioned.  “He’s bad news and she just flaunts their romance all over town.  I don’t even know that he’s really that into her.  He was with Brooke last night.”

“So?”

“So if he was serious about her why would he be meeting up with Brooke?” Miranda exclaimed.

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Jordan replied.  “Maybe they’re just friends.  He’s Ethan’s brother so maybe there’s a connection there.  It doesn’t have to have anything to do with Alex.”

“I don’t know, I just keep thinking he’s using her.  The only problem is I can’t figure out what for.  He’s already got money and plenty of media attention thanks to his impromptu press conference a few weeks ago.”

“Doesn’t sound like he’s got any ulterior motives.  Are you sure this isn’t just the age thing?  He is quite a bit younger than her.”

Shrugging, Miranda stopped and patted the horse on the neck.  “Maybe.  I’m also not completely sure she’s not still taking pills.”

“Have you asked her?” Jordan asked.

She rolled her eyes.  “Let’s just say every time my mother and I try to have a conversation we wind up arguing."

Smiling, Jordan led the mare back toward the stables.  “So not much has changed,” he said, joking.  “Miranda, Alex is going through some changes.  New job, new boyfriend, new penthouse.  It’s bound to be a little hard on her family.”

“So you think I should just forget about it?  Just let the chips fall where they may?”

“I’m not sure what I could do about it.  We’re divorced, remember?  Again.”

Sighing, Miranda punched him playfully on the chest.  “Come on, Jordan, I know you still love my mother.  You always have.  Don’t you want to swoop in and save her from herself?”

“I’ve been there, remember?” he asked.  “Alex doesn’t want saving unless it’s on her own terms.”

“But you do still love her, don’t you?”

He shook his head with amusement.  “You’re a pest, you know that?”

Laughing, she pointed a finger at him.  “Yes, but you still haven’t denied it.  Admit it, you love my mother.”

Yes, he thought to himself, he still loved her.   “It doesn’t matter because whatever I felt for Alex was never good enough.  I was always the enemy.  I just can’t live like that anymore.”

Miranda dropped her hands to her sides in resignation.  She realized there was no changing his mind.  “Fine.  I’ll stop pestering you.  But don’t think I’m giving up.  One of these days I’ll have my way.”

Jordan pulled her close and squeezed her tightly.  For the time being, he’d forgotten about Benji and Duke, who now seemed to be engaged in a rather serious conversation across the riding yard. 

“What are you doing?” Benji asked as Duke tapped away at his iPhone.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Duke replied enigmatically.  “Call it the first stage in operation destroy Jeff Branigan.”

“Finally,” Benji said with a grin.  “Does this mean you’re going to tell me what it was he won from you by winning that bet?  Let me guess…a watch.”

“No.”

“A jacket.”

“No.”

“A book.”

“No,” Duke cut him off with irritation.  “Stop trying to guess.  You’ll find out soon enough.  Besides, this has more to do with Summer smoking his bone in the back of his car a few weeks ago.”

Benji nodded.  Yes, the incident that supposedly caused Jeff to give Summer the clap.  He still felt it wasn’t a good idea to admit it was him who gave it to her.  Besides, the point was she and Jeff did hook up while she and Duke were supposedly an item.  That had nothing to do with him personally.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“Remember I told you someone sent me a sext of the dirty incident?  Well, it’s time that this little video gem gets out.”

“How exactly?”

Duke followed his lead, dismounting from the horse and walking it slowly back to the stables.  “Turns out Summer Solomon’s mother, that soap bitch Cassidy Solomon, has quite the fan following.  As a matter of fact, the web master of her official fan club lives right here in L.A.   She sits at Coffee Bean every day for hours updating it.  Word is she’s a real woofer and devotes her entire life to all things Cassidy Solomon.”

“So where does she fit in to your plan?” Benji asked.

“We’re going to go pay her a visit at Coffee Bean and find out how to access that website long enough to embed a very scandalous video of her precious daughter with a dick crammed down her throat.”

“But I thought you and Summer were dating.  Do you want this video of her and Branigan uploaded onto every soap addict’s computer from here to Saskatchewan?”

“Summer and I had a fling and it’s over.  Now she has to learn that she can’t humiliate me like that without suffering the consequences.”

Benji watched as Duke returned to the stables and met up with Jordan.  Expertly, he shifted back to the do-gooder personality that his father had come to adore.  If he only knew.

Alex spent the morning shooting a series of scenes with Cassidy Solomon, her embittered co-star.  Cassidy had starred in The Young at Heart since its inception fifty-five years before.  Now, at nearly seventy, she was a permanent fixture, shot only with certain lenses and always with a filter.  Her character, Catherine Chamberlain, was the mother of four – five if you counted the Siamese twin thought to have died during separation but was really living with terrorists somewhere in Mongolia.  The children were constantly being recast with younger actors so she could lie about her age.  Her character’s children’s children were not allowed to call her grandmother, and there were several actresses she refused to work with.  After today, one of those would be Alex Reynolds.

“She’s upstaged me!” Cassidy was bellowing from just outside her dressing room.  “She’s been on the show for seven episodes and she’s already acting like she’s the queen of daytime!  I thought you were getting the other Faye Richards back.  Whatsername? Rogers.  Suzanne Rogers.  I want her.”

“She’s not interested in acting anymore,” Mackenzie said to her.  “Alex is a professional.  Why don’t you start acting like one yourself?” 

Cassidy looked at her with penetrating eyes.  “Oh Mackenzie, don’t pretend that you and I have that kind of working relationship.  I’ve been on this show since before you were born.  I know what makes this show work.  You can hire all the big names you want and you’ll still never get it right.  This show would be nothing without me.”

“Keep talking like that and we might just have to test out your theory.”

“Oh I see what’s going on here,” Cassidy fumed.  “You and Alex Reynolds have formed some kind of alliance.  You both want me out.” 

“If I wanted you out you’d already be gone, sweetheart.”

Glaring heatedly, Cassidy pulled open the door to her dressing room. She clenched her teeth as Alex walked by.  “This conversation isn’t over.  I will not be forced out to make room for that kind of trash.  Mark my words, Mackenzie.  I will see this show canceled before I ever turn it over to her.”

With that, she slammed her door.  Alex jumped so hard that she could feel her heart thudding inside her chest.  Once inside her dressing room, she swooped into her purse for her bottle of oxycodone.  After the morning she had she needed one desperately.

Opening the cap, she poured one out into the palm of her hand.  Moments later, she shook her head and returned it to the bottle.  No, she thought to herself, I don’t need that.  I can get through the day without it. 

Dropping the bottle back into her purse, she sat down at her vanity and looked into the mirror.  Closing her eyes, she willed herself to stay strong.

James had a fitful night of sleep, thinking of nothing else but Jackie’s suspicions about Royce’s death.  He wondered how much David knew so he decided to pay him a visit and try to put two and two together.

He stood on the front porch ringing the doorbell.  After a minute and no answer, he made his way to the back where the terrace jutted out over the ocean.  Climbing the steps to the large deck overgrown with plants and tropical flowers, he came face to face with Stephanie standing with a cup of coffee in her hands, cloaked in one of David’s white Gucci dress shirts. 

“Stephanie, I didn’t expect to see you here,” James said, his voice full of surprise.

Flushed with embarrassment, she folded her arms across her chest and motioned inside the house.  “David’s taking a shower.”  She was overcome with the need to explain.  “I came over last night after everything went down at the hospital and I-“

Holding his hand up, James shook his head.  “It’s not necessary,” he said.  “What you and David do is your own business.  But tell me, does he know that you’re investigating his father’s death? Or did that not come up in the course of your pillow talk?”

She set her jaw and pushed her long brown hair over her ears.  “Yes, he does know,” she said. “But the question is, how do you?”

“Let’s just say I came across some information.”

Closing her eyes, she dropped her hands to her sides.  “Levitt,” she surmised.  “Of course.”

“How did T.T. come to share in this information about Royce’s accident?” James inquired.

“He was helping in the investigation.  As soon as Kyle came to L.A. I asked him to hide the evidence for me.  I didn’t want him knowing that I was compiling information.”

“What else have you found?” James wanted to know.  “Did Don Fenwick kill Royce?”

“Why do you want to know?” David asked as he emerged from the sliding glass doors, bare chested in a pair of white linen shorts and sipping from a glass of orange juice.

They both turned in his direction, unprepared for his sudden appearance.

“You knew and you never said anything?  Not even to Jackie?” James asked in dismay.  “David, what’s going on?”

“I only learned recently after Stephanie told me some of her findings,” David replied.  “I haven’t said anything to my mother because I wasn’t sure yet.”

“So Don Fenwick killed Royce because he knew about the building inspections for the hotel?” James asked.

“We think Fenwick paid off the building inspector, but Royce found out and threatened to go to the authorities,” Stephanie explained.

“What about the drug cartel?” James asked.

“A cover,” David replied.  “Or an excuse to blow up the evidence, we’re still not sure which.”

“So you’ve known all this time it wasn’t Kyle who blew up that hotel?” James demanded.  “He went to prison for three years.”

Stephanie shook her head adamantly.  “No, Kyle isn’t an innocent bystander here.  He was part of this whole operation.  It just so happens we can’t prove it yet.  Besides, all of this information came to light after he was released from prison.”

“So what now?” James asked in disbelief.  “Does any of this have to do with the fire last night?  Do you know who set it?”

David shook his head.  “No, but we think it’s related somehow.” 

“And Brooke?  Is she in danger?”

David and Stephanie looked at each other briefly before replying.  “She’s got nothing to do with this.  I think her being there last night was a coincidence.”

Brooke’s day couldn’t get any worse, she decided, staring inside the trunk of her car.  She’d been on her way to take Michael to school when she had to turn back and get some papers she’d left on the kitchen table.  Without those, the premiere of Angel Assassin 2 would be a wash and there’d be nothing to give to the media to tout its release.  She’d managed to reprint the press release Jackie had submitted without her approval, had new copies made, and absent-mindedly left them home in her haste to leave.  Finally, she’d dropped Michael off at school and proceeded to the studio.  Before she even got out of her neighborhood, however, she was flagged down by someone pointing and yelling out the window that she had a flat tire. 

Now, alone on the side of the road, she struggled to even get the spare out of the trunk.  She thought about calling Stormy or David and asking them to come help, but it reeked of the old Brooke, needy and unable to take care of herself.  No, she’d take care of this problem on her own, she decided. 

Finally, she got the spare out of the trunk and laid it next to the curb.  Her next challenge came in the form of the jack.  She looked at her watch and realized she wasn’t getting to work anytime soon. 

Salvation came when a long black limousine pulled up behind her.  A tall, well-dressed man with gray hair and a gentle nature appeared from the back and approached her.

“Need any help?” he asked.

Brooke realized how helpless she seemed.  She was a capable woman and the thought that she couldn’t even change a flat tire was ridiculous to her. 

“No, thank you though.” 

“You sure?” Don Fenwick asked.  “These cheap jacks they put in these cars are a bear even for most mechanics.”  He took his jacket off and placed it neatly over the hood of the car.   “The trick is you have to start on a level surface.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to move it with oncoming traffic and-“

“Better yet, why don’t you let me give you a ride?  You can call your auto club and they’ll come fix it.  Better than risking your neck out here during rush hour.”

Brooke looked at the limo and then back at him.  She wondered who he was.  He seemed wealthy enough.  But then again wealthy didn’t always mean normal.  No way was she getting in a stranger’s limo.

“That’s very kind of you, but I think I’ll call the auto club and wait.  You look like you’re going somewhere important anyway.”

“Nowhere that can’t wait, Miss Taylor,” he said, his eyes narrowing in on her.

Red flags alerted her to the possibility that this was no chance meeting.  “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“We’ve not met,” he said.  “I’m Don Fenwick.”

The name instantly made her take a step back.  “Don Fenwick?  You’re Kyle’s…”

“I’m his father, yes.  And you are the young woman who he’s decided to take an interest in.  I must say, his taste is certainly impeccable.  You are lovely.”

“How did you know who I am?”  She looked around, unnerved by the fact that he was there at the precise moment she got a flat tire.

“Let’s just say I’m an admirer myself.  Different than the way my son admires you, of course.  I knew your father.  He and I were business associates.” 

“I didn’t know Royce.”

“Pity.  I’m sure he would have adored you.”

“So what are you doing in Los Angeles?” Brooke asked.  “Does Kyle know that you’re here?”

“I saw him last night.  He told me about the awful scare the two of you had.  To think you were trapped in that building together.  I can only imagine how worried your father would have been had he still been alive.  You really should be more careful.  You never know when you’re going to find yourself in the thick of danger.” 

She studied his expression carefully. Something about the way he spoke sent warning signals coursing through her veins.  It was almost as if he were threatening her.

“The investigators said it was arson,” she said carefully.

“Yes, luckily your brother was there to rescue you both.  David is nothing if not his father’s son.  A man to be counted on.”

“Well, if you’ll excuse me.  I should call the auto club.” 

“Sure I can’t give you a ride somewhere?” Don asked.

She hesitated only long enough to wonder what he was after.  There had to be a reason why he was in Los Angeles, and a reason why he happened by just in her moment of need.

“No, I don’t think so,” she finally said.

Smiling, he turned and went back to the limo.   She watched as the car pulled away from the curb.  Immediately, she dialed the auto club, eager to put the unnerving meeting behind her.

Sarah Rybek claimed her usual table at Coffee Bean every day precisely at noon.  She ordered a nonfat caramel macchiato with no whipped cream lightly dusted with cinnamon and brought to precisely one hundred and thirty degrees.  For the next two hours, just before her shift began, she would IM her online friends, post her recent activities on Twitter, and update her Facebook page with new pictures of her with her two cats, Shimsa and Genoa.  Part of that time was also spent updating the fan site she’d labored over for three years.

There was always something new going on with Cassidy Solomon, the best and most underrated actress to ever grace daytime television.  Cassidy, mother of Summer, wife of Trevor McMann, animal rights activist, and the best part of The Young at Heart for nearly sixty years.  Sarah, of course, at only twenty years old, had only been watching for ten of those years, but she had managed to obtain some old footage online.  Her Cassidy Solomon fan page received over two million hits a week and she prided herself on updating the masses with the most new and up to date information available.  Sometimes she’d rifle through her trash, steal her mail from the postal carrier whom she’d bribed with a hands-free blowjob in exchange for a peek at the world-class actress’s mail, and when things were slow, staked herself outside the studio in Century City. 

Sarah was so busy doing whatever it took to get the inside scoop on Cassidy that she didn’t realize until it was too late that she was about to be played in a big way.  It all started when two charming and very good looking guys came in and had the nerve to ask her if they could join her at her table.  As much as she protested, something about them got the best of her and she eventually gave in.  Unlike most guys, who steered clear of her at all costs, they seemed genuinely interested, especially the tall one who talked like a grown up.

“They’re gorgeous,” Duke was saying while fawning over a photo she showed him on her laptop.  “Look at the coloring on Shimsa.  She’s a mama’s girl, no?”

Sarah laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.  Something she’d seen pretty girls in the coffee house do from time to time when they were talking with boys.  “Yes, she is.  How could you tell?”

Duke slid his arm over the back of her chair and inched a tiny bit closer.  “I can always tell a fellow cat lover.”

“You too?” she exclaimed. 

“Say hello to Spike and Thor,” Duke replied, pulling out a random picture of two cats Benji had never seen before. 

“How adorable!” Sarah exclaimed.  She turned to Benji.  “Do you have babies too?”

He cleared his throat and nodded.  “Uh, yeah, of course.  Unfortunately my wallet got stolen this morning so I don’t have any pictures.”

“Do you have any on your phone?”

“Let me see,” he replied, going through the motions.  No, I don’t have any cats you loony bird, he thought to himself.  He had to hand it to Duke, he knew how to work this girl.  She wasn’t anywhere near their type, but she wasn’t completely unfortunate looking either.  Beneath her mousy clothes seemed to be a smoking hot body.   “Shoot, I don’t.  Sorry.”

Sighing, she shook her head and turned back to Duke.  “That’s okay.  I’m just glad to meet guys who don’t want to run cats over with their car.  You couldn’t believe some of the guys who IM me.”

“That’s awful,” Duke said, letting his foot brush against hers beneath the table.  “So tell us more about your website.  You really designed the whole thing yourself?”

“Yep,” she beamed proudly.  “I was just about to update it when you guys showed up.”

“Fascinating,” Duke said with just the right amount of eagerness.  “Show us how.”

“Cassidy Solomon turns you guys on?” Sarah asked with a grin.  “Come on.”

“No, it’s true,” Benji interjected.  “She’s incredible.  As a matter of fact, my ex-step-mother works with her.  She just got a gig as Faye Richards.”

“Shut up,” Sarah said, mouth wide open.  “Your ex-step-mother is Alex Reynolds?  She has a direct in with Cassidy.  Do you think you could introduce me?”

“Oh for sure,” Benji replied, exchanging harried glances with Duke.   “So anyway, about your website.   Can you show us more?”

Sarah, fairly sure she’d finally succeeding in catching the interest of not one but two boys her own age, was eager to see where things would take them.  “You can show me as much as you want,” she said, snaring a finger over Duke’s waistband.  She playfully licked her lips, unaware that the effect didn’t quite work for her. 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Duke asked, moving closer to her.  Of course she wanted to screw, he thought.  He’d been acting like she was the only woman within a thousand miles for the past twenty minutes.

Sarah nodded, reaching her other hand over to Benji’s leg and massaging it gently.  “Why don’t the three of us go somewhere private?”

They looked at each other with immediate surprise.  This wasn’t quite where they expected things to go.

Minutes later, they were in the pool house at Jordan’s place in Beverly Hills.  Benji still had a key and wasn’t about to give it up.  Much to his and Duke’s surprise, Sarah turned quite aggressive, starting with her stripping them both naked and getting them each sufficiently aroused on the bed.  Next, she lay on her back and insisted they take turns having their way with her.  They gave no protest.   Half an hour later, they lay in a row on the bed, exhausted.

“Shoot, my website,” Sarah said, jumping up and going to her things across the room.  She opened her laptop and clicked around until she’d activated a server used to update the Cassidy Solomon website.

Duke motioned to Benji who did his best to distract her.  “You know, Sarah, there’s something I forgot to do for you,” he said.

“What’s that?” she asked, typing away at her laptop.

Gently, he coaxed her back to the bed and laid her down, throwing her legs over his shoulders as he dove in head first.  Her head thrown back, she never saw Duke run to the computer and upload the video.

After her unnerving run-in with Kyle’s father, Brooke decided to stop by Moonshadows to talk to David before proceeding to Sunset Studios.  With the premiere happening in just a few hours, she knew she wouldn’t have a chance to later.  Just as she’d predicted, she found him surveying the damage at the site of the Admiral’s Club.  Cringing from the horrific scene, she stepped carefully through the soot and ash and waved her hands to get her brother’s attention.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, stepping away from a crew of architects.

“I’m so sorry about all of this,” she said, temporarily forgetting about her reasons for showing up there.  When she saw the devastation the fire had done to the new club, she suddenly realized how difficult it must be for David.  He’d put a lot of energy into the addition to the resort.  “Do you think you can rebuild?”

“Definitely,” he said.  “Most of the foundation is still intact.  It’ll be up and running in a few months.”

She followed him around the ash and cinders.  “Do you think the fire was intentional?”

“Somebody set it.  Obviously someone with a grudge against Fenwick.”

“I think it was his father,” Brooke announced. 

Her theory finally got David’s attention.  His head snapped in her direction and he went bounding across the ground toward her.  “Why do you say that?”

“He’s here.  In Los Angeles.  I saw him earlier and he said some really strange things.”

“What kind of things?” David asked.  “When did you see him?”

“Just before I came here.  I got a flat tire and she showed up asking if I needed help.  He kept saying how lucky we were that we made it out of the fire.  Then he said you never know when you might find yourself in danger or something like that.  It was very strange.”

Immediately, David went for is cell.  He dialed Kyle’s number, pacing around the construction site while waiting for an answer.  Moments later, Kyle answered.

“Where are you?” he asked, barely waiting for an answer before barking orders through the phone.  “Get your ass down to Moonshadows.  Seems your father paid Brooke a little visit this morning.”

And just like that the call was over.

Jordan decided to at least see for himself if Miranda’s concerns were valid, so he made his way to the sounds stages where The Young at Heart was filmed in Century City.  Getting a stage-side seat wasn’t difficult being that he had employed half of the security team and film crew at one time or another.  Going to any studio in town for him was like a reunion of sorts.  Hollywood was a relatively small town, so to speak.

“Jordan?” Alex asked between takes.  “What are you doing here?”

“Just stopped in to see someone and thought I’d catch a glimpse at your work,” he lied cleverly.  “Nice job up there.”

“Yeah?” she asked, slightly out of breath from a particularly physical scene where she struggled with Max, her on-screen love interest.  “Thanks.  I’m trying to make it my own, you know.”

“Good,” he said, nodding as he perched himself on a stool.  “You look tired.  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied.  She probably looked tired because she never slept.  There were too many things to worry about.  Her new career, her relationship with Kyle, her relationship with her family.  On top of that, she had sixty pages of dialog to memorize every day.  Who wouldn’t look tired? 

“And how is…Kyle?”

“Wonderful,” she said, though she guessed not very convincingly because she was never sure they were headed anywhere.  “Lovely to see you again, Jordan.”

Before she turned to return to the set, Mackenzie came barreling across the studio, short mini skirt crawling up her long legs and jet hair cascading over her shoulders.

“Alex, they’re waiting for you,” she said sharply.

“Mackenzie, this is Jordan Rydell, my ex-husband,” Alex said, gesturing between them.  “Jordan, my producer, Mackenzie Stone.”   

“A pleasure, I’m sure,” Mackenzie replied dismissively.  “Alex, the scene?”

“Oh, right.”  She turned and went back to the stage where Max was waiting. 

“She’s quite a character,” Jordan said. 

“I’m sorry?” Mackenzie asked, turning to him and straining an ear for maximum effect.

“Alex.  I’m sure she brings this place to life.  Never dull when she’s around, is it?”

“Well, you divorced her.  Why don’t you tell me?”

Jordan laughed to himself.  She told it like it was, which intrigued him.  In a way she reminded him of Stephanie.  He wondered if she were as emotionally detached.

“You wouldn’t be going to the premiere tonight, would you?” he found himself asking.

“Yes, I am.  Why?”

“How would you like a date?”

“How do you know I don’t already have one?” Stephanie asked, cracking an ever so slight smile.

“Do you?”

“No.” 

“So would you like to go with me?” Jordan asked.  He didn’t think there was anything difficult to understand about his request. 

“Don’t you care what Alex will think if I went out with her ex-husband?”

Jordan shrugged.  “I doubt she’d care.”

She shook her head in amusement.  “Nice.  Ok, what the hell, I’ll go out with you.  Pick me up here at six.”

“Really?” Jordan asked, unsure if he’d heard her correctly.

“Yes, really.  Now stop gawking or I’ll change my mind.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden shrieking from across the sound stage.  Mackenzie spun her head around and watched as Cassidy came bolting from her dressing room.

“How could you?” she screamed at Alex, slapping her dramatically across the face. 

“Cut!” the director called when he realized the scene had been ruined.  “What the hell is it now?”

“How dare you,” Alex said, holding her hand to her face.  She turned to Mackenzie who came marching up to the set.  “Did you see what she just did?  Get that woman out of here now!”

“Cassidy, what the hell is going on?” Mackenzie demanded.  Jordan fell in line right behind her, curious as to what had set the volatile situation into motion.

“I told you before she is trying to usurp my place around here.  She wants to see me gone so she attacked me the one way she knew she could do it and get away with it!” Cassidy screeched.

“What are you talking about?” Alex lamented. 

“My daughter!” she replied.  “How could you?  What did you?  Pay that website off to get them to publish that disgusting video?  It’s supposed to be a website for my fans, not for a bunch of sick degenerates!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex said, shaking her head in dismay.

But Cassidy wouldn’t back down.  She stepped closer, glaring menacingly at Alex while shaking a thick finger in her face.  “You know damn well you did this, but I promise you that you will not get away with it.  I’ll get you for this, Alex.  I swear to God I’ll get you for this.”

With that, she turned and fled across the soundstage.  Alex stood back in shock while Jordan watched.  He was suddenly aware that what went on behind the scenes at The Young at Heart could possibly be much more entertaining than the actual show.

After getting the scoop from David and Brooke, it didn’t take Kyle long to learn that his father had taken a suite right there at Moonshadows.  He raced off to confront him, clenching his fists the entire elevator ride to the eleventh floor of the luxury high rise.  Showing up at his house last night was one thing, but to track Brooke down and make idle threats was another thing completely.

Reaching the door to the suite, he knocked firmly, breathing heavily while he waited for the door to open.  He knocked again, this time being greeted with a swiftly opened door and a patronizing look from his father.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Don said, blocking him from entering the room.

“The hell you didn’t,” Kyle fumed, forcing his way past him.  “What the hell did you say to Brooke Taylor?”

“I simply offered to help her in her time of need,” Don replied, moving away from the door.

“She had a flat tire and you just happened to be there at that exact time?” Kyle asked, his voice full of skepticism.  “I know you.  You set up that meeting just so you could intimidate her and threaten her.”

“I did not set our meeting up, and I most certainly did not threaten her.  As usual you’re wrong, boy.”

“Don’t you boy me,” Kyle said angrily.  “Your hatred over Royce Jenner has finally gotten to the point where you’ll do anything.  You started that fire yesterday at the club.  You saw Brooke go into the building and you made sure she didn’t come out.  You hated him that much.  The only thing I can’t figure out is if you meant to kill me too or if I was just a kink in your plan.” 

“Such an imagination,” Don said and poured himself a glass of cold vodka.  “Yes, I hated Royce Jenner.  I’ve made no secret of that.  That man sent you to prison.”

Kyle frowned, unsure if he heard him correctly.  The prospect made no sense to him.   “What are you talking about?”

Behind them, David and Brooke appeared in the doorway.  They stopped and listened as the two men shouted. 

“Royce Jenner blew up that hotel in New York.  When he learned that the materials we’d shipped in were substandard, he decided to cover his own ass.  Do you know the costs associated with the necessary repairs it would have taken to bring it to code?  He did the only thing he could.  He planted the drugs and he pinned it on you.  Then to make sure there was no evidence he blew it up.” 

David listened intently.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  His father was responsible all along?

“What I did was for you, son,” Don went on, staring outside to the balcony that overlooked the beach below.  “You lost three years of your life.  Our family name was drug through the mud.  I had to make sure he paid.”

“What did you do?” Kyle asked. 

Don swirled his drink around in the glass, staring at the clear liquid as he closed his eyes tightly.  “The only thing I could do.  Don’t you see, Kyle?  Nobody comes between my family.  Nobody.  I don’t care if you aren’t my biological son.  You were every bit as much a son to me as anybody ever could be.” 

“Tell me what you did!” Kyle screamed. 

“I made sure Royce Jenner paid for what he did to us.”

David clenched his teeth, finally having heard enough.  He now knew the truth, that his father was murdered and the man who did it was standing right before him.

“You murdering son of a bitch!” he yelled, rushing across the room toward him. 

“David, no!” Brooke screamed, her hands instinctively going to her mouth.

Don and Kyle both turned in surprise.  Before they knew what was happening, David began attacking Don mercilessly, delivering one shattering blow after another into his face. 

Kyle, fearful that Brooke would get caught amidst the struggle, held her back.  They watched as David threw Don around the room.  With as much strength as he could muster, Don pushed David away and sent him falling against the sofa.  He quickly got up again, racing toward him with blinding speed and shoving him out onto the balcony.  The sheer force of the blow sent them both thrashing against the railing.  Before he could correct himself, Don began to fall over the edge.  He pulled David along with him.  Gravity took hold and soon they were sailing through the air toward the beach eleven stories below.

Brooke raced to the balcony, screaming at the top of her lungs.  Fearful of the inevitable outcome, Kyle pulled her close and held her tightly as she buried her face in his chest. 

Next time....

Brooke and Kyle wait impatiently for word after the fall.  Jordan gets a reaction out of Stephanie when he shows up with a date to the premiere of Angel Assassin 2.  Stormy gets an idea for a blockbuster.  

Read Episode 107

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