Previously...

Following the plane crash, James was taken to the hospital and treated for a massive head trauma.  Alex and Jordan arrived in Santo Domingo and questioned Brooke on what went on between her and Ethan.  Alex learned of James's plane crash and went to the hospital where she learned he had suffered memory loss.  Brett and Miranda were questioned about the night Bailey was pushed out of a window in Vegas.  Brett claimed that he and Miranda were getting married when it happened. Stormy put up the bail money and Brett was released.  Brooke went to the hospital after hearing of the plane crash and learned that Alex signed James out.   After realizing that James believed they were still married, Alex rented a cabana on the beach where she took James to be alone.

 Episode 14

"The Happy Couple"

Camera flashes blinded Miranda and Brett as they left the police station that night and ran into a troupe of reporters standing outside on the steps.   They immediately began hounding them with questions, snapping pictures right and left.

"Mrs. Armstrong, you're the daughter of famed Hollywood producer James Blackthorne," said one reporter as she held a microphone to Miranda.  "Does your father know about your husband's arrest?  And how do you think he'll react to the murder charges?"

Frowning with irritation, Miranda led Brett down the steps to her red Camaro parked by the curb.   "Leave us alone!" she said, wishing they would all go away.   If there was one drawback to being James Blackthorne's daughter, it was having the press scrutinize her every move.

"Mr. Armstrong, did you do it?" asked another reporter, hot on their heels.

"Oh he did it alright!  I can assure you of that!" Devon called from a distance as she walked down the steps from the police station.

The reporters all turned in her direction, scurrying to write down her every word.

"Who are you?"

Devon smiled and glared at Brett and Miranda.  "I'm a close friend of Mr. Shively. I mean Mr. Armstrong, or whatever he's going by this week."

"You'd better shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" Miranda screeched from her place next to Brett by the car. 

Ignoring her threats, Devon stood amidst the clan of reporters, relishing her time in the spotlight.   "He's not only a gold digging con man, but he's a cold-blooded murderer too."

"Who are your sources?" asked a reporter, thrusting his microphone into her face.

"All right, that does it!" Miranda yelled.  She raced up the steps and punched Devon in the jaw with a white-knuckled fist, sending the girl flying back to the ground.

The crowd gasped in unison, watching as Miranda stood above Devon, breathing heavily and glaring down at her with red hot fury. 

"Did you see what she did?" Devon screamed, climbing to her feet and rubbing her aching jawbone.   "That was an unprovoked attack!   You're all my witnesses!  She's crazy!"

A reporter turned and ran back to the car just as Brett got into the passenger's seat.  "Mr. Armstrong, what are your comments on your wife's violent attack?"

"No comment!" Brett replied and rolled up the window and waited for Miranda to get into the car.  He looked up the steps at Devon soaking up the attention she'd stirred up for herself.  Why did she have to show up and ruin everything?  He had everything and everyone just where he wanted them, and then Devon sauntered into town and blew the whistle on him. 

"Did you marry Miranda Blackthorne so you'd have an alibi?" a reporter from Image magazine asked, shoving her microphone toward the car window.

Groaning miserably, Miranda started the car and peeled off down the street, leaving the reporters in a mass huddle by the curb.   Devon walked down the stairs and approached them with a wicked smile on her face.

"I can tell you that Brett Armstrong is guilty as sin," she announced.

"How do you know that?" a newsman asked, resting pen to paper, preparing to write down her every word.

"Trust me, I know."

Winter Austen raced inside the Blackthorne mansion after Leilani opened the door for her.  She glanced around the foyer and looked at the maid with a streak of terror on her face. 

"Is James here?" she asked. 

Leilani shook her head.  "No, ma'am."

Winter looked around again, peering into the dining room and the parlor.  "What about Stormy or Miranda?" she asked.

Stormy appeared from the hall and approached Winter with concern.  "Winter, what's wrong?" he asked, noting the look of desperation on her face.

She grabbed him by the shirt and shook him, a tear trickling down her face.  "Is it true about Ethan?" she asked.  "Is he really dead?"

Closing his eyes with regret, Stormy took in a deep breath and nodded.  “It looks that way.”

She cried out in despair, sobbing hysterically as she clung to Stormy.   He put an arm around her and held her close, wishing that it wasn’t true.   His own cousin was dead and there wasn’t even a body to bury. 

The full moon shined brightly over the island of the Dominican Republic.  A balmy breeze blew through the window of Brooke’s hotel room at the Del Mar as she paced back and forth. She wrung her hands together, trying to decide what to do about James.   How could he have gone off with Alex like that?  Was he still angry with her about hiding her marriage to Philip?   That was the only explanation.  She’d hurt him deeply and he hadn’t forgiven her.   He came to the island for the sole purpose of getting to the bottom of Ethan’s death.  It had nothing to do with her being there, alone and afraid.

There was a knock at the door and she snapped her head around, her heart beating wildly.   Maybe it was him, she thought to herself as she raced across the room and pulled open the door.

Her expression dimmed when she saw Jordan Rydell standing in the hall, his hands dug deeply into the pockets of his khaki pants.   “Oh, it’s you,” she said, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

“I know it’s late,” he said.  “Have you heard from James?”

Brooke frowned, eyeing him skeptically.  “No, why?”

“I just came from the hospital and he’s been released,” Jordan said.  “They wouldn’t tell me who he left with, but I assumed it was you.”

“It wasn’t,” Brooke replied.  “He left with Alex.”

Jordan closed his eyes and slammed his fist against the door as if he were expecting her response.   He didn’t know what Alex was up to but it couldn’t be good.   He considered telling Brooke about James’s amnesia but immediately thought better of it.  If Alex was up to something, telling Brooke could blow it sky high. 

“Didn’t the two of you come here together?” Brooke asked.  “Why would she take off with James without telling you?”

Jordan shook his head in confusion.  “That’s what I’m going to find out,” he said before turning and bolting back down the hallway.

Brooke closed the door and leaned against it.  She had to find them.   For all she knew, Alex could be doing something to him.  She could be poisoning his mind even further against her. 

In the cabana just outside of town, James laid down in bed, wincing slightly from the pain in his head.   Alex walked over in her nightgown, soothing him by stroking his dark hair away from his eyes.

“Does it hurt much?” she asked.

James squinted, his vision blurring slightly.  He focused on her face and a minute later the blurring was gone.   “It’s not bad,” he said.  “The doctor said the headaches would go away in time, didn’t he?”

“Yes, and then you’ll be good as new,” Alex said, kissing him warmly. 

James moved over on the bed and made room for her, patting the sheets next to him and summoning her next to him.  “Come lay down,” he said.

Alex happily obliged.   She put her arm around him and looked into his eyes as they lay up against each other.   She thought about the years they’d spent at each other’s throats and how unhappy it had made her.   She focused all of her time and energy on revenge, convincing herself that she hated him.   The truth was that all along she was hurt and deeply saddened by the fact that he didn’t want her anymore.   Then when she showed up at the hospital earlier and he looked into her eyes, it felt like they’d never been apart.

“I was afraid I’d lost you forever,” she found herself saying dreamily.

James frowned.  “What do you mean?”

She realized that James didn’t know what she was talking about.   As far as he knew, they’d never been estranged.   None of the hateful words happened.   Their bitter divorce wasn’t reality to him.   And she wanted to keep it that way.

“I just mean after your accident,” she said.  “It was touch and go for a while.”

Sitting up, James looked at her with a puzzled expression.  “The doctors told me I was brought to the hospital after a plane crash,” he said.  “What happened?  Why weren’t you hurt?”

“You don’t remember?” Alex asked.

He shook his head.

The wheels in her head turning, Alex put a hand on his chest and tried calming him down.  “You had to fly back to the states.  Something came up with the studio and they needed you. “

“Oh Darling, I’m sorry for leaving you.”

She shook her head.  “You were on your way back when the plane went down,” she said.  “You were very lucky to be alive.  That’s what I meant when I said that I was afraid I’d lost you forever.”

James smiled and pulled her close, embracing her tightly.  “Alex, we’ll never be apart again,” he said, beaming happily.  “I promise you that.”

Sighing with content, Alex kissed him on the lips and felt James sliding her nightgown straps off her shoulders.   With a smile, she slipped the silky garment off and kissed him again as they began to make love.

The next morning Miranda woke up, yawning and stretching as the bright California sun filtered in through the bedroom window.  She sat up and noticed Brett walking out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“You’re up early,” she said, stifling another yawn. 

He nodded, dropping the towel and walking to the closet.  “Yeah, I wanted to get an early start this morning,” he explained.  “I’m sure your brother has a million questions for me and I don’t see the point in putting it off.”

Miranda frowned and sat on the edge of the bed.  “What about me?” she asked, admiring his naked body.  “You don’t think I have a million questions for you?”

Brett barely acknowledged her question.   “Well you’re my wife.  It’s sort of expected that you stand by me during all of this.”

His remark sent her into a fit of resentment.  “Is that so?” she asked bitterly, standing up and grabbing her robe.  “Just because I’m your wife I’m supposed to stand back and not ask why my husband is being accused of murder?”

Brett pulled on a pair of flared corduroys and turned back to her.  “Babe, I thought you knew I was innocent,” he said.  “I mean, do you honestly think I could kill someone?”

She threw her arms up in frustration.  “Well I don’t know, Brett!  I didn’t know your name was really Rick Shively!  And I didn’t know that before you came here you were a con man!”

He shot her a cold stare while walking into the bathroom and rolling on a stick of deodorant.  “I explained all of that to you!” he shouted from the bathroom.  “So you think I’m hiding something else now?  You actually think I’m capable of murder?”

“No! I didn’t say that!”

“Well it sure sounds like it,” Brett replied, walking out of the bathroom and going back to the closet to find a shirt.  “I mean, either you’re on my side or you’re not.  Which is it, Miranda?”

She paused, looking into his eyes and trying to decide what she believed.  She hated not having faith in her own husband.   Ever since this whole mess started she had vowed to stand by him.   Why should that change now?

“I’m on your side,” she finally said.  “I just don’t want there to be any more secrets between us.  I don’t want my father to be right about you.”

Brett put his arms around her and pulled her close.  “He isn’t right,” he said, staring past her in deep concentration. I’ll make sure he’s not right.

Stormy sat in the control booth at Good Times Records with Eddie and their team of engineers.   Behind the glass wall Lauren sang along with the band, recording the next song for her album.

When the song finished, Stormy called through the intercom.  “That was a keeper,” he said.  “Thanks everybody.”

The band started disassembling and Lauren walked into the control booth just as Eddie and the engineer’s left.    She looked at Stormy and smiled awkwardly.

“I think we’ve got a hit on our hands,” Stormy said with a big grin.

Lauren blushed.  “The album’s not even done yet,” she said.

“No, but that song was a sure fire top 40 hit,” Stormy replied, standing up and looking into her dazzling blue eyes.  

Nervously, Lauren turned and watched the band taking their instruments out of the recording booth.   She didn’t know how to act around Stormy anymore.  Ever since their kiss the other day, she hadn’t been able to think about anything else.   The awkward part was that neither of them had brought it up since.

“I’m sorry about the other day,” they both said in unison.

Laughing, Lauren flashed him a smile and shrugged.  ‘You go first.”

Stormy bit his lip and examined her expression.  “I hope you don’t feel weird about what happened,” he began.  “I mean, I think it’s good that it happened.  We sort of got it out of the way, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Anyway, I don’t want there to be any weird vibes going on,” Stormy continued, his sultry eyes burning into her.  “We’re here to make an album, not start world war three.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Lauren said, staring at his full lips and remembering what it was like to kiss them.  She’d never felt so much electricity in her life.   It was like it fit perfectly.

They both turned when the door opened and Brett came inside.  He looked at them inquisically, raising an eyebrow and wondering what he’d interrupted.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Stormy asked casually.  He looked at Brett and then back at Lauren.  The tension was insurmountable.

“I gotta go,” Lauren said, brushing past Brett and giving him a frigid glare as she left the control booth.

After she’d gone, Brett turned back to Stormy and shrugged.  “I wanted to come down to thank you for putting up the money for the bail last night,” he said.  “The bail bondsman said you’ll get it all back when the charges are dropped.”

Stormy raised a curious eyebrow.  “Will the charges be dropped?”

Brett half-expected his reaction.  He knew after everything that had happened lately that his word wouldn’t count for much.  All thanks to Devon.  “Yeah, they will be.  Stormy, you gotta believe me, man.  I didn’t kill anybody.”

Shuffling a stack of music notes and walking to a filing cabinet, Stormy took a deep breath and shook his head.  “I don’t know, Brett.  Something’s going down, man.  First all that stuff that Devon chic said at Lauren’s debut the other night.  Now this murder rap.  It reeks of bad news.”

“That’s what Devon wants!” Brett exclaimed.  “Don’t you see, Stormy?  She’s trying to make me look bad!”

Stormy turned toward him.  “Was she telling the truth about the other stuff?” he asked skeptically.  “About your real name and your past as a crook?”

Realizing it sounded bad, Brett nodded and held his hand up to protest.  “But-“

“So why would she lie about this?” Stormy finished.

“Nobody saw what happened in that hotel room in Vegas,” Brett declared.  “I was in the chapel marrying your sister when he fell or got pushed or jumped out the window.  Devon doesn’t know anything.   She’s trying to send me up the river for something I didn’t do just to get back at me for breaking up with her and leaving town!”

“The police seem to think they have a pretty good case.  Otherwise they wouldn’t have charged you.  If you’re innocent, then who’s guilty?”

Brett folded his arms, frustrated that he had to defend himself to Stormy.   He didn’t want everything getting messed up on account of Bailey and Devon.   He had too much going for him now.

Brooke stood in a small, ramshackle office in Santo Domingo with a surely man in his forties with thinning hair and a beer gut.  She handed him a handful of cash and placed her hands neatly at her sides.   She had never done anything like this before and it felt a little shady.  Hiring a private investigator was something James or Alex did.  Not her. 

“You say you’ve already checked with the airport?” Fred Toony asked, counting the bills in his hand.

Brooke nodded.    “Yes, they haven’t left the island.”

He nodded, counting the money again.  “Okay, well it shouldn’t take long to find them if they’re here.  I’ll call you at the Del Mar if I find anything.”

Brooke thanked him and started out of the office.  Before she left, she turned back and looked at him hopefully.  “Do you think you’ll find them?”

“Probably,” he replied with a toothy grin.

Biting her lip, Brooke left the office and walked outside.   She was beginning to feel like she would never get off that island.  Before she couldn’t bring herself to leave because she felt closer to Ethan.   Now that she was ready to go home she had a new set of problems.  She hoped the private investigator would find James.  She couldn’t leave without him.

James and Alex sat on the veranda outside the cabana, sipping iced tea under an umbrella and watching the ocean waves rolling in.

“Do you miss the kids?” he asked, looking at her from behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

Alex nodded with a smile.  “I do,” she said.  “Who knows what kind of trouble they’re getting themselves into right now.”

James laughed.  “Miranda’s turned out to be hell on wheels,” he joked.  “She’s certainly got your determination.”

“And Stormy has your charm and good looks,” added Alex.  “He’s a killer in the ladies department.”

“Sometimes I worry that they’ll never settle down,” James admitted with a solemn look on his face. “I mean, determination is one thing but I don’t want to see them getting hurt by their own actions.”

Alex looked at him thoughtfully, following him to the end of the veranda where it led off onto the beach.  “I think we’ve done a good job raising them,” she said.  “They’re adults with minds of their own.  What parent could ask for more?”

James took hold of her hand and held it in his as they strolled along the beach, the warm island breeze blowing gently against them.   “You’ve been a wonderful influence on them,” he said.  “I don’t think there’s ever been a better mother.”

Alex squeezed his hand joyously.  “That’s a lovely thing to say.  Thank you, Darling.”

“I mean it.”

Suddenly Alex stopped and pulled him back, staring into his dark hypnotic eyes.  “Let’s stay here,” she said.  “Let’s not go back to L.A.”

“What?” James asked with surprise.  “Darling, we can’t do that.”

“Why not?’ she pleaded.  She wanted more than anything for things to stay the way they were.    As soon as they went home everything would change.  James would find out she’d been lying to him and he’d throw her out of his life just like he did before.   If they stayed on the island at least she’d have a chance at happiness.  

“What about the children, and Sunset Studios, and your career?” he asked.  “You don’t want to give all of that up, do you?”

She hesitated and they continued walking arm in arm.  “I just don’t want this time to end,” she said.  “The past few days have been so wonderful.  I feel like we’re newlyweds again.”

James laughed.  “We’re getting up there in years to be considered newlyweds, but I think I know what you’re saying.   We’re here, we’re away from the responsibilities, from the chaos, from the real world.    But sooner or later it has to end, Alex.  You have to know that.

We have lives to go back to.   Together.”

She shook her head in despair, staring out at the choppy ocean.    “I wish I could believe you.”

Suddenly James stopped, put his hand on his head and bent over in pain.

“Darling, what is it?” Alex asked, leaning down and looked at the excruciating pain evident on his face. 

“My head,” he grunted.

“Come on, let’s get you back to the house,” Alex said, putting her arm around him and leading him back up the beach to the cabana.  She was torn.  She knew he needed to go back and see the doctor but she was afraid what might happen if he did.   Her fantasy could be wiped away before her very eyes.

Brett knocked on the door to Lauren’s apartment and put his hands in his pockets while he waited for her to answer.   A minute later Winter opened the door dressed in her white nurses uniform.

“Hi,” she said, brushing past him with a grief-stricken expression.

Brett frowned, watching her run down the steps and then proceeded into the apartment where Lauren was sitting watching television.  “What’s with her?” he asked.

Lauren switched off the TV and stood up.  “What are you doing here?” she asked hastily.

“Relax.  I just came to talk to you.  You ran out of the studio earlier and I didn’t get a chance to-“

“To what?” she demanded.  “To tell more lies?   To say that you’re innocent?  That you never killed anyone before?”

Brett nodded and followed her across the room to the window.  ‘”I didn’t kill anyone,” he insisted.  “And I’m not lying.   I wish you would have some faith in me, Lauren.  I’m your manager, remember?   We’re supposed to have a relationship here.”

Lauren curled her lip up at him and folded her arms.  “Look, I don’t know what kind of relationship you think we have, but I don’t usually put a lot of faith in con men.”

Frustrated, Brett ran his fingers through his thick brown hair and tried to think of some way to change her mind about him.  “Lauren, I’m not after anything here.  I just want to see you succeed.”

“And there’s nothing in it for you, right?” she asked doubtfully.  “I’ve known guys like you before, Brett.  You’re just in it for yourself.”

“Of course I want something out of it!” he declared.  ‘If you succeed then so do I.  Is  that so terrible?  Am I a con man for wanting to make something of myself?”

Lauren spun around and met his gaze.  “No, you’re a con man because you use people,” she said.  “I heard the things that girl Devon said to you at the beach club and then at the police station.  She painted quite a picture, Brett.”

“She’s crazy!” he exclaimed, following Lauren back to the sofa.  “Or were you so busy finding reasons to hate me that you missed that part?   Come on, Lauren.  She’s pinning this murder on me when she has absolutely no proof.   To tell you the truth, I’m surprised the police are even listening to a word she says.  She was just as big a con as I was.”

Aggravated by his persistence, Lauren nodded and held her hand up in resignation.  “Fine.  You know what?  I don’t care.  So you’re a changed man.  I get it.   You’re my manager and we have to work together.  But that doesn’t mean I have to be the president of your fan club.”

With a sly grin, Brett nudged her playfully as his eyes traveled down her long luscious legs.   “Well I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm than that.  I mean, we can be friends, can’t we?  You know, the way you and Stormy are friends?”

She rolled her eyes and walked to the door to open it for him.  That wasn’t the first time Brett had made a comment about her relationship with Stormy, and it was beginning to wear on her nerves.  She wondered if he could sense the chemistry between them and this was his way of making a point.  

“You and I are business partners the same way Stormy and I