Previously...

Alex used Blackthorne-Reynolds funds to give to Seth to buy the land at Costa Mesa.  The police found that the security camera tapes from Adrienne's house were missing after she was murdered.  Miranda and David went to Big Bear to spend time alone.  Heather and Brett returned from Reno with news that they'd gotten married.  Brett learned what was going on at Costa Mesa and blackmailed Seth into giving him five percent of the profits.  Seth donated money to Kenny and the Land Commission in exchange for drilling permits for Costa Mesa.  Logan blew up when he learned that Brett was now partnered in Stratotech.  He demanded more of a cut from Seth, who grew angry by his request.  James and Leigh went to Costa Mesa where armed guards were heavily present.  They traced a phone number to an answering service office, then waited to see who picked up messages.  To Stormy's surprise, it was Brett, now on Seth's payroll.  Alex turned away Jordan's attempts at reconciling.  Leilani shared with James her concern over her daughter in Hawaii.  Leigh considered telling James that she was involved with Stratotech, but quickly reconsidered.  Logan was killed in a car accident.  Brett found engine grease on Seth's arm.  

Episode 71

"Open Arms"

It was late.  The house was dark save for few slivers of blue moonlight cutting through the windows.  An eerie quiet hung in the air, only the sounds of crickets chirping in the night breaking the deathly silence. 

The Santa Ana’s were blowing. Leaves scattered over the roof.  Shutters tapped the windows and rattled garbage cans outside.   This was enough of a disturbance to alarm even the most heavy of sleepers. 

The upstairs light went on and Alex Reynolds leapt from her bed, her nightgown billowing behind her as she made her way to the staircase and edged halfway down.  There she paused, peering through the uncertainty of the first floor and scanning the room for any sign of an intruder. 

“Who’s there?” she asked the darkness.

Silence. 

She swallowed hard, pulling her nightgown closed and shivering on the staircase.  “Is someone there?”

Convinced she wasn’t alone, her heart raced.  For the third night in a row she slept fitfully, waking from every bump in the night.  Most of the time she simply laid awake in bed, terrified that someone had gained entry to the house.  Terrified that someone was climbing the staircase with a knife or a gun or a pillow to smother her with.  Terrified that someone was going to kill her. 

That someone was Seth Walker.  He lived only a mile down the beach.  It would be easy for him to leave his autumn slumber next to Marilee, slip on a pair of gloves, walk to her house and silence her once and for all.  Just like he’d done to Adrienne, and just like he’d done to Logan. 

Since the news of Logan’s car accident, she had been paralyzed with fear.  That same morning she’d heard them arguing.  Logan demanded more money in the Costa Mesa deal or he’d blow the whistle on the whole operation, and Seth made sure that neither one happened.

Now she was next.  She’d already confronted him with her suspicions.  She still didn’t know what exactly he was up to.  Whether it was shipping oil to Panama, or something more scandalous.  Either way, Stratotech was something she wished she’d never gotten involved in.  She could no longer function.  She didn’t go to work, she didn’t see her children, she didn’t even leave the house.  No one could get her if she was safely locked inside.  Or so she thought until tonight.

Tired and sleepy, she sat down on the stairs and leaned against the banister.  There she stayed until morning, scanning the dark room and waiting for him to come.

Early that morning, Leigh Purcell drove to the pier and walked down to the end, wrapped in a green cashmere shawl as she shivered from a cool breeze coming in from the water.  She gazed out at the rippling waves of the ocean, eyeing a school of seagulls that glided through the air.  She became entranced in her own thoughts, nearly oblivious to Seth who came up behind her.

“Thinking about jumping?” he asked, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

She turned and regarded him suspiciously.  “Thinking about pushing me?”

Seth sighed and shook his head in frustration.  He set his coffee on the ledge and leaned against the railing.  “Are we back to this again?” he asked.  “I told you the other day.  I had nothing to do with Logan’s accident.  How could I have?  The police say it was just that.  An accident.”

“The police say it was impossible to determine.  The car was too badly burned.  It could have been break failure.  Meaning someone could have tampered with them.”

“Why would I tamper with Logan’s breaks?”

“I heard the two of you arguing the other day after I left your office.  You said yourself that he was demanding a bigger cut in this Costa Mesa deal.  You were furious.”

“Enough to kill him?” Seth asked with a wicked smile.  “Come on, Leigh.  You know me.  You know I’m not capable of murder.”

“Just like you didn’t kill Adrienne, right?” Leigh asked cautiously.  She knew all she had were suspicions.  There was nothing she could prove.  But the odds were stacked in her favor.  Two people associated with Stratotech were now dead, and Seth was all the richer for it.

“I cared about Adrienne,” Seth claimed.

“You were sleeping with her, yes,” Leigh conceded.  “But you were sleeping with me, too.  That doesn’t mean either one of us were safe.  When she threatened to tell, you went ballistic.  Just like with Logan the other day in your office.  This is crazy.  I should just tell the police about this whole Costa Mesa business and cut my losses.”

“No,” Seth ordered.  “It’s too late for that.  You’re already in too deep.  We’ll both go to prison, Leigh.”

She shook her head in frustration.  “Then I want out.  You can keep my money.  I won’t say anything to anyone.  I just don’t want in on this deal anymore.”

“So you just want to walk away and look like an innocent martyr to your boyfriend James Blackthorne?” Seth asked.  He laughed and shook his head.  “Priceless.  Is he really worth it to you?”

“At least he’s not a murderer.”

“I’m not a murderer,” Seth insisted.  “Leigh, you have to believe that.  I may be a lot of things, but come on.”

She shivered from the cold and looked at him with lost green eyes.  “But I heard you and Logan.  You were furious.  You thought you were going to lose everything.  He-“

His smarmy façade suddenly disappeared and Seth grew quiet and solemn.  He stepped before her and backed her up against the railing of the pier.  His eyes bore into hers so deeply that she thought he was staring into her soul. 

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he began slowly and methodically.  “You did not see me arguing with Logan.”

Leigh swallowed hard, fully aware that he was issuing an ultimatum.  She slid out from behind him and dashed down the pier.  Whether he was or wasn’t a murderer, he was not the kind of man she wanted to be associated with any longer.

After she’d left, Seth tossed his empty cup into the water and turned back down the pier.  He would do anything he had to to protect his investment.  No one would stand in his way now.  Not Adrienne, not Logan, not Leigh, and not Alex. 

Brett was standing in the kitchen of his condo at the marina, glancing through the morning paper while he sipped a cup of coffee.  He skimmed through the business section, the entertainment section, and then breezed through the local news.  Not much happening outside of wildfires in San Diego and a fatal car crash on PCH. 

A knock at the door brought him back to his own reality and he traipsed across the room to answer it.   Upon opening the door, he came face to face with the most irritating way to start his day.

“You’re busted,” Stormy said from the hall outside the condo. 

“What now?” Brett asked with irritation as he hovered in the doorway.

Stormy brushed past him and entered the living room.  “Don’t play dumb.  I know you’re involved with Stratotech.  The only thing I don’t know is how involved you are.”

“Stratotech?” he asked, alarmed that his former brother-in-law had uncovered the bit of information.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on, Brett,” Stormy said irately.  “I saw you go into that office building and pick up the messages from the answering service.  Now who are you working for and what are they up to?”

Brett folded his arms and watched him pace around the room.  “You must not have enough to do,” he said with a frown.  “Is my being gone from Sunset Studios leaving business a little on the light side?”

“Cut the crap,” Stormy said.  “Stratotech owns a piece of land in Costa Mesa.  They’re shipping oil to Panama.  Adrienne Fallmont was involved before she died.  We think whoever owns Stratotech killed her because she knew too much.”

That bit of information was news to Brett.  He suddenly wondered just how important this deal was to Seth Walker.  Was he capable of murder in an effort to cover it up?

“What’s going on?” Heather asked as she came out of the bedroom, wrapped in a bathrobe and her hair wet from the shower.  “Stormy, what are you doing here?”

Stormy looked at her with wide eyes, then back at Brett who stood by with an unrelenting smirk.  “Heather, I-“  he stammered.  “What are you doing here?  I thought you were through shacking up with this guy.”

“We’re not just shacking up,” Brett said with satisfaction.  “We’re married.”

The news jolted Stormy back a step.  He suddenly forgot all about Stratotech and Costa Mesa.  Never in his wildest dreams did he think Heather would sink as low as to marry his worst enemy.

“Stormy, I was going to tell you.  Things have just been so crazy since we got back, that I-“ Heather began. 

“I can’t believe this,” he said and walked directly to her.  “Look, I know I hurt you but I always thought we would-“

“What?” Heather asked.  “We’d get back together?  Stormy, every time we tried it didn’t work.  There was always something or someone to get in our way.  I’m sorry.  You know how much I care about you and appreciate everything you’d done for me this past year, but…”  The dreaded pause.  “I love Brett.”

Hurt and angry, Stormy sucked back the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes.  He was stunned, and too upset to utter another word.  He turned and stalked back to the door, avoiding eye contact with Brett as he left in a flurry.

Heather buried her face in her hands and offered a vague smile when Brett kissed her tenderly.   When she returned to the bathroom, Brett raced out the door and caught up with Stormy on the stairs.

“You going soft on me, dude?” he asked, unable to resist the temptation to taunt him relentlessly..  “I was sure you would start one of your dog fights with me when you heard the news.  What’s the matter?  Finally realize that Heather needs a real man in her bed, and that you’re no match for me?”

Partly wanting to turn and walk away, and partly wanting to punch his lights out, Stormy took a step forward and issued a look of warning.  “This marriage is a joke,” he began.  “She may think she’s happy right now, but mark my words, you’re going to mess it up, and when you do, she’ll kick you to the curb just the same way my sister did.  You’ll either screw around on her, or screw yourself with however you’re involved with Stratotech, but you will mess it up.  And when you do, just remember that I’ll be here for just like I always am.”

With that, he turned and continued down the stairs.  Brett set his jaw, intent on proving him wrong.  He and Heather would be happy, and Stormy would see once and for all that he and Heather weren’t the golden couple he always thought they were. 

Heather went by the Blackthorne mansion to have breakfast with Miranda.  While she waited in the dining room for her step-sister to come downstairs, she nibbled on a piece of bacon and sipped from a cup of juice, absently gazing outside at the flowing green lawns.  When she heard Miranda enter the room, she spun around and smiled brilliantly.

“Welcome back,” she said.  “I was beginning to think you and David were going to stay in Big Bear indefinitely.”

Miranda smiled and flung her hair over her shoulders while she poured herself a glass of milk.  “I wouldn’t have minded it one bit,” she said.  “It was wonderful, Heather.  I really feel like we got to know each other this past weekend.  Did you know that he went to law school?  Or that his family went to the cabin in Big Bear every summer of his childhood?”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Heather said with a grin and sat down next to her.  “It sounds like you had a good time.”

“It was better than good,” she said, biting off a piece of a croissant and gushing with excitement.  “I mean, David’s always been kind of a mystery.  I mean, we flirted and we went out on a couple of dates, and he was there for me after the miscarriage, but I really think we connected this weekend.” 

“I’m so happy for you.”

“Okay, this is me officially shutting up about my love life,” she said with an apologetic smile.  “So tell me what’s been going on around here.”

Heather bit down on her fingernails, certain that what she was about to tell Miranda would go over like a box of bombs.  But she would find out eventually, so she took a deep breath and blurted it out.

“I got married,” she said.

“You did?” Miranda exclaimed in surprise and grabbed her hand to search for a ring.  “Oh my God, I can’t believe you and Stormy are on marriage number two!  Why didn’t you wait until I got back?  I would have been a bridesmaid!  As long as I got to pick the dress, of course.”

Awkward, Heather thought to herself.  “Not Stormy.”

“Well then-“ she began, then realization hit her quickly.  “Oh my God, tell me you didn’t.  Tell me you did not marry Brett.”

Heather squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.  “Miranda, I know you don’t understand our relationship, but can’t you just trust me?  I love him and I know he loves me.”

Miranda placed a hand on her forehead and silently groaned to herself.  “Look, I-“

“I know, you divorced Brett because he was untrustworthy.  He did horrible things.  But he’s more than made up for that.  At least to me.”

“Heather, you don’t-“

“I know, I know, he’s a con man and a lair.  Well I think that it was this house that was doing that to him, Miranda.  I think living under this roof with your father and your brother made him into this competitive, fortune-hunting jerk.  But ever since he moved out he’s been totally different.”

Miranda stood up and began pacing the room.  “What about-“

“Brett was broken up after you lost the baby,” Heather said and followed her across the room.  “I’ve never seen him like that before.  I think he really wants to be a family and to have someone who he can take care of and that can take care of him.”

“But Heather. I….uh…..arrgghh,” Miranda said and shook her head in resignation.  She pulled Heather into an embrace and hugged her warmly.  “I’m scared for you.”

“You’re not mad?” Heather asked, wincing as she pulled away 

Miranda ran her hands through her hair.  “No, I’m not mad.  I just…”  A pause while she contemplated her feelings.  All she could do was repeat herself.  “I’m scared for you.”

James, Renee and Kenny met for breakfast on the terrace at the Yacht Club.  They settled down at their table overlooking the marina and Renee sighed with frustration at the empty seat beside her.

“I suppose Alex is another no-show today,” she guffawed.  “Honestly, if she doesn’t want to take part in the business then why doesn’t she sell to us so we can quit being disappointed every time she flakes out on us?”

“I called this morning and she said she was feeling under the weather,” James said and smiled as the waitress came by with coffee and the morning paper.  “I’ll fill her in after we get the details of the acquisition nailed down.”

“Fine,” Renee said and picked up her coffee.  “Kenny, how much is the seller asking for the land?”

“Too much,” he replied and withdrew a set of contracts.  “Land in Nevada isn’t cheap, and we’re about five million short of meeting their asking price.”

“Surely we can come up with another five million dollars,” James said.  “Blackthorne-Reynolds isn’t doing that badly.  The pipeline in Colorado is almost completed.  Overhead has been fairly low lately.  I don’t understand.”

Kenny shrugged.  “I’m going through the books with a fine tooth comb,” he said.  “But I’m not an accountant, James.  I’m a lawyer.  There are things in the ledger that I don’t understand.  Expenses that don’t mean much to me without Alex’s input.  She’s been the bookkeeper since you started the business, and from the way it looks she’s got some screwy methods of accounting.”

“So call her up and get her over here,” Renee said.  “I don’t care if she’s sick.  If there’s money missing from Blackthorne-Reynolds then she’s got a lot to answer for.”

James held up his hand in an effort to stop Renee’s raving.  “I’ll talk to Alex and we’ll get it straightened out,” he said.  “For now let’s try to stall.  I want this land in Nevada.  The geologist I hired said it was a natural gas goldmine.”

“He wasn’t the one who died, was he?” Renee asked and placed a hand on her chest.

James shook his head. “No.”

“Who died?” Kenny asked inquisitively.

“Some geologist,” James explained.  “Mackenzie.  He was in a car accident a couple of days ago.”

Kenny grew into a daze, recalling the meeting he’d had with Seth Walker.  Logan Mackenzie was the geologist who had been working with him.  They were working together to get the variance on the land in Costa Mesa.  Now he was dead.  Just like Adrienne.  What were the odds that two people involved with Stratotech were now dead?  And was his keeping quiet about what he knew going to get him into even more trouble? 

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said and stood up in a hurry.

“Kenny, we aren’t finished,” Renee said with a frown.

“Just call me when you get the books figured out.  I just forgot about an appointment I have.”

With that, he grabbed his briefcase and raced across the terrace.  He made his way outside and across the street to Seth’s office.  Darting through the door, he found Seth talking on the phone while leaning back in his chair.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

Seth quickly ended his call and hung up the phone.  “Kenny, how nice to see you this morning.  What can I do for you?  Don’t tell me the Land Commission needs more money for their wildlife preserve.  I think my donation should have about covered it.”

Kenny leaned across the desk and stared heatedly at him.  “I just learned that Logan Mackenzie died,” he said.  “Wasn’t he the geologist you had on hand to forge those land surveys at Costa Mesa?”

“He was my associate if that’s what you’re getting at,” Seth said coolly.  “What is this all about?  He was in a tragic car accident.  You know how dangerous those curves on the highway can be.”

“First Adrienne, now Logan?” Kenny asked and shook his head.

“Adrienne?” Seth asked and stood up.  “What does she have to do with this?”

“She sent my ex-wife a letter asking her to get it to me if anything happened to her,” Kenny said.  “It was a map of Costa Mesa and a truck route to Panama.  Why would she send that to me, Seth?”

“I can’t pretend to know what Adrienne did, or what went through her mind.”

Kenny dug his hands into the pockets of his gray pinstripe suit.  “We both know there is no oil at Costa Mesa.  So what are you shipping to Panama?”

Seth grew serious, approaching Kenny steadfastly and glaring into his eyes.  “Take this any way you want, Kenny, but I want you to stop asking questions about this.  As far as you know, the subjects of Panama, Adrienne Fallmont, and Logan Mackenzie are off limits.”

Kenny knew very well that he was being threatened.  He swallowed hard and backed up a step.  He was now more sure than ever than something sinister was going on, and Congressman Seth Walker was right in the heart of it.

In his office next door, Brett was busy studying a spreadsheet of cost analysis for Costa Mesa.  By his calculations, with his five percent of Stratotech, he would be a millionaire in his own rite in a matter of a few short weeks.

He came across a name over and over that struck a familiar chord in his mind.  Several signatures that bore the name Logan Mackenzie kept popping up on reports.  Now that he owned five percent of the company, he wanted to know who else was on their payroll. 

“Mackenzie,” he murmured under his breath, racking his brain and trying to remember why the name sounded so familiar to him.  It seemed that he’d read about a Mackenzie in the paper lately.

Suddenly he remembered.  He grabbed the newspaper from his desk and tore it open to the local news.  He skimmed down the page until he came to the article about the geologist who died in the car accident on PCH. 

Looking up from the newspaper, Brett quickly began to realize that he was involved with a very dangerous individual in Seth Walker.   Adrienne Fallmont and Logan Mackenzie were exhibits A and B.