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When Cassadines Fall
A New Day
Nikolas walks up the sidewalk to the Victorian house. After lunch yesterday Dara had left with Pete to go to the funeral home. Edward had gone back to the Windsor Court with a ton of phone calls to make to find out what was going on back at PC as had Jerry. Maddy had finally kicked him and Stefan out telling him that she wanted to go through her mother's things solo. Stefan had put up little fuss only insisting on being the one to go get the dress from the apartment to give to Pete. Before going up the stairs, Nikolas hears a loud thump from beside the house. Detouring around he sees a large dumpster the size found behind hotels or restaurants in the driveway beside the house. He discovers what the thumping noise is when another large garbage bag come out the window and lands in the bottom of the open dumpster. It was barely a decent hour and Maddy is already at it. Had she gotten any sleep at all? He strides up the steps to Lisette's apartment knocking briefly before walking in. "Maddy?"
"Niknik. Good you're here. Did Larry teach you anything about fixing closet doors?" Maddy calls from the back bedroom.
Nik makes his way to the back bedroom stepping over debris as he goes. "Some. why?"
"This thing is broken and off its hinges." Maddy points out.
Nikolas goes over to the door examining it. "It's beyond anything I could do for it." Nik admits. "The hinges are stripped and the door itself broken."
"Well then it's got to go." Maddy says resolutely. She picks up a hammer and starts beating on the bottom hinge the only thing keeping the lopsided door connected to the wall.
"Give me that before you hurt yourself." Nik insists taking the hammer from Maddy. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's got to go. It's all got to go. All this junk, the bed, the frame, the carpeting. I have to get it ready for the next tenant. I'll call the Salvation Army to pick up anything usable-- clothes or furniture. But first I have to clear it out."
"Maddy, Granny Sophia said to get Billy Bob's things out of here I don't think she intended for you to strip the place to the walls."
"But it needs doing." Maddy insists. "I'm only going to be here for a few days I have to take care of this now. If you won't do it...." Maddy snatches the hammer from Nikolas.
Nikolas snatches it back. "I didn't say that. I'll take care of the door. You need to take a break maybe have a cup of coffee-- scratch that-- I think you've already had too much. Go have a glass of juice or something."
"You don't understand."
"No, I don't." Nik admits readily. "Maddy, you can hire someone to take care of this for you. And deal with the things only you can handle-- not this."
"I can do this." Maddy insists. "Fine. You do the door. I'll go work in the hallway." Maddy turns away. Nikolas hears her starting to stuff items in garbage bags can see her angrily shove one thing after another into the bags. As she finishes the one she is working on she goes over to the open window and tosses it into the receptical below. Nikolas looks around the room and shudders. There are sections of the carpeting missing where the cops had cut away evidence. The cleaning crew had disposed of anything that was bloodstained including the mattress.
It was ghoulish for Maddy to be doing this; horribley inappropriate for her to be cleaning up after her own mother's murder, and yet in a way he could understand. This is about control. Something she could do; something she could change. He finds the tool box that Maddy had pulled the hammer from and grabs a screw driver. Nik unscrews the bottom hinge and then with casual strength walks the door out the hallway and down the stairs. There's no way the closet door would fit through the window. Back upstairs he starts hauling away the box spring the same way as the closet door. Once done and the frame, dismantled he starts pulling the carpeting up from the walls, prying it loose from the nail strip around the edge of the walls and starts rolling the carpeting up moving furniture over and around it. Carefully managing to conceal the holes that had been cut in it. "How long have you been at this?"
"Since I woke up." Maddy replies not looking up. She and Dara had the kitchen pretty well cleaned up from the day before.
"Do you want all the carpeting gone?"
"Why not? It needs doing." Maddy goes in the bathroom taking a bucket of cleaning supplies with her.
Nikolas starts in on the hallway carpeting tearing up the tack strip and rolling toward the living room. This was a task he'd done in his own home. Not something that needed skill... skill was in laying carpeting not taking it up. Nik remembers the conversation-- no, it had been a lecture, Maddy had given him and Stefan before the housewarming. She'd claimed then some people just put their head down and got the job done. That's the mode Maddy is in. Using this as a tactic, a denial. Probably a healthier one that he'd used when he believed his mother, Laura, dead. Nik just puts his head down and gets to it. He'd be there when this stopped working for Maddy. Eventually there wouldn't be avoiding the reality of the situation.
Stefan is dressed in casual elegance. His white shirt open at the throat the tails tucked in the dark trousers. The Italian loafers are polished to a high sheen. Picking up the phone he dials the attorney/forger. "Did the document go through?" He glances over at the fax machine compliments of the Windsor Court Hotel. He'd used the time while getting the dress the day before to find a sample of Lisette's handwriting and signature. "Yes. Good. Make this a priority. Ms Reynolds needs to be notified of the policy before we leave New Orleans. There will be no excuses! I expect excellence in a timely fashion." Stefan demands. He hangs up the phone and looks around wondering if Nikolas had heard him. Stefan walks over to the closed bedroom door. The suite they were in had two bedrooms joined by a common sitting room. He raps on Nikolas' door and grows concerned when there is no answer. Opening the door he sees the unmade bed but no nephew. There is a piece of paper with his name on it.
<<< Uncle, couldn't sleep-- decided to check on Maddy and Granny Sophia. Nikolas.>>>
"Yes. You check on them. I will check on the hospital-- specifically the billing department."
Dara sits up in the bed of the B&B that Mr Robideau had recommended to her the day before. The crisp white linens pool in her lap exposing the skimpy top of the nightgown she'd packed in a rush. Dara frowns and looks at the nightgown. Actually she hadn't packed it. Marcus had. He'd handed clothes to her and she stuffed them in the suitcase without even looking. And it showed. Rather than the football jersey she normally slept in she'd packed his favorite. Dara reaches for the phone. She dials Marcus' place at the brownstone first and there is no answer. Playing a hunch she calls her place next. Speaking to the answering machine... "Marcus, if you're there pick up."
"Dara, Hey. You caught me just getting out of the shower. How are you?"
"She's really dead, Marcus. I guess I didn't believe it until I saw her, but she is really dead."
"'m sorry, baby. Look I can catch a flight out this afternoon."Taggart says insistently.
"What did you find out?"
"I talked to an Agent Larkin at the FBI. He had nothing but bad things to say about Robideau. The whole city is compromised top to bottom where he's concerned. The cops aren't going to arrest him, the attorneys aren't going to prosecute and no judge is going to convict. Robideau owns the corridor between Florida and Texas going both directions. Anything that goes through there goes through him. He's got a piece of the gambling on the river. He owns a major piece of the fishing industry there that he's probably using to bring drugs in."
"Why aren't they doing anything?"
"Proof, baby. There are no witnesses. That cop you mentioned... O'Meara? He's been in contact with the FBI. And I didn't bring up Maddy's name. Larkin did. Evidently O'Meara told Larkin she was the ticket in. He's been pushing for the feds to contact her for the last couple of years. Ever since Robideau's mother was killed in a home invasion and Maddy was the first witness on the scene."
"That bastard."
"Who Robideau, O'Meara or Larkin?"
"Yeah. That covers it. She's a child!"
"An emancipated minor. Has been for the last two years. That makes her fair game." Tags reminds her.
"Taggart, you can't be okay with this?!" Dara protests.
There is a long silence on the other end of the line and then a sigh. "No. Hell no. If she were my family I'd want her the hell out of there. If Maddy stays in New Orleans she's going to get squeezed between three different agendas."
"I don't think Robideau would hurt her. He thinks of her as a daughter."
"Yeah but O'Meara and Larkin don't. She's a ticket to the big show. They're going to start asking questions like where does she get her money... how can she afford that house."
"It's Sophia Moriz's house." Dara corrects.
"No, baby. It's Madeliene's house and the previous owner was Rosalinda Luciano, Pete's mother. The feds already have the title search on file. I played it cool... O'Meara hasn't let them know that Maddy is back in town yet. They think Maddy is still out of state. They think she's in Port Charles. Here is the kicker. Larkin was one of the investigating agents on Emily Quartermaine's kidnapping."
"Organized crime investigating kidnapping?"
"Oh yeah. And Larkin is based out of that neck of the woods. He came up here specifically for Emily's case.
"I'm getting a bad feeling on this. A very bad feeling." Dara mutters.
"Yeah. Get Maddy out of there. ASAP."
"Lucas, my main man, How are things going?" Jerry slides on his khakis over his boxer style briefs. The phone is hugged between his shoulder and his ear as he makes adjustments and zips them up.
"Mom's pulling her hair out. Carly's says it isn't her fault and why can't Mom support her and Dr Monica has a fat lip. In other words it's all normal here." Lucas says cheerfully. "Mom invited your Dad and Mom to Thanksgiving. Jax showed up at my riding lesson. I didn't hear everything but it sounded okay between him and Carly. Something about Helena of Troy."
"Helen of Troy." Jerry corrects. So Carly was in cahoots with Emily on the takeover. That was a plus side; it would keep her busy. "Don't tell anyone about that. Your mum yes, everyone else no. That's a business deal that has to be kept quiet."
"Well you know there are a couple of CDs I want. Eminem and..."
"Forget it." Jerry says sternly. It was a lot easier to be a hardass from a distance. "There is a reason that guy has a parental advisory on his CDs." Jerry can hear the put upon sigh from his stepson. "Look, I hear Rita got some new riding boots. You keep things sane between now and when I get home and we'll talk."
"You're going to be flexible on the sane thing right? I mean there is only so much I can do."
"Do the best you can. I talked to a friend of Maddy's last night and the funeral is set for tomorrow. So hopefully I'll be back the day after that, by the weekend for sure."
"What are you going to bring me?"
"I haven't decided yet. Haven't exactly had time to do any shopping."
"Is Maddy okay?" Lucas asks cautiously. He hadn't spent much time with her. Knew she was buds with Rita, and she had been the one to give his mom and Jerry a ride home from their honeymoon and had stayed for dinner.
"She's putting a foot in front of the other." Jerry says honestly.
"It's like a horse thing right? My instructor says when horses are sick you have to keep them on their feet cause if they go down they won't get back up."
Jerry thinks about that one for a moment. "Yeah. You know sometimes you are as smart as you look. I think that is just the way it is. Or like that dodgeball game you play at school where you have to keep moving 'cause the balls are coming at ya from all angles. Is your mum about?"
"Yeah, wait a sec. I think she is just getting out of the shower. She has to work today. MOM! Jerry's on the phone!" Jerry can hear a scramble of footsteps in the background and then Bobbie picks up on the extension.
"Lucas, you have a good day in school and I'll see you in a few days." Jerry promises.
"I've got it, sweetheart." Bobbie says over the line.
"See you later, Jere." Lucas promises cheerfully. There is a click on the line as he hangs up.
"My parents for Thanksgiving?" Jerry says wryly. "You do realize that the Indians made a huge mistake showing up for that first one. They should have just done in the pilgrims and gone on their merry way."
"Jerry, they are your parents." Bobbie reminds.
"I prefer the dropped off by gypsies theory, Red." Jerry complains. "You think your daughter is gonna show up for this? Knowing how she feels about my folks? And that there won't be bloodshed?"
"Oh she'll show up." Bobbie tells him confidently.
"Want to bet on that?"
"If you want to lose. Jerry, AJ hasn't had a real Thanksgiving since he was in boarding school. The Quartermaines have been having pizza for Thanksgiving for about as long as I've known them. Or at least as long as they had Cook working there."
"Well Cook isn't working there anymore. She's doing her own Thanksgiving thing with the Judge. They have a new chef over at the Q's."
"Okay, fine they won't go to the Q's 'cause Carly decked Monica in the middle of Wyndam's and as Monica is so proud of pointing out-- It's her house and Alan gave it to her."
Jerry groans. Thanksgiving was going to be hell. Bobbie had hit all the high points. His folks would definitely be there and Carly was blocked in to showing up too. Maybe he could talk the kid into putting on her own Thanksgiving and go over to the Happy Family house for the day. "I thought that Carly baited and Monica bit."
"Yep." Jerry senses his wife's nod. "And then Monica accidentally slipped and caught her face on one of the racks giving herself a fat lip. At least that is the story that Carly told security when they showed up."
"What the hell started it?"
"Monica was breathing. Come on, Jere; you know it doesn't take anything for my daughter to start baiting Monica. And of course this will make my life total hell at work. Carly never thinks about that when she gets started. I take that back-- she probably did it on purpose so she wouldn't have to have Thanksgiving over at the Q's."
"Whoa there, darlin'." Jerry shrugs into a short sleeved shirt and leaves it unbuttoned. He winces considering Bobbie's words. Yeah, that sounded about right and something Carly would do. "You take yourself out of the middle right now! Carly and Monica are both grown women even if they are acting like something else. Remind Monica of that if she starts in on you at work. And then walk away."
"Jerry, she's my boss!"
"Bull ****." Jerry replies crudely. "There are other hospitals. And Audry Hardy is your boss, not the Quartermaines. She's used to the Q's dragging their linen into the hospital to air and isn't going to take it out on you. And Monica is outnumbered. Edward, Alan and AJ are all going to come down on Carly's side in this. If she pushes it you'll be setting another three places for dinner, four counting Lila or worse, Carly will. And I can picture the war that will result from that."
"Jerry..."
"Look just lay low for a few more days. I'll be home, and I'll talk to your daughter. Maybe between me and her hubby we can get her chilled for at least this holiday."
"I love you, you know."
"I love you too." Jerry sighs. "I'll be home as soon as I can, darlin'."
"Good 'cause I miss you like crazy."
"What are you wearing?"
Pete looks up from his paper as he hears a rap on the glass door at the back of the kitchen. He snorts when he sees who it is. Damn Fed. Sighing heavily he meanders over to the door and slides it open. "Agent Larkin."
"We've got a little business to discuss, Robideau. I got a Detective and ADA from New York asking questions about you. It's going to cost you to make this go away. A quarter mil sounds about right to me." Larkin brushes by Pete and goes over to the coffee maker and pours himself a cup. His cocky know it all posture irks Pete as well as Larkin walking into his home uninvited.
Pete walks around invading the space of Larkin getting in his face. As quick as a snake, Pete grabs him by the balls and twists. "I don't think so." Pete ignores Larkin's gasp and gag of agony. "I've got more on you, Larkin, than you'll ever have on me. The numbers to your offshore accounts and the exact amount to the penny that you've been extorting in exchange for not investigating." Pete squeezes a little harder. "You try threatening me or coming into my home again uninvited, and you won't need these where you're going. Just a soft mouth and a softer ass. IF you live that long." With the situation in hand, Pete walks Larkin to the still open door and tosses him out. Larkin falls to his hands and knees puking on Pete's patio. Pete reaches to the knob outside the door turning it on he picks up the hose and automatically starts hosing the vomit from the patio not caring if he soaks Larkin in the process.
"I'll get you for this." Larkin threatens jumping to his feet and hunched over still in agony.
"Oh big man with a badge. That crap might play with the two bit thugs that you hold up for protection money. But it doesn't play with me. Now run along before you really piss me off."