Dance with the Devil: Chapter 31

Todd blinked twice at Victor’s smirking face.  He closed his eyes and when they reopened, the son of a bitch was gone.  He wheeled himself from behind his desk and looked into the main reception room.  There was nobody there.  He was backing up until he heard the elevator ping.  Its doors open and he saw Spinelli come out.  The PI-slash-computer hacker became frightened when he saw Todd’s dark expression.  “Um, greetings, media tycoon.  I have a report to file with you,” he said cautiously. 

Todd just looked at the kid and went back into his office as Spinelli followed him.  He was back behind his desk as a file was being laid in front of him.  “You find out anything?”

“Um, well, it seems that Ms. Perkins has a rather checkered past and has attempted escape many a time from mental institutions.  She has been involved in a number of illicit schemes, all seeming to revolve around your family--” Spinelli began until Todd brought down his fist on the desk, making the PI jump.

“Did you find out anything new or are you just regurgitating information that I already know?” Todd asked again, this time in a low but dangerous voice.

Spinelli gulped as he answered, “Nothing new.  I will be leaving our fair city this evening, though, to continue my investigation in your hometown of Llanview.  There, it will be my mission to retrace--”  He stopped when he saw Todd’s expression.  “I will try and follow her trail from Llanview to Port Charles.”

“Thank you.  When you get there, go see this woman, she’s got a, I guess you can say, residential hotel on Angel Square.  Tell her Viki sent you, she’ll give you a good rate,” Todd told him.

“Roxy Balsom?  She is a friend of yours?” he asked.

“No but she thought for years that my niece Natalie was her daughter, so we have a tenuous connection there.  I’d have you give her my name, but Natalie and I never really got along,” Todd said.

“Is there any other wisdom you can impart to me for my travels?” the young man asked Todd.

He thought about it for a moment.  “Avoid my ex-wife, Tea Delgado at all cost.  While I’m sure that she knows about Victor being alive, I don’t want her to know that I’ve hired you or Sam for the case.”  After a 
few minutes, he looked up and saw Spinelli still standing there.  “What are you still doing here?”

“Ah, all right, then off I go,” he said as he scooted out of the office.  When the doors opened, Blair was standing there, waiting to exit.  The two traded places as Spinelli gave her a tiny wave before the doors closed. 

Blair walked into Todd’s office.  “Who was that?” She asked.

“Damian Spinelli.  He’s Sam’s partner in the PI firm.  He’s heading down to Llanview to look into Allison Perkins, you know, see if he can retrace her steps from there to here.”  He looked up at Blair.  “I told him to look up Roxy for a place to stay.  God, I’m glad I won’t be there to hear the two of them talking.  I’d really want to shoot myself.”

Blair sat across from him.  “You ready to go.  We need to pick out stuff for the house.  I spoke to the decorators and they should have it ready soon.”

“Yeah, give me a minute,” Todd said, then he laid his pen down.  He looked at her, deciding if he should tell her what he had seen before Spinelli had arrived.  He rolled over to her and took her hand.  “I saw him again, just a little while ago.”

“Who did you see?”  When Todd didn’t answer, she surmised the answer.  “You saw Victor.”

“He was standing right there,” Todd said as he pointed to a spot on the floor.  His voice wasn’t as shaky as it had been the morning before, but he did look nervous.

She looked behind her than at him.  “Did he say anything to you?” she asked.

He nodded as he said, “Yeah, he complimented my office.  Which is weird, since he had such bad taste.”

Blair grimaced at him.  She could tell he was masking any worry he had with an attempt at humor, but even he could tell it was falling flat.  “You want to go talk to Dr. Keenan?” she asked him at last.

Todd looked up.  “No, we’ve got too many things to do today.  Look, I promise that if I am still seeing my not-dead identical-but-not-really twin brother, when things calm down, I’ll go talk to him.”  As a way to further end the question, he rolled out of the room.  Blair followed him as they began their errands. 

It took a good part of the day, but they had managed to get the whole house furnished.  Todd had loved watching Blair do her interior design thing.  It had reminded him so much of years ago when they had first moved into the penthouse.  Starr and Sam met them at the store and Jack eventually joined them after the tryouts were over.  By the evening, everything had been ordered and would be delivered within the next few days.  They returned to the Metrocourt and were greeted by the sight of Viki, Clint and Daniella. 

Todd was surprised to see Tea’s daughter there.  He had little contact with her since he had learn of her existence and he remembered her sitting on the prosecution’s side during the trial.  He was very unsure of how to approach her now, especially since the night of the birth. 

Danie approached him timidly, then  a minute later, threw her arms around him.  He accepted the embrace.  Danie pulled back afterwards and said to him, “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” he replied.  “Is your mother here?”  He was hopeful Tea had returned, especially with Spinelli headed south for his investigation.

“No, Danie came with us.  We also have some news.  Maybe we should go someplace more private,” Viki said as the rest of the family greeted each other.  They made their way up to the suite and went in.  Viki sat next to her brother as she stated, “Clint looked into Dr. Evans.  Unfortunately, he has lost his license and will be unable to perform the surgery.”

“Okay, then who’s the next one on the list?” Todd questioned as he grabbed the paper Dr. Webber had given his at the hospital. 

He looked at it as Clint continued.  “The next one that was recommended was Dr. Matthew Harmon.  As it just so happens, he did his residency here at General Hospital.”

“Great.  I’ll call him tomorrow, set up whatever he needs, then I can be up and moving sooner,” Todd said.

“Well, if you’d like, you can meet him for dinner.  I got in touch with him and he’s in town and would like to meet you as soon as possible,” Clint said.

“Hey, Dad, that’s a great idea.  Look, you and Mom go meet with him.  I’ll take Jack, Sam and Danie to Kelly’s to grab a bite to eat,” Starr said. 

With that agreed on, the kids left and made their way the diner.  They got a table and Starr was surprised to see Michael behind the counter.  “I didn’t know you worked here,” she said.

“Not exactly.  My grandmother and her brother own Kelly’s and once in a while, I get pressed into service here.  With a waitress not around since a shooting, I’ve been needed a little more.”  He notice the other girl at the table with Starr’s brothers.  “Who’s that?” 

Starr introduced Danie to her friend.  “Michael, this is my sister Danie.  Her mom is Tea.  Danie, this is Michael Corinthos.”

Danie looked nervous as she shook Michael’s hand. “Hi there,” was all she could say.

“Hi, you came up to see your dad?” Michael asked.

“Ah, yeah, but mostly to get away from my mother,” she replied.

“What happened with Tea?” Starr asked out of concern.

Danie flashed on the conversation she had with Viki and Clint on the way up.  They had all agreed it would do no one any good right now if Todd learned of Tea’s deception.  “Mom’s just so angry with Todd about Dad and the baby.  I told her I wanted to come and see him, but she refused to let me so I went and asked Aunt Viki if she would bring me.  Mom had a fit about it and I just walked out on her,” she said nonchalantly.

Jack flashed Starr a look, but was warned away by big sister.  When he turned back to Danie, he said, “Your mom is having a rough time lately.  You really should cut her some slack.”

“She’s having a rough time?  What about me, huh?  I just learned--” Danie started but caught herself, “--that my baby brother died.  That was all my mom had left of Victor.”  She looked at Starr and Jack and ran out of the diner. 

Starr looked confused.  “Jack, stay with Sam.” she said as she went after Danie.  When she caught up with her on the docks, Danie was on a bench in tears.  “Danie what’s the matter? This is more than just Victor and the baby.”  Starr sat down next to her and tried to get Danie to face her.  “Come on, I think you know you can tell me anything.”

Danie tried to dry her eyes and face Starr.  “Can I really?” she asked.