Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 7

Todd and Blair watched the guard remove Starr from the room.  Blair turned in Todd’s arms to face him.  “This is terrible.  She doesn’t belong in here.”

“I know and Hallie’s going to see that she doesn’t stay any longer.  I just know it.  Come on, let’s go get a cup of coffee. I hear there’s a place down on the docks attached to a coffee warehouse.” He grabbed her hand and led her out.  As they were leaving he spotted the police bringing in a familiar face. “Blair, is that who I think it is?”

Blair looked and knew instantly who was being brought in. “That’s Kate Howard, owner of Crimson Magazine.  What do you suppose that’s all about?”

“She’s Sonny Corinthos’ girlfriend, I’ve got to find out what’s going on.” Todd started to follow her.

“Wait a  minute, Todd.” Blair stopped him.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I smell a story.  There has to be a reason she’s been brought in and I want to know what it is.” He turned to Blair and saw her disapproving face. Taking her hand, he walked her around the corner, out of sight of the cops in the room. Backing her up to the wall he moved in close, appearing to nuzzle her neck, but in reality, he whispered. “Come on Blair, where’s your curiosity?  Surely you‘ve got to be wondering what the great Kate Howard has done to have the cops bring her in?” Todd took advantage of the position he had Blair in and after whispering proceeded to take a moment and kiss her neck.

Blair was trying to answer him when his lips touched her neck and it was all she could do to stay standing. Stifling a moan, she pushed him back a little to give herself breathing room. “Todd that is so unfair, and this isn’t the place to do that.”

Todd backed up giving her space, trying to bring his own emotions back under control. “Okay then answer my question.”. He was finding it hard to keep his distance.  It had been a long five months and the previous night had just whetted his appetite.  To take his mind off Blair, he looked around the corner and saw the officers put Kate into the room Starr had just vacated.  That meant she was waiting for a lawyer. Coming back to Blair, he said, ”Well?”

“Alright, I’ll admit I’m curious. But the cops sure aren’t going to tell us anything. I don’t think they would pay much attention to your Llanview press credentials.”  

“What?  The press is the press, but I was actually thinking of trying to get close enough to overhear some of her conversation with her lawyer.  Look.” He grabbed her hand and they peeked around the corner. “She’s in the same room we just came out of, and here comes Sonny’s lawyer.  All I need is a small distraction, there are only a few cops here.”

“Gee Todd, what do you want me to do?  Go out there and strip or something?”

“Hell no! They would arrest you for that.”

“You think?”

“See that stack of files on the far desk?  Go pretend to be a ditz and knock the files all over the place. I know you can get everyone to come to help you.  I’ve seen the way you work. Come on, help.  I might hear something we can use to help Starr.  It will be like old times.”

Blair nodded and walked out into the main room. He watched with amusement as Blair pretended to trip in her heels and fall in such a way as to scatter the files clear across the floor away from the interrogation room.

“Oh my god!, I’m so sorry, forgive me.  These silly shoes always give me fits.”  She bent over and began picking up the files and several officers soon joined her. They kept trying to get her to stop, but Blair then proceeded to back into another desk with her tight little behind and sent another stack scattering.

Todd managed to get over by the door to the room in time to overhear the next few comments made by Kate Howard to Alexis Davis.

“Alexis, I can’t stand it any longer.  Dr. Keenan said I was sick.  I had finally decided to commit myself for treatment, but Connie was too strong.  She came out and hit Dr.Keenan.  I don’t know what I’m going to do.   Dr. Keenan could die, but Connie doesn’t care.”

“Kate, I want to get another psych evaluation.  If Connie is real, there is a precedent for your case.  You need to stay calm and not give her a chance to come out.”

Todd leaned against the wall.  From the sounds of things, Sonny’s girlfriend might be afflicted with the same problem Jessica and Viki had.

“You don’t understand, Alexis.  I think Connie did more than hurt Dr. Keenan.  I’m afraid she had something to do with the deaths of those two kids.  I think she’s the one who shot out Anthony’s tires and then tried to frame Sonny.”

Todd’s head swam for a moment, he shook it and tried to make sense of what he had just overheard.  Was it possible that Sonny’s girlfriend had DID and that her Alter was responsible for the deaths of Hope and Cole?  If that was the case Starr would never get full satisfaction for their deaths.  She knew as well as he, what DID did to its sufferers.  Before he could hear any more, an Officer approached.

“Hey mister, you shouldn’t be here.  You should leave now.” The officer took his arm and pulled him away from the room and directed him to the exit.

Todd made an imperceptible nod to Blair and walked out.   He waited a few minutes outside the department and then walked to meet her as she exited.

Blair met Todd, her eyes studying him.  Something had knocked him off balance in the squad room right before the officer had insisted he leave.  “Are you alright?  I know you heard something that bothered you.”

“I need a drink.  Want to join me?”  Todd was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that someone other than Corinthos could have killed Hope.  A drink sounded real good just then.

“Sure, where do you want to go?” Blair tucked her arm in his.  

Todd covered her hand with his. “The closest thing to Rodi’s is where you found me last night.  But you know what?  I think we should pay a visit to the Metro Court Bar.  Carly needs to meet the woman I brought home last night.”

Blair laughed.  “That’s true.  I definitely need to show her who you belong to.”

It was a beautiful spring evening. “Let’s walk.  The hotel isn’t that far and I don’t feel like being confined right now.”  He had taken to walking a lot more ever since he had freed himself from his mother’s compound.   He had almost gone crazy being locked up again.  Only his mantra had kept him from losing it.  A few of the guards had known about his litany.  He had no way of knowing if they had ever said anything to the Commissioner, though.  Hallie had found out when she had made a surprise visit to his cell.  After seeing the state he was in and talking to the first doctors that checked him out, she had managed to secure his bail.  When bail was revoked because of his trip to check on his daughter, she moved quickly to get his case on the docket, and thanks to her, he was a free man.  One thing was sure, he had no intentions of winding up in jail again anytime soon.

Todd was awfully quiet as they walked and Blair wondered what he was thinking about. “Want to tell me what you overheard?”

His hand tightened over hers for just a moment. “You’re not going to believe it.  Kate Howard isn’t your normal fashion editor.  It sounds like she’s not all alone in that body of hers.”

“Wait that’s ridiculous.  Everything I’ve heard about her says she a very smart savvy woman.  What are you saying?” Blair stopped walking and looked at Todd’s face.  He wasn’t joking around. “You’re serious.  Are you talking Viki kind of not alone?”

“Yes, Carly told me when I arrived back in town, that she caught her boyfriend Johnny Zacchara in bed with Kate.  So did Sonny.  She was furious.  Johnny’s been telling her some tale about Kate not being Kate, but Connie.  I just heard her admit something like that to her lawyer.  Claims she’s seeing a psychiatrist.  Get this. She says this Connie chick clobbered her own doctor.  He’s in the hospital.”  They had reached the park when Blair had stopped him.  “Ummm.  Let’s sit down for a moment.”  He wasn’t sure how to tell her the rest, but at least, he could break it to her gently. “There’s more.  Blair, I know now that Sonny didn’t kill Hope and Cole.”

“How, Todd?” Blair could tell that Todd was worried. “Talk to me.  Both you and Starr were so positive before.”

“I know because I overheard Kate.  She thinks her alter Connie killed the kids.” He watched Blair’s reaction.  He knew it hit her like a ton of bricks.  They both understood the ramifications of DID and what it meant.  Hell, she had helped him figure out what was wrong with his sister all those years ago.  And she had been around when Jessica’s alter had taken Hope as a baby.  

Blair absorbed the news, feeling more grief for her granddaughter and sorrow for Starr. “This is going to hit Starr hard.  She went through so much when Bess stole Hope.  Now a second Alter has taken Hope away from her permanently.  Are you sure, Todd?  How do we know Kate isn’t faking this?”

Todd flinched and closed his eyes momentarily.  It hurt that Blair brought up that chapter in his life.  He wasn’t proud of what he had done. He had knowingly used Viki’s illness to get himself out of trouble, after taking half of Llanview hostage.   He felt Blair’s hand on his face and opened his eyes.  There was only love in her eyes, no condemnation.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up that memory.  Isn’t it possible she read about Viki and is using it to help her own case?” Blair moved a lock of hair out of Todd’s eyes.

“It’s possible, I suppose.  But she sounded pretty frantic to me.  Her lawyer was working on getting her another psych evaluation.  I think it might be true in her case.  If it is, I can’t go after her.  You understand, don’t you?”

“I understand.  Now I know why you wanted that drink.  Come on, I think we both could use one.” She stood up grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. “I‘m probably going to need more than one.”

Todd caught up with her and stopped her.  He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her before she could say anything else.

She looked at him bemused. “What was that for?”

“I’ve missed you so much.  Sitting here, talking to you like old times.  All I want to do is get lost in your arms and never come out.” He touched her face then smiled. “Listen to me.  I’m getting sentimental.  Must be something wrong with me.”

Blair laughed. “You are getting a little mushy.  You definitely need that drink.”

They were still laughing when they entered the lobby of the Hotel.  Carly looked up in surprise. She saw Todd, again with his arms around the same blonde as the night before.  She wasn’t going to let them get past her this time.  Besides, she had a bone to pick with Todd.  She had had a good look at the broken mirror.

“Hold it, Todd.  Not tonight.  We need to talk...” She stopped in her tracks as Todd and Blair turned around to face her.

“What the matter now, Carly?  I’m behaving myself, we were just going to the bar for a drink.”

Carly realized the mistake she had made the previous night and was embarrassed. “I’m sorry Blair, I guess I was out of line last night.  I just didn’t expect to see you two together.”

Blair laughed. “Yeah, it was a shock for Starr today, too.  I forgive you.   Just keep your distance from Todd and we’re good.”

Carly was shocked and then remembered her first conversation with Blair.  She suddenly laughed.  “Not a problem.  I‘m currently trying to decide if I’ll let my boyfriend back into my life, but don’t worry I’ll keep my hands off.”

Todd looked at them. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Both women looked at him and responded. “No!”

Todd raised his arms in surrender. “Hey, okay, don’t jump down my throat.  I was just asking.  You know the only one I want is you, Babe.  So, Carly, if that was all you wanted, we’ll be in the bar.”

“Hold it.  What the hell did you do to that mirror?”

“Me!  Look what that mirror did to me.  It literally leaped out and bit me.” He lifted his hand, showing the bandage.

Carly looked skeptical. “You mean you hit it.”

“He slipped getting out of the shower and his hand impacted the mirror and it shattered,” replied Blair in Todd’s defense.  She, too, suspected Todd had smashed the mirror, but it was none of Carly’s business how the mirror got broken.  Todd told her he slipped and she was going to go along with his story.  “It was an accident.  You’re just lucky we’re not inclined to sue.”

Carly started to bristle. “Sue!”

Todd realized things were beginning to get out of hand and as much as he’d like to see Carly and Blair get into a catfight. He really didn’t want Blair to end up spending the night in jail with her daughter.  “Hey, to your mutual corners, ladies.  I wouldn’t think of suing the Metro-Court.  I’ll pay for the mirror, just add it to my bill, but if the next one bites me, all bets are off.” He grinned at the two women and watched their faces as they registered just exactly what he had said.  Both burst out laughing, as the sudden image of a mirror attacking Todd entered their heads.  “Now if you’ll excuse us, Carly,” he turned to Blair and headed for the lounge.

Carly watched, bemused by the turn of events.  Todd was a lot more cheerful now that Blair was in town and obviously with him.  She walked back to the check-in counter determined to find out about Blair’s change of heart.  She loved a mystery and the Mannings were definitely intriguing.   

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