Episode 123, originally published 08-Mar-99

Counter Fit

Can Jill and Neil counter the power play staged by Jack and Brad?
Is Alice fit to be Cassie's mom?
Will Jill throw a fit over changes in her living arrangement?
Rejected by Mary and Ruth, where might Carl fit in?
Can Cricket fit another rescue into her busy schedule?
Will Ashley encounter resistance from Lady Huddleston?

In the offices of Newman Enterprises, Jack is calling for a vote. "I move we remove Victor as CEO of Newman Enterprises," Jack says. "All in favor?" "Wait a minute," Neil says, trying to buy time. "I didn't her a second." Brad sighs and says "Seconded." "All in favor?" Jack asks. "Point of procedure," Neil says. "Is this vote going to be recorded in the minutes?" Jack shrugs. "Of course it's going to be recorded in the minutes," he says. "Is someone TAKING minutes?" Jill asks. Jack looks around. No one is. "Damn," he mutters under his breath, looking at his watch. He points Brad to the door. "Get Jennifer," he says. "Me? What do I look like, your secretary?" "If you looked like my secretary, I wouldn't be asking you to GET my secretary, would I?" "It hardly matters," Jill quips, "because it's going to be two to two. Come one, let's take the vote. I'll take minutes."

Jill picks up the phone and presses some buttons. "Nick? This is Jill. Find your father. There's a takeover attempt in progress." She hangs up. Jack and Brad look concerned. They lock eyes. Brad mouths the word "Diane." Jack nods and gets up to go get her.

Nick, having tried unsuccessfully to reach his father by phone in Hawaii, decides he has to get there on his own. He strips to his underwear and dives into the water and starts swimming. "I'm coming for you, Dad," he cries up from the water as he swims. The water gets deeper and deeper, but he continues swimming. Finally, there is land in sight. "Nicholas?" comes a voice. "Is that you?" Nick climbs out of the water and is surprised to see Miguel. "What are you doing here in Hawaii?" he asks. "Hawaii?" Miguel asks. "Yeah, I was going to get Dad and I couldn't reach him by phone so I figured I'd swim to Hawaii." "This is a lake, Nicholas," Miguel says. "So what's your point?" Nick replies. Miguel takes a different tack. "Would you like a sandwich?" Nick smiles. "Miguel, I would love a sandwich. This swimming to Hawaii thing is hard work."

When Jack is out of the room, Neil asks, "So tell me again why it is that you can vote to remove Victor without consulting him?" "Because a meeting was called and the people who are here get to vote," Brad explains. "This meeting?" Brad nods smugly. "I move we remove you and Jack from the board," Neil says. Brad laughs. "Not likely. You just pointed out it's two to two." "Look around," Jill says to Brad. "Jack's gone out." "To get Diane--she's a new board member." "But she's not here, is she?" Neil says. Brad doesn't reply. He's starting to get it. "And neither is Jack," Jill observes. Neil nods. "Did I hear anyone say we were going to suspend the meeting while he was gone?" Neil asks. Silence from all. Neil continues, "All in favor of my motion?" "Neil, your motion isn't in order. We're already voting on a previous motion." Jill shakes her head. "Nope, that motion wasn't in order--we didn't have a recording secretary. But we do now," she says, jotting down the motion in the book. "By the way," she says, "I second the motion." "All in favor?" Neil asks. Jill and Neil raise hands. "All opposed?" Brad raises his hand. Neil shakes his head. "I'm really sorry, Brad. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This meeting is only for board members."

Oblivious to the recent vote, Miguel is driving Nick back to Newman Enterprises. "So what will you do to stop the takeover if your father is not there?" Nick shrugs. "I'll do what I always do," he says. "Beat someone up?" Miguel asks, cringing slightly. Nick nods. "At least it will delay the vote." "Are you sure that's really the best way?" Miguel asks. "It's all I've got, buddy," Nick says. The car pulls up and Nick gets out. "Hey, thanks for the ride, Miguel. I owe ya."

* * *

Alice stands fumbling through the phone book looking for a number for "Sharon Newman". "Drat!" she exclaims. "I can't believe there are no Newmans in this town!" A passer-by stops and laughs, pointing her to the other phone book. "Huh?" Alice asks as the person walks away. She picks up the other book. It is titled, "Special `Newman' supplement to the Genoa City Phone Book." She rummages through it. "Geez, I wonder how many of these are ex-wives," she says. "Ah, here we go. Sharon Newman... Wait!" she says, realizing maybe calling ahead isn't the right thing to do. She glances around and notices the police department. "I've got a better idea," she mutters.

At Nick's house later, Cassie has gone out to play and Alice has arrived with the police to find her and take her away. "You can't do that," Sharon explains. "What do you mean, I can't do that?" Alice asks. "I don't see she's any better off here than with me." "But--but--I have a husband." "Oh, yeah? Where?" Just then, the phone rings. "Baby, it's me," Nick says. Sharon turns away and covers the receiver with her hand so Alice can't hear. "Nick, you know how I've always given you a hard time for being so violent?" "Uh, huh," he says. "Well, this is one time I need you to be violent." "Well, that's really great, honey, because this just turns out to be one of those times." "Oh, good!" she says. "When will you be home?" "Well, that's just it--I'm calling from the jail. They locked me up." "What? Nick, how can you do this to me? I need you." "And I need you. To get me out." "Nick, what did you do?" "Just a little misunderstanding," he explains. "I beat up Jack." "You what?" "Well, it was just a miscommunication. You see, I thought a certain vote hadn't happened yet and that I'd just be delaying it. But it turns out it already had happened and I--look, I screwed up, ok? Can you please just come bail me out?" Sharon hangs up the phone. "You win," she says to Alice. "I what? What about that husband of yours?" she asks. Sharon shakes her head sadly. "I just don't know about that husband of mine--at least you've got a boyfriend. Cassie is probably better off with you."

* * *

A policeman stands talking to Esther in the living room of the Chancellor/Abbot co-estate when Jill enters. "What's going on here? What have you done this time, Esther?" "It's not me," she whines. "It's Mrs. C. I'm getting worried about her and I decided to file a missing person's report." "Oh, that's very industrious of you," Jill says. "I wish you'd be as industrious about cleaning up the mess you made with this mirror." "I didn't make the mess," Esther admits. Jill frowns. "You told me you did. Besides, it's still your job to clean it up." "Excuse me for a moment," Esther says to the officer, as she gets a broom and starts sweeping. Just then she notices a piece of glass with some blood on it. She stoops to pick it up. "Oh my God!" she wails. "What--what is it?" Jill asks. "It's blood! It must be from Mrs. C." "What do you think might have happened?" the officer asks. "Isn't it obvious?" Jill says. "This housekeeper had a fight with her and killed her. She's probably buried in the back yard." "I did not!" Esther says in her best indignant tone. "If she's buried in the back yard, it's your doing, Jill. You're the one who's been trying to drive Mrs. C. crazy." "Me? That old bat's been crazy ever since I've known her. I wasn't trying to drive her crazy. I was just trying to get her to fly out of here so I could open the blinds and bring some light and life back into the place."

The officer uses a handkerchief to take the glass and put it in a plastic bag. "I think you'll find it has Esther's fingerprints on it," Jill says. "Of course it has my fingerprints, Jill," Esther says. "I just picked it up." "It probably had them before, too," Jill says. "Don't you see what she's doing?" she says to the officer. She killed Katherine before and now she wants to cover it up by making it look like her fingerprints got there later." "Me? Why would I want to kill her?" "How should I know?" Jill asks rhetorically. "Maybe because you were wanting your inheritance? Maybe because you were tired of cleaning up after her all these years? God only knows, any sane person would be!" "Ladies, ladies," the policeman says. "I'm going to have to take you both into custody." "Both of us?" they say in unison. "Can he do that?" Esther says to Jill. "I think he has to charge one or the other," Jill says. The policeman smiles. "Does either of you have any evidence that your view of the situation is right?" They shake their heads. "Fine," he continues, "then I choose to believe you both killed the old lady and you're hoping to avoid conviction by making it impossible to tell which of you did it. You're both under arrest for murder and conspiracy."

At the prison, the guard pushes Jill and Esther toward a cell. "I have to go in there with her?" Jill asks. The guard nods. "But--but--I'll go crazy." "Sorry," the guard says, "rules are rules." "Isn't there some way we could have separate cells?" Jill asks. "Look around you," the guard says. "Not enough space." Jill looks at Esther, then sighs. "All right, all right! Enough already. I did it. I killed the old witch!" "You did??" Esther asks. Jill looks at Esther, amazed. "No," she says snippily, "Of course I didn't. But if it means I don't have to share a cell with you, I'll confesss to anything." The guard shrugs. "Suit yourself," he says. He turns to Esther. "You're free to go, I guess." "But what about Mrs. C.?" Esther says. The guard says, "Until she turns up, we have to believe Ms. Abbott's claim that she killed the woman."

On her way home, Esther stops to drop some soup cans at a homeless shelter. As she is leaving, she sees Kathrine huddled under a blanket. "Mrs. C.?" she asks. "Oh, thank heavens," Katherine says. "I've been trying to tell them who I am, but apparently they have a lot of people come through here who think they're me, so no one has been willing to help me." "We've got to get you home," Esther explains, helping her up. She wraps the blanket tightly around Katherine and walks her toward the car. "I'm not sure I can go back home," Katherine explains. "Not with Jill there." "Oh, she's not there," Esther explains. "She's in prison, awaiting trial for your murder. Well, until I tell everyone you're ok." Katherine sits in the car and stares thoughtfully out the window, drumming her fingers against her cheek. "You know," she says finally, "I've been needing a vacation." "Vacation? To where?" "Not `to where', `from where'. And more specifically, `from whom'... Esther, I think I'm not ready to be found yet. I need you to do me a favor." "You know I will, Mrs. C., but I don't know what you're getting at." "Esther, I want you to keep working at the house. I'll write you the appropriate paperwork to say it's yours to administer while I'm away. I think I'll just live in the old farm house next door and relax for a while." "Are you sure?" Esther says. "Yes, of course I'm sure. If it means Jill isn't in the house. Yes, of course." "But you won't be in the house either." Katherine shakes her head. "Being in the house doesn't matter. It only matters that Jill isn't there."

Later, at the Chancellor Estate, Esther is playing cards with Shirley. "You know," says Shirley, "it's kind of nice here now with those two warring biddies out of here." "You know, you're right," Esther says. "You're not such a bad person when you're not trying to drive Mrs. C. out of the house," Esther goes on to admit. "And you're not such a complete klutz when you're not trying to figure out how to carry out impossible tasks for others," Shirley says. "Can I tell you a secret?" Esther says. "A secret?" Shirley asks. "What kind of secret?" "Well, I usually tell my secrets to Mrs. C., but since she isn't here, I need someone to confide in." "Sure," Shirley says, "I don't think there are any union rules against me hearing secrets." "Good," says Esther, not having any clue what the union thing is about. She leans over the table and starts to whisper something to her. "Esther, we're alone in this mansion," Shirley says. "I know," she says straightening back up for a minute, "but it seems more like a secret if I whisper it." Then she leans back over and starts to whisper again. "Not dead?" Shirley says, stunned. "Really?" Esther nods. "So this is all a sham? Soon they're both going to come back and spoil our fun?" "Well, as soon as anyone finds out Mrs. C. is still alive." Shirley nods. "Right," she says. Then Shirley gets an idea, and she motions with a finger for Esther to lean in. Esther does. She listens, then sits back up. "Shirley, you are so bad! I could NEVER do that." "Who said you have to do it?" Shirley says. "We could hire someone to do the old bag in. No one would have to know it just happened--we could arrange for it to look like it had happened before. You have the papers that say you can run this place like you want, right?" Esther nods. "And Jill can't come back if they can pin a murder on her, right?" Esther nods again. "I'm just asking you to think about it," Shirley says. Esther scrunches her mouth and nose around as if concerned, but finally says, "Well, this is kind of fun, just the two of us. Ok, I'll think about it."

* * *

Cricket is in Crimson Lights sipping a hot mochaccino when she notices Tony talking to Meg at a nearby table. He mind flashes back to footage from many years ago when she was involved with Phillip Chancellor III, young Phillip's father. Then she looks at Tony. Then she flashes back to Phillip. A sudden realization happens.

Together with Paul at his office, Cricket says, "I'm telling you Paul, it was just like in Norfolk. There was this person and I realized I'd seen him before--even dated him." Paul looks incredulous. "Chris, we haven't even finished getting Dad's memory back and you're already off on another amnesia thing?" "So you're saying I should have amnesia to avoid thinking about amnesia?" Cricket asks. "Paul, I saw what I saw. That man is Phillip Chancellor III, I'm sure of it. He's apparently been living all this time since we thought he died in that car accident as Tony Viscardi." Paul stands and paces back and forth, looking out the window. "This is going to be devastating for Ryan," Paul says. "For Ryan?" Cricket asks. "What's he got to do with it?" "Well, he thinks he's Phillip's father. When he finds out he's not--that That Precious Little Boy has another father out there--well, it may make him want to break up with Trisha and go back to Nina just to make sure there's a family unit that Tony--I mean Phillip--can't say is bad for Phillip." "Do you think Tony might do that?" Cricket asks. "I don't know," Paul says. "Why else would he have come back to Genoa City after all these years being away? Part of him deep down probably knows who he used to be, and wants to reclaim his child ... and his fortune."

* * *

In the offices of Collins & Sons, Carl/Jim is consulting with Doris Collins about his legal position. "So," he says, "I guess the basic problem is that Mary doesn't want me back because I don't remember her, and now Ruth doesn't want me because she feels like she's my second choice. So I have no place to go and I'm not sure what to do next." "Can I speak frankly?" Doris asks. He nods. "I don't think you should pursue this legally." "What do you think I should do?" he asks. "Well," she explains, "my feeling is that you can only spend so much time dwelling on the past and then you have to move on. As I've done here by starting this law firm. I could have just been a lonely old lady rolling in and out of my bedroom to get some crumb of communication from my child, but she never really visits me any more and if I'd taken that path, I'd probably have wasted away by now. But instead, I set out to build a new life for myself. And here I am." "Well, what kind of life can I build? Where can I go?" She smiles. "For one thing, I'm not seeing anyone right now." "Really?" he says, brightening. "A fine woman like you?" She blushes. "And for another thing," she says, deflecting the remark slightly, "I think I could pull the appropriate legal strings to get you reinstated as head of the Genoa City police department." "Lady," he says to her, "you've got yourself a deal. There's just one thing..." "What's that?" "What time do you want to be picked up for dinner?"

* * *

In Europe, Rafael and Ashley are trying to figure out what to do. "I can't believe you got me into this, Rafael," Ashley says. "I am sorry, but life is a painting drawn on the canvas of the world by the hand of God. Who am I to tell him what is to be in the painting and what is not, eh? What do you think we shall do?" he asks. "I know what I'm going to do," she says waving the envelope that Cole has brought her. "What is in there?" he asks. "Shares of Newman stock. I'm going to sell mine, get some cash, go to Lady Huddleston, buy back the real painting, and then everything will be better." She gets up and leaves before he can reply.

Rafael notices Ashley has left the stock shares on the table. "This was foolish of her," he says. "I wonder," he ponders. He peeks inside. "Perhaps she wanted me to find them," he tells himself aloud. "That is it. She must want me to do something with them. And I know just the thing... I will return these to you, Ashley. But first..."

At Lady Huddleston's Estate, Ashley arrives to buy the painting. "I don't have cash," she explains. "What DO you have?" The woman asks. Ashley pulls out the envelope she has gotten from Rafael. "Just this," she says. Lady Huddleston has reading glasses on a pearl necklace around her neck. She withdraws the envelope's contents and lifts the glasses to her eyes with one hand as she looks. Yes, I will accept this in trade." "You will?" Ashley asks, almost afraid to believe it could have worked this easily. Lady Huddleston puts the packet Ashley has given her into a safe and then takes the painting from the wall. "You will take good care of it, won't you? It's hard for me to part with a Rafael like this." "Excuse me?" Ashley says. "A Rafael?" "You didn't know?" Lady Huddleston asks. "I just assumed that since you offered me another Rafael in trade..." "ANOTHER Rafael?" Ashley asks. "Why certainly," the woman says. "It's similar to an original classic, but much finer craftsmanship. Quite a collector's piece. Ordinarily I wouldn't part with it, but you've offered me this wonderful new work by him that I like even better." "I did?" Ashley asks. Lady Huddleston goes to the safe and pulls back out the packet Ashley gave her. Inside are oil paintings, an artist's rendition of a set of Newman Stock Certificates. "Wait, these aren't Newman Stock Certificates," Ashley says. "Of course not, dear," the woman says. "Newman stock isn't worth the paper it's printed on these days--I would never have taken that in exchange for La Sen~ora Descolorada." "You wouldn't?" "No, I wouldn't. But this--it's marvelous. It rivals Warhol's tomato soup can, don't you think? It's brilliant."

"Rafael!" Ashley says, entering his studio later. There is the sound of rustling covers and someone running to the bathroom. Rafael pulls a towel over him and blushes as Ashley enters. "You might have knocked," he says. "Rafael, what is going on?" "I was just showing Miss Victoria Newman the sights of Spain," he explains. She taps her foot. "Oh," he says. "You learned of the painting, I suppose." "Lady Huddleston knew it was a forgery all along." "Yes, I know," Rafael says. "She likes it very much. I tried to tell you." "You told me she liked it, but not that she knew." "She deals in art. Of course she knew." "And what about my stock?" Ashley asks. "I have sold it." "Sold it?" "It was mine to sell, no?" "No, it was not yours to sell. It was mine." "But you were going to trade it for something else." "Yes, and I did. But I traded something I didn't mean to." "Something Lady Huddleston valued more." "Yes...." "Then you owe me some money, since the stock got you more value than it would otherwise have." "Rafael, where's my stock?" "I said already that I have sold it." "Sold it? Who would buy such a thing?" "Some American businessman. I think he said his name was "a boat"." "Abbott. Jack Abbott? You sold it to my brother?" "Half-brother. Yes, that's it. Jack Abbott. He said he would take good care of it. And he gave me a great deal of money." "Freeing you from living the life of a starving painter." He smiles. "Yes, precisely. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to showing Sen~ora Newman all that Spain has to offer." He pushes her out the door.

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 124!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

Feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated.