Episode 142, originally published 09-Sep-2001

Witchy Watchy

Will Trisha's actions on camera will show her true colors to her watchers?
With Marter's help, can she survive being exposed?
Will Sharon approve of Nick's involvement with his father's witch watching?

Trisha wanders helplessly around her new abode, thinking about the situation she's in. Marter (Matt/Carter) wanders behind her talking out loud to her. "Don't let on I'm here," he urges. She makes a grumpy sounding whining noise with just her throat to indicate her annoyance at having to listen to him without responding. "Now, the way I see it," he goes on, "there's some workaday security guard probably watching your every move, and I've got a plan for how to get rid of him. You with me?" Trisha raises her head slowly, as if looking around, trying to be inconspicuous, then, lowers her chin rapidly in a nod she hopes will not be noticed on camera."

Trisha is in the shower. Marter enters with her. We see them only from the shoulders up, but it looks like he's not dressed either. "Ahem,..." she says, clearing her throat. He laughs. "So you think they've got cameras even in here, eh?" he says. "Well, good point. No sense in risking anything until my plan is in place. I just figured I'd drop by to go over the plan one more time." She rolls her eyes like she doesn't believe that's the reason he dropped by. "Look, I'm just a figment of your imagination," he said. "I don't have urges any more, except the ones you attribute to me. I'm only here in the shower because your brain can't imagine me not being interested in seeing what you've got to offer." She continues to look dubious, and flails her arms in a kind of "hurry up" motion, grabbing the soap at the end. "Ok, just to review..." Cut away to a security guard's station, with a camera view into a steamy shower that is shutting off. The guard has a big grin on his face...

It's later. Trisha is at the Newman apartment, dressed in jeans and a buttondown cotton shirt, her has hair dried. She looks at the clock. 5:15. She gets up and goes to the door and out toward the elevator. Cut to the downstairs lobby, where she comes out and a guard approaches her. "I'm not a prisoner," she says, "I'm allowed to go out." "Yes, but I'm supposed to keep tabs on you--make sure you're safe. Newman's orders." In a nearby corner, Marter smiles and says "Told ya. Just let him come. It'll still work." Trisha sighs. "Ok, but if you get bored, it's your own fault. I'm just going to the store." She hurries out the door and the guard rushes behind her, trying to keep up. Finally she sees a phone booth and starts into it. The security guard tries to block her. "It's empty," she says to him. "No one is going to mug me in there. You can stand here and wait." He frowns. "I didn't think all you cared about was keeping me safe," she says. "But you can check it for rear entrances, too, if you want, to make sure I'm not going to sneak away. Unless you think I'm going to disappear into the phone like in that movie The Matrix," she sneers. He shrugs and finally stands to wait. She goes in and picks up the phone, holding her hand over the keypad so the guard can't see what she's dialing.

In the phone booth, Marter is squished in tightly with Trisha, who is talking on the phone. "Come on, hurry up," he urges. She delicately hangs up the phone with her finger but keeps holding the handset. "You know, I think you're starting to like popping up in the most annoying places," she says. "Well, you have to admit, at least here you can be seen having a one-sided conversation and not get in trouble. Did you make the call?" She nods. "They say they'll do it, but they can't do it without a photo." "Darn it," Marter yells. "We can't get to the place where all the filming is going on." "It doesn't matter," she says. "I can just use any computer in the house with a camera on it. It doesn't have to be the official film." Marter thinks. "They've left the cameras on those things enabled?" he asks. "Of course, silly," Trisha says. "They're protecting me from having time from myself, not from filming myself. I can make this work. All I have to do is enable the camera and let it stream to the inbox on their web site. Someone there will do the rest." Marter smiles. "You know," he says, "that's not bad. This may work yet."

It's the next morning. Sharon Newman enters Crimson Lights carrying a rolled up newspaper. "NICK!" she yells. Nick comes out of the back. "What's up, sweetie?" he asks. "We have to talk," she says, glaring at him. They go into the back room where he gives her a "what's going on?" look and she glares at him. "Where did you go yesterday afternoon?" "To Dad's apartment. To talk about the Trisha situation. I told you that." "And that's all you did? Talk?" He looks perplexed and she slams down a copy of today's National Inquisitor onto the table. It shows several grainy black and white stills, no doubt heavily edited, of Trisha parading around the house nude (with tiny black bars in strategic places to obscure what might get them sued); a slightly better color photo of Victor and Nick together shows them pointing at a video display with the nude photos of Trisha, smiling. The story reads:

Billionaire Voyeur Holds Secret Love Slave Hostage In Own Home
Elder Newman Teaches Younger The Ropes

The Inquisitor learned today that Trisha McNeil (pictured right, nude) is being held hostage by billionaire Victor Newman right in his very own apartment.

"He won't let me out without a body guard," the desperate phone caller told us. "And he videotapes my every move for his own perverted pleasures. Oh my God!" she says, "He's coming for me. I have to go. Please save me!"

The Inquisitor was unable to reach Ms. McNeil for comment because of the heavy security around Newman's apartment, but Genoa City Assistant District Attorney Mario Edmunds assured us that he would see the matter investigated. Said Edmunds, "Those Newmans, they're never up to any good. We've tried in the past to nail them without success. But this looks like the smoking gun--or, at least, the smoking photos that we need to make some charges finally stick."

The Inquisitor has to agree with him on that one. Those photos are smoking, aren't they? And Edmunds has promised to leak more of them to us as soon as the Newman "security" tapes are impounded so remember to check back here for more on this juicy story as it breaks. We'll have the full scoop as Sharon Newman serves Nick with divorce papers, and (continued page B23)

Nick looks up. "You told them you're considering a divorce?" Sharon says in an irritated tone. "No, Nicholas, I didn't. But maybe they heard it from their Psychic Department because do you know what? After seeing this, I'm not so sure what I'm considering. I can't believe you would do this to me ... not to mention to Cassie, and to Noah, and to our new little boy or girl." "But, but, ... it's not how it looks." "Oh, it's not?" Sharon asks. "Right," he says. "Trisha's not staying with your father?" "No, that part's true." "And she's not followed by guards all the time?" "Well, that's true, too." "And she doesn't have cameras watching her all the time?" "Ok, that's maybe true, too." "Even in the shower?" "Well, Dad was afraid she might hurt herself." "Hurt herself?" "Slip on a bar of soap?" Nick asks sheepishly. "So I suppose you're collecting these tapes." "Of course we are. For evidence." "Evidence of what?" "That she might be looney." "Looney? It looks here like she's mostly just nude." "Well, you never know. That could change at any moment," he responds defensively. "I see. Well, do you know something else that could change any minute?" she asks. "What?" "My decision not to file for divorce..." "But--I--" "No buts, Nicholas. No butts either. I don't care that it's not my house, I think it's seedy. And I won't have my husband involved in it. I want that surveillance equipment out of there and the tapes of her destroyed."

Cut to the Newman apartment where Victor Newman is being led away in handcuffs and Trisha, in a robe, sits at the dining room table sipping a cup of coffee as a GC policeman dismantle the surveillance equipment. The camera pans around to show Marter across the table from her. He leans back in his chair and says, "Call us crazy, but I think our little plan worked." "Will you get out of here?" she whines audibly. Marter looks nervously at the policeman, wondering if he heard the remark, but the man just turns and says, "Almost done. I'll be out of here in just a minute, and then the place will be all yours..."

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 143!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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