Previously…
– Diane realized that it would have been impossible for Tempest to leave the most recent threatening note for Jaq on the night of the wedding and that Jaq has been planting the notes in order to frame Tempest.
– Diane confronted Jaq and was shocked when Jaq produced recordings of their phone conversations proving that Diane had conspired to keep Samantha and Tempest from reuniting. Jaq promised to share the recordings with Samantha if Diane exposed the truth about the letters.
– Molly went to the hospital to demand that Dr. Longo tell her the truth about the day her baby died, but the confrontation became physical and the police were called.

“I don’t know. I lost control. That’s… that’s the only way to explain it.”

Molly Taylor sits at the scratched wood table in a dingy interrogation room inside the King’s Bay Police Department, staring straight ahead at one of the blank walls. Tears pool in her eyes and stream slowly down her cheeks; her voice sounds raw, exhausted. 

“That day,” she continues. “I  can’t get it out of my head. Everything happened so fast, but it feels — wrong. It just feels wrong.”

“I know.” Brent Taylor is perched on the edge of a chair beside his ex-wife, listening intently to her recounting of what took place at the hospital earlier today. 

She turns toward him, brushing several strands of her own dark hair out of her face as she does so. “You agree, right? That it was weird? Why did they cremate our baby so quickly?”

Brent shakes his head. “It was careless, at best. More like negligent. I’ve thought about… I don’t know… filing a complaint, suing, whatever — but part of me hasn’t wanted to go back to that day. Or drag you into it.”

“Well, I’m in it now.” Molly lets out a weighty sigh. “Brent, I don’t know what happened to me. It’s like I was possessed all of a sudden. When I realized Dr. Longo was avoiding me–“

“I get it,” he says. 

“I attacked a man,” she says in disbelief. “In public. At his workplace. All the people who saw — and Claire–“

“Claire is not judging you for any of this. She understands grief. She called me because she hoped I’d be able to help you. And I–“

“Oh my god.” Molly smacks her hands down on the table. “Work.”

“What?”

“I’m supposed to be in meetings all afternoon. They took my phone. Can you call Tori?”

“Of course. Yeah.” He fumbles to pull his phone from the front pocket of his jeans. 

“Tell her that my phone was damaged and I have to go get a replacement,” Molly says, snapping right back into her usual type-A mode that Brent recognizes so well. “That’ll buy me some time–“

She is interrupted by the sound of the door being unlocked from outside. 

“That must be Conrad,” she says.

“Conrad?” Brent asks. “You called–?”

Before he can finish, however, he sees Elly Vanderbilt step into the room, dressed in a black pencil skirt and a silky, emerald-colored blouse. 

“Elly?” Molly asks in confusion.

—–

Jaq Pearson feels a nervous knot twisting in their stomach as they park their car in the driveway of the Brooks home and step out. The autumn air is warm, but Jaq feels cold inside as they make their way to the front door, recalling their tense encounter with Diane Bishop at KBAY not too long ago. Even though they were able to shut down Diane’s realization that Jaq has been planting the threatening letters and framing Tempest for it — or at least neutralize Diane for the time being — they still feel unsettled; the entire thing feels like a ticking time bomb now.

If the letters stop appearing, I’ll have nothing to worry about, Jaq thinks as they pass the newly installed doorbell cam and enter the house.

“Jaq? Is that you?” Samantha Fisher‘s voice calls out from the kitchen.

Making their way down the short hallway past the living room, Jaq finds both Samantha and Finn Campbell in the kitchen, standing around the island with a bowl of tortilla chips and a container of salsa between them.

“What was that all about?” Samantha asks as she moves over to give Jaq a peck on the lips. “Why would my mom call you in on her day off?”

Jaq widens their eyes. “She was desperately trying to find some files I’d helped her save. It was easier to show her in person than try to explain over the phone.”

“But you got it all done?” Finn asks as he scoops a chip through the salsa.

“Yeah. It’s all taken care of.” Jaq goes to the island and picks up a chip simply to keep busy. 

“I’m sorry my mom called you in on your day off,” Samantha says. “I’ll say something to her.”

Jaq quickly shakes their head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Samantha frowns. “It’s your day off.”

“And your mom has been a great boss and given me a lot of awesome opportunities. Really. Don’t worry about it.”

With a final, curious look, Samantha shrugs. “Okay.”

“Any word from the police yet?” Finn inquires.

“No,” Jaq says, barely suppressing an anxious gulp. “Maybe they won’t have anything to go on. Who knows?”

Finn offers an exaggerated role of his eyes. “Oh, come on. I’ve watched a lot of Law & Order. They’ve got a hair clip that must have hair or prints on it. They have three notes. If they can’t get somewhere off all that…”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Samantha says, a heavy note of uneasiness clouding her voice. 

“That’s all we can do,” Jaq agrees. “And I’ve been thinking… I need to find a way to move forward, regardless.”

“Really?” Samantha looks at them with bewilderment. “What’s going on with you? Did something happen?”

Jaq feels a stab of panic in their chest. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been so determined to have the police figure out who’s been sending you those letters so they can be stopped,” Sam says. “Now you’re talking about just trying to move on. What’s really going on, Jaq?”

—–

Diane Bishop drives home from KBAY in a daze. Her foot goes through the motions of alternating between the gas pedal and the brake, and her hands do their duty in turning the steering wheel as needed, but her mind is somewhere else entirely throughout the trip. When she pulls into her parking space in the lot at the center of her condominium complex, she is almost astonished to find that she has made it safely and without incident. As she lets herself into her condo, her head is still replaying her confrontation with Jaq, attempting to figure out how it went so sideways.

“Damn you,” she mutters as she pours herself a glass of water. It was shocking enough when she realized that Jaq has been planting the threatening notes and attempting to frame Tempest for it — but it was even more alarming when Jaq turned the tables on Diane by producing blackmail material in the form of audio recordings.

She is still reviewing the encounter when she hears a knock at the front door. Tensing, she wonders if Jaq has come to continue their conversation. When she glances through the peephole, however, she sees someone else entirely.

“What are you doing here?” Diane asks as she opens the door to greet her best friend.

“You forgot about our shopping excursion, didn’t you?” Sarah Fisher Gray says. 

“Shit. Yes. Slipped my mind.” Diane steps out of the doorway. “Come on in. I just need a few minutes.”

Sarah comes inside but eyes Diane suspiciously as she does so. Diane can feel Sarah’s eyes on her and focuses more intently than necessary on locking the door.

“The outlet mall can wait,” Sarah says. “Is everything okay?”

“With me? Everything’s fine. Everything’s great. Why?”

“You seem, uh, a little flustered.” Sarah tosses her wavy blonde hair over one shoulder. “A lot flustered.”

“I’m out of sorts, that’s all. I had to go to the station unexpectedly, and–” Diane waves her hands around crazily. “You know how it gets. A day off is never quite a day off.”

“Oh. That’s a pain,” Sarah says. “Are you sure you’re up for the outlets, though? We don’t have to–“

“The outlets sound great.”

“Okay. Perfect.” 

Sarah stands back and watches as Diane bustles about the room, transferring items from her smaller purse to a large, red Chanel tote.

“You’re sure everything’s okay?” she finally asks.

Diane pauses only long enough to look up and make a split-second of eye contact. “I’m sure. Do I not seem okay?”

“You seem frantic, that’s all. I know you, Diane. If something happened…”

Sarah trails off, allowing the offer to act as a listening ear to go unspoken even though it transmits loud and clear. Diane feels the tempting lure of her friend’s overture as if it were an actual lasso attempting to reel her in. She and Sarah have gone through their share of mishaps and misadventures together; being each other’s co-conspirators has saved both of them a number of times. As her lips part to begin explaining, however, she catches herself. Once she tells anyone about the specifics of her meeting with Jaq today, that’s it. It’s out there. Diane loses some amount of control over the situation. And she isn’t sure if she is ready for that yet — not until she really has time to think about how to approach things.

“I almost screwed something up at work,” she says instead. “That’s why I had to rush in. It’s all worked out now, though. But you know how things like that stay with me.”

Sarah nods along. “Oh. Of course.”

“Now let’s get to those outlets and do some damage, shall we?” Diane says, slinging the tote over her shoulder and affixing a bright smile upon her face.

—–

The door to the interrogation room closes loudly behind Elly.

“Thanks for coming so quickly,” Brent says as he rises to greet his niece with a brief hug.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Elly says. She sets her purse down on the table and regards Molly with a compassionate expression. 

“I wanted to get somebody working on this as fast as possible,” Brent explains. “You called Conrad?”

“Right before you got here. Yeah.” Molly stares up at Elly in continued surprise. “Did they tell you anything?”

“They told me a lot of things,” Elly replies, “including that you’re free to go.”

Molly’s head juts forward as her eyes bug out. “What? How?”

“They were pushing for third-degree assault, which is a felony–“

“Assault three? Are you kidding?” Brent says. “She shoved him. He isn’t injured–“

“But he’s a doctor who was on duty at the time,” Elly counters. “You know how this goes, Uncle Brent.”

“He wasn’t injured, was he?” Molly asks in disbelief. “He seemed fine–“

“He wasn’t injured,” Elly says. “And that’s part of why I was able to get them to agree to fourth-degree assault. Which is only a misdemeanor. Which means I got you released on your own recognizance.”

Molly pushes out her chair. “I’m really free to go?”

“You’ll have to appear in court later,” Elly tells her, “but for the time being, yeah. And a misdemeanor — even if we can’t get it thrown out entirely — is a lot easier to handle than a felony.”

“Thank you!” Molly leaps up and rounds the table so that she can pull Elly into a squeeze. “Both of you. Thank you.”

All three of them turn their attention back to the door, which is being unlocked again. A moment later, Conrad Halston enters, briefcase in hand.

“Hi,” he says, his puzzlement showing through as he surveys the three of them. “I just checked in, and they said–“

“Elly handled it already,” Molly says. “But thank you for coming. I owe you.”

Before Conrad can even reply, Molly is moving to the still-open door.

“I need to get my things and go to the office,” she says to no one in particular. “Thanks again.”

She disappears from the room, leaving Brent, Elly, and Conrad all gathered there, their heads spinning slightly from the sudden turnaround.

“Does someone want to tell me what I missed?” Conrad asks.

—–

Jaq freezes, a chip paused halfway between the bowl and their mouth.

“A lot is going on,” they manage to say before stuffing the chip into their mouth. 

Samantha and Finn continue to eye them carefully, awaiting some kind of further explanation. 

“I want this to be over. That’s all,” Jaq says at last. “And I hate to say this, because Rosie and your uncle are both police officers… but I don’t have the most faith in law enforcement.”

“I can understand that,” Samantha says. “But we have to believe this’ll get solved.”

“But maybe it won’t. Maybe all I can do is figure out how to be as safe as possible. And this person hasn’t actually tried anything–“

“I’d say showing up at our house three times to leave letters counts as trying something,” Finn pipes in.

“I’m trying to make peace with the idea that I might never have answers,” Jaq says. “It’s something I have to do for my own sanity.”

Samantha moves to their side, and Jaq doesn’t hesitate to wrap their arms around her.

“I’m so thankful you’re here with me,” Jaq continues, pressing their face into Samantha’s shoulder. “It makes me feel so much safer already.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Samantha says as she strokes Jaq’s dark hair. “I promise.”

—–

At the entrance to the police station, Brent holds open the door for Elly and Conrad.

“I might as well check on a few things while I’m here,” he tells them. “Thanks again — both of you.”

“I wish I could’ve been more help,” Conrad says. “But I’m glad Molly is okay.”

“She appreciates you coming down here,” Brent says. “And so do I. I know things are a little…”

Conrad holds up a hand to stop him. “Don’t worry about it. Water under the bridge.”

“Well, thank you,” Brent says, and after another quick round of goodbyes, he heads back toward his office.

Elly and Conrad walk a few steps toward the parking lot before she speaks.

“You know, I might need your help navigating some of this,” she says.

“Why’s that?”

“I’m not actually licensed in Washington state. I passed the bar in California, but I haven’t really practiced here other than consulting on Natalie and Spencer’s custody case…”

“Based on the way that you had that handled before I was even able to get here, I’d say you have quite a future ahead of you,” Conrad says. “You should make sure you take the Washington bar ASAP.”

“I probably should,” she says, nevertheless carrying a trace of uncertainty in her voice.

Conrad props up his briefcase on his forearm and pops it open. He pulls out a business card and hands it to her.

“There’s my card if anything comes up with Molly’s case,” he says, “or if you’re interested in some work while you prepare for the bar. I’m running a small private practice — we could always use help.”

“Thank you,” she says as she takes the card. “Seriously.”

“Any time. Take care, Elly.”

“You, too.”

Briefcase clutched in one hand, he heads toward his car. Elly studies the glossy business card for a moment longer before she walks to her own vehicle.

Molly takes an Uber directly from the police station to the downtown offices of Objection Designs. The elevator carries her up to the eighteenth floor, and the pounding of her shoes against the marble floor nearly mirrors the urgent thudding of her heart. She raises a hand in as cheery a greeting as she can manage toward the intern covering the front desk for Finn, and then she does her best to keep her focus straight ahead as she beelines for her office suite.

In the anteroom, she finds her first assistant, Ashley, stationed at her desk, but Tori’s desk is unoccupied.

“Tori said you called,” Ashley says, standing up behind the desk. “Did something happen?”

“I, um, had an emergency. How are things around here?”

“There’s something you should know–“

Ashley barely gets the words out before Molly moves into the office itself — and finds the VP of Design, Gia Vincent, standing there with her arms crossed.

“Nice of you to join us, Molly,” Gia says. “Did all today’s meetings slip your mind?”

Molly is unable to suppress an irritated huff, but she does her best to keep her tone even. 

“I had an emergency at home,” she says as she moves toward her desk.

“Was that before or after you assaulted a doctor at the hospital?”

Molly turns toward Gia with surprise. “Excuse me?”

“My neighbor works at the hospital. She said she was sure that she saw you being escorted out by police. Something about attacking a doctor?”

“I’m here now,” Molly says curtly.

“Hours later. How helpful.” Gia wags her head of voluminous blonde hair. “This is unacceptable. We’re launching a collection in four weeks and you’re nowhere to be found?”

“I had an emergency.”

“You seem to be having a lot of those lately. Get it together, Molly.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Think of it more like a promise,” Gia says. “This house of cards you’ve got going can’t stand up forever.”

With that, Gia swings around and stomps out of the office, her high heels clattering along as she does so. Only once she has disappeared does Molly let out an anguished sigh. 

“You’ve got this under control,” she mutters to herself as she takes a seat behind the desk to see what kind of damage control she needs to do.

END OF EPISODE 1094

How much longer will Molly be able to hold it together?
Should Elly commit to working with Conrad?
What should Diane’s next move regarding Jaq be?
Talk about it all in the comments section below!

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