Previously…
– Diane confronted Jaq with the discovery that Jaq was sending the threatening letters to themself as part of a plan to frame Tempest. 
– Despite blackmailing Diane into silence, Jaq worried about being discovered and began attempting to downplay the threats.
– After recognizing Tempest’s yellow hair clips from a photo as identical to the one found near the last letter that Jaq received, Brent placed Tempest under arrest for stalking and harassment.

11:26 AM

Noises echo throughout the single corridor of the jail that contains short-term holding cells. Finally tired of standing, Tempest Banks sits tentatively on the very edge of the bare, thin mattress that rests on a worn metal frame. A steel toilet is positioned on the other side of the cell, but she has not dared to use it — and she hopes that she might find a way out of here before she needs to, but with each minute that passes, that seems less and less possible.

“There you are,” a voice says from outside the cell, and Tempest’s head snaps to the side to find Rosie Jimenez standing there in her police uniform.

Tempest springs to her feet. “How’d you know I was here?”

“Brent told me.”

“More than I expected from his trifling ass,” Tempest scoffs. “First he cheats on Claire, then he comes to my work and arrests me for something I didn’t do because of a cheap-ass hair clip he found…”

“He said you already got arraigned?”

“Yeah. They stuck me with some public defender, and I thought I’d get out faster if I got it over with, so I went in and pled not guilty. But the damn judge set bail–“

“Where’s Claire? She won’t pay it?” Rosie furrows her brow with concern. “She didn’t refuse to bail you out, did she?”

“Nah, it’s not like that. She worked an overnight. I bet she’s sleeping still. She didn’t answer her phone.”

“I can call Travis to go over there and wake her up,” Rosie says. “You shouldn’t be sitting in here.”

Tempest grips the steel bars that separate them. “Really? If I can’t make bail…”

Rosie gives her a nod that is all business. “Let me see what I can do.”

11:31 AM

While pushing a cart of mail through the small bullpen area that forms the heart of the KBAY offices, Jaq Pearson feels their iPhone vibrating in the pocket of their relaxed-fit corduroy pants. They stop to check the phone, sure that it will be something work-related, but is instead shocked to see the police commander’s name and number on the display.

They take a moment to steady their breathing as best they can before answering. “Commander Taylor?”

“Jaq. Hi. How’d you know–“

“I saved your number after you gave me your card,” they say. Quickly parking the mail cart against a wall, Jaq scurries to a quiet corner. “What’s this about?”

“I have some good news for you,” Brent says over the line. “We’ve made an arrest.”

Jaq feels as if the floor has opened up beneath them; they might as well be plummeting to unknown depths, for how unstable the floor suddenly feels under their feet.

“You what? How?”

Dismayed, Jaq listens as Brent tells them all about recognizing Tempest’s hair clips in a photo and connecting them to the one found at the scene where the last threatening note was found. 

“She’s already been indicted,” he continues. 

“Are you sure?” Jaq asks, their mind swirling with possibilities — some good, but others terrifying. “I know you’ve known Tempest for a long time–“

“I’m going by the evidence available to me,” Brent says. “I made the arrest because I was the one who pieced it together, but I’m excusing myself from the case because of my connection to Tempest. You can rest assured that your case is being handled by some very skilled, very impartial detectives.”

“Wow.” Jaq sucks in a breath. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“I wanted to make sure you heard right away. I’m sure you’re feeling a lot of things — relief first and foremost.”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s a lot. I’m at work, but–“

“Get back to your job,” Brent tells them. “We’ll be in touch with more news when there is some. Stay safe, Jaq.”

“Thanks.” With a gulp, they end the call — but remain standing in the corner of the bullpen, as others go about their utterly routine workdays. Jaq can’t believe that this is happening, let alone how they feel. Weeks ago, this was all they wanted. Now, however, they are keenly aware of the possibility that this could be discovered to be a setup. They have no idea what consequences could await if that were to be found out.

“This is such a mess,” they say, suddenly on the verge of tears. Overwhelmed, they leave the mail cart against the wall and hurry to the restroom. 

12:23 AM

Tempest paces back and forth in the holding cell, jittery with energy. She had planned to be a little tired today, on account of being up late babysitting Chase last night, but she had assumed she would be at the office, taking care of paperwork and making phone calls. Instead, she is trapped in this cell, facing criminal charges and desperately hoping to find a way out of here. She has done her best to save money from her paychecks, but between paying for night classes at King’s Bay University and living expenses like finally getting a car, she doesn’t think she has enough to pay bail right this minute. 

She hears someone down the corridor shout out — not words, but a cry of agony, or maybe anger. The sound ricochets off the concrete walls. She has never considered herself easily frightened, but there is something chilling about hearing a yell like that, completely disconnected from context or even vaguely warm surroundings. 

Suddenly she feels exhausted and is tempted to sit back down on the mattress. It would take much more to get her to lie down on it, even though the idea of a nap is appealing — but she knows there in no way she could sleep right now. Not in this place, not knowing that there are people who actually think she could be the one sending Jaq those letters.

She remembers Jason’s face when she asked him if he had told Brent about the magazines. His denial seemed sincere, but she can’t shake the thought that maybe he hasn’t believed in her innocence at all. That maybe he was biding his time to turn her in.

Tempest feels a rage boiling within her and thinks about kicking something, but neither the toilet nor the bed frame seem like good options. Her hands ball up into frustrated fists just as someone’s shadow darkens the front of the cell. She expects to see Rosie standing there, but instead, it is a male officer, also in uniform. Tempest tenses, unsure what could be coming.

“Banks, right?” he says, sounding more bored than should be possible for this scenario.

“Yeah,” Tempest answers uneasily.

“You made bail. Come on.” He inserts a key into the lock and turns it. Tempest can hardly believe it as she hears the sound of the steel door being pulled open.

12:31 PM

On the second story of Edge of Winter Arena, Jason Fisher sits behind his desk. Although the computer’s screen beams its usual light at him, Jason hardly notices it. All he can think about is what happened this morning — how Brent arrived to arrest Tempest, how Tempest’s face twisted with horror as she questioned whether Jason had turned her in, how his phone rang a little while ago. When he hears footsteps clattering up the stairs and over the landing outside the office, he braces for what might be coming next.

He is relieved when it is Sabrina Gage, still wearing the black pants, white shirt, and ice-blue apron from Thaw Coffee & Tea downstairs, who walks through the door.

“I came up as soon as I could take a break,” she says. Her eyes exhibit the same distraught energy that Jason feels roiling within himself. “Have you heard anything else?”

“Yeah.” He pushes back his chair and stands. “Could you shut the door?”

Sabrina does just that before turning back to Jason. “Is Tempest okay?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, exactly,” he says. “But I just got a voicemail from a detective with the KBPD.”

“What? Why?”

“You know how I told that Tempest asked me if this was about those magazines while Brent was arresting her…?”

Sabrina’s already-large eyes flare even wider. “They asked about the magazines? Are we going to get in trouble?”

“He just asked me to call him back,” Jason explains, “but I’m sure that’s what it was about. I saw the look on Brent’s face when Tempest asked that.”

“They’re still in the safe, right where you told me to put them. It’s not like we destroyed evidence–“

“I know. I’ll explain that we didn’t know what the magazines were about, so we just stashed them away in case.”

“I don’t know, Jason. This makes me nervous.” Sabrina crosses her arms in front of her body, as if protecting herself. “What if they charge us with obstruction of justice?”

“They won’t.”

He comes out from behind the desk and opens his arms wide. She steps toward him, and Jason wraps his arms around her.

“I’ll handle the magazines,” he says. “And it’s my office and my safe. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

She doesn’t respond for several seconds.

“They really think Tempest did it?” she says. 

“I don’t know about that, but Brent felt like the hair clip was enough evidence to bring her in. I should call the station and see what’s going on, if they’ll even tell me.”

“I hope she’s okay. She must be scared.”

Jason unwraps Sabrina from his arms and moves for the desk phone. “Let me see what I can find out. Maybe there’s something we can do to help her.”

12:44 PM

Rosie’s footsteps sound through the corridor as she hurries past various holding cells before reaching the one where she spoke with Tempest. When she gets there, however, she is shocked by what she sees: the cell door is open, and there is no sign of Tempest — or anyone else — in that cell.

Equal parts perplexed and panicked, she hurries back out to the booking area.

“Does anyone know what happened to Tempest Banks?” she asks no one in particular. “She’s been in Cell 4. Got arraigned this morning–“

“Got bailed out about 20 minutes ago,” another officer says while barely looking up from a binder on the countertop. 

“Really?” Rosie takes out her cell phone and double-checks the text from Travis, confirming that he woke up Claire only minutes ago and told her what was going on. There could be no way that she is the one who posted Tempest’s bail.

“Can you tell me who bailed her out?” she asks as she moves to the counter to get a look at the binder, needing to know what has happened to Tempest.

END OF EPISODE 1098

How did Tempest get bailed out so quickly?
What will Jaq do now that Tempest was arrested?
Should Jason turn over the magazines to the police?
Weigh in on all this and more in the comments below!

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