Previously, On Concrete Shelves
- Rodney Burnett revealed himself to his hostage, Greta Wilkinson.
- In an attempt to overcome her fears, Penelope Wilkinson vowed to visit her husband -- Grady Wilkinson.
- James Thurlow offered Reichen Calbourne a position at Thurlow Enterprises.
- Miles Fowler was wounded while trying to save his fiancé...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Greta Wilkinson’s Room
Greta Wilkinson sat up in her hospital bed and looked out the window. An entire day had passed since she was last laying in a pile on the floor in a basement, and after spending so long alone in darkness she had welcomed all the visitors and nurses she could cram into her room. Through her window she could see the Autumn leaves began to orange and bristle, and then crispy; falling to the ground. The thought of the changing season brought joy to her face.
The door to her room opened and Greta smiled when her fiancé, Miles Fowler, stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He had one arm in a sling, his face was now swelling from the confrontation with Rodney Burnett in the yard of the old victorian home, and he seemed to have a limp as he lingered by the door.
Miles shuffled over to her. “How are you doing?”
It had been a question that Greta had only answered before out of kindness, but as she looked at Miles -- he leaned over the hospital bed and kissed her forehead, Greta smiled -- she knew that in order to keep her fiancé from stressing out about her she needed to assure him she was just fine. Greta pursed her lips. “I’m doing fine, much better now than I was in that basement.”
“I’m here now.” Miles spoke, he brushed her hair.
She noticed a pain look in his face. “Are you alright? The doctor came in here earlier and informed that you had broken two ribs. I don’t know how you managed to get into my room,” Greta looked past him at the door; looking for an answer to her question. She looked back at Miles, “I think you still need to rest up.”
“And leave you?” Miles asked; he sat on the bed and held her hands. “I almost lost you Greta. That psycho took you away from me because I wasn’t there to protect you before. That’s not every going to happen again... I promise you that.”
Greta leaned up and kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Mr. Fowler,” a nurse spoke from behind him. Miles winced at the mention of his last name and knew he was going to get into trouble. He had already tried to sneak into Greta’s room once this morning but was caught by another nurse and detoured back to his room.
He turned to face her. “You need your rest Mr. Fowler,” the nurse walked around him to run through Greta’s hourly check-up. “I don’t think you want us to get security this time. Besides, I think you’ve been through enough these last couple of days.”
“Grab my things, I’m moving into her room.” Miles mused; his instructions fell on deaf ears as the nurse placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving her side so if you need me to rest, then by all means, move my bed into this room so that I can be with my fiance.”
Greta chuckled, “Miles!”
“Sir, Miss Wilkinson is being released today.” The nurse said.
He smirked. “Fine, I’ll go back to my room. But the moment my fiance is released please bring her to my room. I don’t think I can wait another minute without her by my side.” Miles rose from her bed and turned to the nurse, who helped him maneuver around. “Can you help me to my room?”
“Certainly.” She turned to Greta. “Your doctor will be in later today with your release papers and if you do want to see romeo over here, he’ll be in 32B -- right down the hall.”
“Thank you.” Greta replied, waving as they left.
[.....]
Scene Two:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Outside Greta Wilkinson’s Room
She wrung her hands as she stood in front of her husband, Gideon Wilkinson, and their close friend, James Thurlow. The neurosurgeon opened her mouth to speak but dreaded the name she would have to utter to get her point across. She never thought that Rodney Burnett would be back in her life.
Before Daphne had to force herself to speak his name, Gideon came to her rescue. “Now that Rodney Burnett is back in the fold we are going to have to proceed with caution. The good news is that we have dealt with him before,” he turned to Daphne who sheepishly looked away.
“So we just what,” It was James Thurlow who spoke next, “we just wait for him to strike next and pray to god that he doesn’t take any of our family members hostage?... You know what he did last time Gideon. This man... he knows what he is doing and will strike when we least expect it.”
Daphne held herself. “I had this horrible feeling,”
“We now know he is out there.” Gideon countered; his attention fell on Daphne once again and he took note that she couldn’t acquire the ability to form full sentences. She had probably been suffering from shock, or at least anxiety. He took her in his arms. “At least we have some sort of-”
James shook his head. “There’s no advantage with a wild card like Rodney Burnett,” he placed a hand to his forehead and squeezed the base of his nose. “With Lucy Hahn we at least had an idea of where she was going, and what she wanted... he took Greta hostage and possibly killed Emily... Who knows if he is even targeting Daphne anymore!”
She gulped at the mention of her name.
“I have to go warn Helen.” James announced, departing from the group.
In his place, Miles took center stage with his nurse by his side. “So what do we know now Chief?”
Gideon looked at Miles and then back at Daphne. “Besides what Greta told us about Rodney Burnett we really don’t have much.” He took a double-take of the younger man, “what are you even doing out of bed? You should be resting after the tussle you got yourself into... thanks by the way, you saved our daughter’s life.”
“From what Greta said,” Miles thought back to what Rodney had told her, “I would have been a better hero if I had just stayed in my car and waited for her to leave the basement. I don’t understand why he would let her go after going through so much trouble as to kidnap her.”
“Thank god he did.” Daphne stepped in. "I'm glad my daughter is safe now."
Miles agreed. “If he would have harmed a hair on her head.”
“The good news is that he didn’t.” Gideon said; he offered Miles a handshake for his dedication and then insisted that he go back to his room and get some rest, “if you’re going to continue to take care of my daughter, you’re going to need some rest, detective.” He added.
“Just keep me updated.”
Daphne hugged him. “We will.”
[.....]
Scene Three:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina Thurlow’s Home
As the sun shone through the light blue curtains, it flowed into the room -- off the white walls of the room -- onto the queen-sized bed where a woman lay. She was tangled in a thin light robin egg blue sheet while her comforter lay on the floor in a tattered ball of rejection. Had she not been getting enough sleep lately there would be no doubt that she would already be awake and out of bed. But today she slept heavily; her arms trawled above her head, one against her dark hair and the other under a pillow.
In the distance -- but still in the same room -- the sound of the radio clicking on was an indicator that it was time to wake up as a Katy Perry song blasted through it’s speakers. The woman jolted out of bed, she wiped the slobber from the side of her mouth and looked around. Her eyes caught the sight of her alarm clock, “Oh, shit!”
She would definitely be late for work today, there was no doubting that. Marina Thurlow made her way out of her bedroom and into her bathroom. The faint sound of the song ending only opened up for a radio DJ greeting the ‘late rousers’, she smirked at how acquainted she had been lately with being late.
Then out of no where she remembered when her car had broke down two days ago -- as of right now she was carless. Which made getting to work even more difficult, there was a lack of color in her face as the realization absorbed her thoughts. Marina had broke down on the outskirts of Now Town and had to be rescued by none other than Ryan Bauer. How he had found her, by chance. A goofy grin found it’s place on her face.
Marina almost felt guilty for the expression, her body was betraying her.
The scent of the rugged man’s cologne filled her nostrils as she thought back to hugging him close. It brought her back to when they would lay on his bed; sprawled with limbs in different directions and just talk for hours about nothing and everything in between. Definitely a relationship she wasn’t able to appraise with Ian Kiefer. But then her thoughts turned to Ian and how badly she treated him; and while she did have legitimate feelings for Ian, it was true that they were never as strong as her feelings were for Ryan.
But it didn’t stop her from feeling horrible about the way things ended. She looked out her reflection in the mirror. Was she destined to be haunted by Ian if she were to proceed to carry a relationship with Ryan? There was a part of Marina that had already answered the question. It was the same part that told her she could never fall in love with anyone other than Ryan. So she was at an odds. Dangling over a cliff of contemplation. She tilted her head and then made a decision; she would leave Ryan alone. If he wanted to be with her, he would have to make the first move.
Her attention darted to the door of the bathroom, her cell phone was calling her from her bedroom. Was that already a sign? Marina scurried into the room, plopped herself on the bed and answered her phone, “Hello?”
“Marina!” The voice on the other end called; it belonged to her boss, Seth Keeler.
She suddenly lost interest in the phone call. “Oh, Seth,” Marina sat up on her bed, “I’m sorry that I’m running late. My car broke down and I just have been using public transportation. As you can see... it’s not exactly getting me anywhere. I’ll be in-”
Marina furrowed her brow. “Greta is what?... When?”
“They found her the other night,” Seth reported, “Apparently they were trying to keep it from the press. But one of the nurses let the cat out of the bag this morning and the hospital is swarmed with vultures -- listen I was just calling you to let you know that I had already assigned Leia to the story.”
“Oh, you did?” If Marina had been uninterested in the conversation before, now she was livid. She shuffled off the bed and back towards the bathroom where she looked at herself in the mirror. The news that Greta was found alive did comfort Marina in a sense, after all, they did grow up together. But the fact that Olivia Joplin was covering another story -- This was unacceptable. “Do you still need me in the office today?”
Seth stood silent for a beat. “Go ahead and come in whenever you can.”
“Of course.” Marina bit her lip, she said her goodbyes and then hung-up the phone.
[.....]
Scene Four:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. [Faustino Cottages #7]
Charlie, Kirsten, Megan & Charlene Sutton’s Home.
“But I don’t want those cereals,” Megan Sutton declared; she pointed to the bowl of Lucky Charms that sat in front of her. Her dirty blond hair hung above her head in a pony tail and simply shook along with the girls head. She folded her arms and sat back in her chair.
Her mother, Kirsten Sutton, walked over to her. Kirsten had been up at 6am, trying to sort through paper work and laundry before she had to deal with the daily duties of raising a seven year-old. She placed a hand on each of her hips and frowned. “Well, why not Megan? You always want those cereal.”
“Because,” the little girl explained; her face in various expression of disapproval, “those cereal will give me cavities!” The explanation was simple enough and so direct that Kirsten felt she should have known that in advanced. “I don’t want to get my teeth pulled out!” Megan folded her lips over her teeth and made chomping motions.
This caused Kirsten to laugh. “Then what cereal do you want?”
Megan thought for a second. “I want your cereal, mommy. Then ones that dad says taste like cardboard.”
Kirsten felt betrayed by her own husband. “Oh he does, does he?” She raised an eyebrow and made a note to take him up on that statement at a later time. In the meantime she walked the bowl over to the sink and dumped it out. She made a new bowl of cereal for her daughter.
“I think you’re a little too young to be worried about all your teeth falling out.” Kirsten exclaimed, she placed the bowl in front of her daughter and folded her arms. She watched as Megan slowly picked up the spoon and dug into the breakfast. “How do you like them?”
She nodded her head, “Good.”
Kirsten turned around to see her husband swarm into the kitchen, he seemed to be already dressed for a day at the Inn. “A little bee told me that you think my cereal taste like cardboard.” She stated; her arms folded.
Charlie Sutton looked between both of his girls and scrunched his face in thought. “I’m not getting out of this easily, am I?” Kirsten shook her head. “Thanks for ratting on me, squirt!” Charlie spoke, he walked over to his wife and kissed her. “They sort of do taste like-”
“Have you seen my mother?” He finished, instead.
It was a morning just like any other and for the most part Kirsten didn’t want things to change. When she was a little girl her routine was what kept her sane, she scheduled swimming around her ballet classes, and cheerleading followed up afterwards. It set her up for when she finally had a family of her own and a business as well. So schedules had become a savior to her.
“I haven’t seen her today,” Kirsten walked back to check on Megan who had all but finished her meal, “she could still be in bed. There wasn’t any coffee this morning when I started making breakfast and while I was in the study I didn’t hear her get up.”
“Those meetings she is going to -- must be keeping her up at night.” Charlie decided.
Kirsten smiled wryly, “Them or that man she’s been hanging around with,” she made her way around the table and in front of Charlie. “I met him the other day, my father was actually doing business with him.” This caught Charlie’s attention. “You’re new step-dad is quite dashing.” She added.
“We don’t even know if they’re dating.” He replied.
“I don’t know,” Kirsten leaned against the granite counter top, she bit her lip, “that man definitely has this rugged, chiseled look to him. If Charlene is able to keep her hands off that man, she must have superhuman strength... Don’t worry honey, you’re still sexier to me.”
Charlie smirked, he walked over to Kirsten and took her into his arms. “My mother has been happier than she’s been in years. I don’t know if it’s because of Reichen Calbourne or because of the meetings, but I’m glad that she has been smiling a lot more. Besides, she knows she can’t have a relationship for a year.”
“There can’t be any significant change in her routine.” Kirsten reminded him.
“A relationship is a huge change.” Kirsten shrugged, she leaned up and kissed her husband. “Kirsten, you stay out of my mother’s head when it comes to that man, you understand me?”
She chuckled. “Alright.”
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Five:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Sysphean’s
“So you’re basically telling me that there is a little boy out there,” Charlene summarized; her brother asked if she’d join him for breakfast early this week. Since Charlene hadn’t heard from him in awhile she agreed. But that meant she had to wake up early in order for them to be on-time for their 8 o’clock reservations. It seemed her brother wasn’t able to pull strings today, “somewhere and he has your DNA.”
Frank Nelson shrugged. “It’s not like I meant for it to happen.”
Charlene placed her fork down and sighed heavily. “Do you remember when you found out that I was having an affair with Kevin Saunders and you told me that I had to end it before Patrick found out? Frank, you told me that the affair would ruin my perfect marriage-”
“I didn’t say perfect-”
“Doesn’t matter.” She held up her nose. “The fact is; you told me to end my affair to a man that I was very much in love with because you were looking out for my future. But did you take one moment to think about the future that belonged to Deborah and yourself? My god Frank, talk about the pot calling the kettle black... how could you? Better yet, why didn’t you think about using protection while you were screwing your secretary?”
The thought of her brother telling her to end the affair with Kevin Saunders all the while he was carrying on a hot and steamy relationship with his secretary. Charlene shuttered at the fact that her brother produced the child of that delusional and sick young lady. “Are you going to go after her?”
It was as simple a question as it was complicated. Especially after the fiasco that Frank had went through once he found out the Sebastian Hahn was his son. Lucy had kidnapped him, confessed her love and threatened him to stay with her; then simply let him leave.
“I don’t think I am.”
“Why not?” Charlene asked.
Frank looked up at her stunned. Charlene was sure her brother was wondering who’s side she was one and truthfully, she wondered that as well. “You’ve said that Lucy was unstable when she kept you in the Thurlow cabin, surely you don’t think leaving a child in her care is wise, do you?”
“It’s not like a mad woman kidnapped him.”
“No,” Charlene started, sternly, “she kidnapped you. Does that not register in your mind that she might not be all that suitable to raise her child -- a child that you fathered -- may I add? Frank, that little boy could be in worst condition than you were when Gideon and Emmet found you. How could you just leave him with Lucy Hahn?”
He pinched the start of his nose. “Because I believe her when she told me she’d never harm Sebastian... Charlene, she might have been delusional about our relationship going any further than it did. But I don’t think Lucy would ever harm our child. I know it sounds bizarre, but she wouldn’t. I’m going to let her keep him... I owe her that much, if nothing else.”
“Can you stop badgering me about my mistakes?”
Charlene lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry, I just-” she wiped the corner of her lips with her napkin. “I just can’t imagine keeping a child from their father like this. Do you think if she ever returned to Stone Creek that you would reach out to her?”
“I was thinking about maybe talking about some of your mistakes...” Frank smirked, dryly. “I actually ran into a conversation about your boyfriend -- Reichen Calbourne -- the other day. I heard that James wants to offer him a job at Thurlow Enterprises. Has he told you that yet?”
She gulped; as a matter-of-fact Reichen hadn’t mentioned the proposal. Although it hurt her, she knew that Frank had phrased the change of subject wrong and she knew he was only forcing his opinion on her to make her feel bad about opposing his wishes. “First, Reichen and I aren’t dating. You should know that I can’t undergo any outstanding change until I’ve been in recovery for a full year. Secondly, he doesn’t have to tell me everything.”
“So you didn’t know?” Frank smirked.
Charlene shook her head. “No, I didn’t know.”
[.....]
Scene Six:
549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope Wilkinson’s Home
Penelope Wilkinson messed with her hair. It wasn’t an action she did very often as the short bob of white hair hardly ever looked out of place and if it did she wasn’t one to may too much attention to it. But today -- after the realization that she would go see Grady -- she needed some sort of distraction until Jeremy Joplin arrived to pick her up. Had she not lost her license after the car accident maybe Penelope would have went alone.
Her hands fell to her sides and she looked at herself in the mirror. How the years had caught up to her so easily, she didn’t know. It wasn’t too long ago that Penelope was new to Stone Creek and just starting her life and career as a nurse.
‘You’re never going to be happy there’ The words of her mother rang in her head as Penelope Lane stood at the doors of the Police Station. It was her first day in Stone Creek and already she was having trouble with the law. But she wouldn’t let her mother’s words get the best of her. Penelope pushed the doors open and stormed over to the nearest police officer.
“I need to talk to you!” She ordered; when the man turned around she found herself blushing. He seemed to have at least ten years on her but his chiseled looks and piercing blue eyes stole the breath from her lungs. “I- I need to discuss a ticket I received.” Penelope softened her tone.
He frowned. “How about you talk to the front-”
"I’m talking to you.” Penelope replied, she waived the ticket in his face. “I don’t want to wait thirty minutes just for some bimbo at the front desk to turn me away! Are you kidding me? Why do you think I walked over to you? Now please, you seem like a reasonable man.”
The police officer took the ticket from her hands. “You ran a stop sign, ma’am.”
“I did not!” She rose her voice, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. “Do you people not know how to do your job? I saw a red sign; I stopped. Then I drove. How complicated do you think a stop sign is and how the hell do you think I couldn’t master that?”
He gulped. “Ma’am-”
“I’m not going to speak with front desk!” Penelope interrupted.
“Then how about you speak with me?” Another man spoke, she spun around in annoyance. But she hoped that finally she would be getting somewhere with her situation. Looking at the other man in front of her, Penelope couldn’t help but stare. He was even more gorgeous than the first man. She had to do a double-take, then she looked around the room and noticed all the other men in the room. “How may I help you ma’am?”
Penelope gulped; she grabbed the ticket back from the first man and shoved it at the second. “This... I-I just need someone to help me with this... What is it with this place?” She finally mustered, her head shaking. “Why the hell are all you people so god damned good looking? Is that how you get away with writing these ridiculous tickets?”
The man only chuckled.
“I mean it!” She pointed at the piece of paper. “That thing says that I didn’t make a full stop. But let me tell you something! I come from the city and you learn how to make a complete stop very fast there. It’s either you stop or you collide with another car-”
“How many cars have you collided with?” The man smirked.
Penelope grumbled. “That’s not what I’m trying to get at.”
“Then please,” he looked at the ticket once again, “Miss Penelope Lane, please tell me what you’re trying to get at? A lovely lady such as yourself shouldn’t be so high strung with stress.”
“Don’t think you can compliment me and get away with it!”
The officer stuck out his hand. “My name is Officer Grady Wilkinson, how about we go talk about this ticket over coffee?” He asked. She was stunned by how charming the man was and how easily it was for her to nod her head in agreement.
The doorbell wrung and Penelope jumped from her seat. She knew that it had to be Jeremy on the other end. How they had come so full circle after the years of tension between the two of them was beyond her. Although there was a comforting feeling when she was around Jeremy. There was also an awareness that at one time he was the reason she split from Grady.
She opened the door to reveal Dr. Jeremy Joplin. The man looked up at her with a comforting smile, “Are you ready?” he asked, reaching out for her hand.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
745 W. Lavender St., Stone Creek. [Old Granger Manor]
Damien & Gillian’s Home
Gillian Sutton walked into the kitchen and picked up a granny smith apple; she held it in her hands and looked around the room. It had been awhile since she was able to get the kitchen to herself -- with the cook here for most of the day -- Gillian had learned which rooms she could be alone in when she wanted to. Throughout her whole life, Gillian was keen on remembering other’s daily routines.
She sunk her teeth into the apple and smirked.
When she was a young girl her father had always favored the blue-eyed, curly headed blond over her brother, Charlie. She would skip through the house wearing her Sunday shoes and the staff would stay alert to stay out of Gillian’s way when she did so carelessly interrupt their routines. And when someone would tell her to watch where she was going, Gillian would reply so sternly and so assuredly that one would close their mouth in embarrassment and walk away. It was her god given right to do as she pleased. Had she realized this skill at the early age she developed it Gillian was sure she’d have had a pony. But it took her fifteen years to realize it.
Gillian sat at the huge island; she picked at the apple carelessly. Today she had a couple meetings at Sutton Enterprises and after the way Caitlyn Thurlow walked in so effortlessly; attacking her marriage to Damien, she knew the discussion of security would have to come up.
It wasn’t that she was scared of a woman like Caitlyn. Quite the opposite actually, because Caitlyn reminded Gillian of her mother, Charlene. Both women were so pathetic in Gillian’s eyes for foolishly following men that had their own best interests in mind. All Gillian could do was feel sorry for them. But there was no room for feeling sorry for anyone today, there were too many things she needed to accomplish and beefing up the security was one of them. There would be no reason for a woman such as Caitlyn -- or her mother, for that matter -- to be able to get passed security so easily. She needed her own piece of mind at work.
She glanced down at the granite top counter; tiled her head. Gillian could see the glimmer of her reflection in the shine of the grey and brown granite. There definitely was a different woman there. It was true that she had learned how to read other people’s habits at a young age and now she was reading hers. No longer was Gillian the type of woman that fell head-over-heels in love. She had learned to keep her heart out of her mind when it came to the decision to find someone to be loyal to. Gillian had been deceived one too many times and now she wouldn’t let herself be fooled again. She spent the last six years conning men out of their money, just for the fun of it.
There wasn’t any man worth investing her interest in like Damien Crenshaw was and once he made a play for her heart, Gillian accepted his invitation. At the time she knew that a charming and powerful man like Damien was exactly what she needed. But she hadn’t realized the repercussions of her actions. When they came to Stone Creek there was a divide between Damien and the rest of the town that Gillian couldn’t ignore. Her loyalties had definitely aligned with her husband for so long, but now she wasn’t too sure.
Which was why having Caitlyn -- or anybody else -- in her ear talking about Damien was the one thing she couldn’t deal with right now.
“Mrs. Gillian,” her chef greeted as he patted into the kitchen; a huge grin on his face, “should I make you anything to eat before work? How about your favorite salad?”
Gillian turned her body to face him. “I’m fine Ronan, I think I have enough on my plate.” She lifted the apple up and smiled heavily.
“There’s my beautiful wife,” Damien greeted; he stepped into the room with his arms folded. After both occupants caught his eye, Damien walked over to Gillian and kissed her forehead. In which Gillian leaned into as usual. He turned to Ronan, “How about some privacy?”
“What’s wrong?” Gillian asked; she watched as the chef left.
Damien sighed. “They found Greta Wilkinson.”
“That’s good news.” Gillian placed her apple down, she wiped her hands. “When did they find her and did Gideon find out who exactly was behind her disappearance? Please don’t tell me this was something as simple as a bored fiance not wanting to come home.”
He chuckled. “They found her the other night,” Gillian looked at her husband confused, “Gideon wanted to keep her reappearance low-key so they had the hospital staff keep mum. Not only were they treating Miss Wilkinson, but they had to treat her knight in shining armor fiance as well. He tried to stop her kidnapper.”
She watched as her husband sat next to her. “I have nurses on my payroll who are getting the boot.” Gillian mumbled, she could feel Damien’s hands reach out for hers. So she mindlessly put hers in his. “So Miles was hurt as well?”
“An act of bravery.” Damien mocked.
“Stupidity.” Gillian tightened her hands. “So what are we going to do? That press release was the best exposure either one of us has had yet. Now that Greta is found -- which I’m sure is a great thing -- we don’t have much else to pull in these idiots. Don’t get me started with work, either,”
“Are they still giving you trouble?” He asked.
Gillian nodded. “I’m a Sutton and they should be treating me as such. But I still have to prove myself each and every day that I am qualified to fill my father’s shoes.”
“I still don’t understand why you had to appoint yourself as CEO of Sutton Enterprises.” Damien replied. This caught Gillian off-guard as they hadn’t had this conversation in some time. She knew where he was going with this and prepared to tune him out. “Just because you’re a Sutton doesn’t qualify you to run a multi-million company.”
“I’m not hiring someone outside of the family name.” Gillian rushed.
Her gaze fell back on the apple; half-eaten and alone on the countertop. Gillian could feel her husband’s eyes burning into her with worry.
[.....]
Scene Eight:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. [Faustino Cottages #7]
Charlie, Kirsten, Charlene & Megan’s Home
“Helen,” Kirsten Sutton spoke; it was more a question than it was a greeting and as Helen Schmidt pushed past her daughter and turned on her heel to face Kirsten, that question still lingered above them. There was no telling when they had last spoke, but Kirsten was sure they weren’t due to exchange words until the holidays. She stood near the doorway and silently pleaded with Helen to reveal why she was there.
Helen reached into her purse frantically. “Take these,” she shoved three train tickets in Kirsten’s hands. “I can’t bring myself to think how bad I’d feel if anything actually happened to my granddaughter. Take these tickets and get Charlie -- and Megan -- out of Stone Creek for awhile,” Helen then looked around, “where are they?”
“Charlie is at work,” Kirsten looked down at the tickets in her hands, observing each one, “Megan is already spending the day with Cassie and Lucian. I-I don’t understand what you actually want me to do with these and quite frankly I really don’t have the time to figure it out Helen. Look,” Kirsten locked eyes with her; she stopped speaking and noticed the fear in them. “Are you alright? What did you do this time?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Helen scoffed. “It’s your damn father and that damned Wilkinson family. I don’t know how you haven’t heard it by now. That man who took Greta hostage is still out there and it looks like he is targeting everyone who has been involved with the Wilkinson family.”
Kirsten stacked the tickets and gave them back to Helen. “I still don’t know how this concerns us.”
“Because it’s Rodney Burnett who kidnapped Greta.” Helen’s eyes watered. “Kirsten... Look I know that we don’t really see eye-to-eye on many things. Especially when they come to your family and your father. But I would never want to see you get hurt because of something that happened a long time ago.”
“That’s bullshit.” Kirsten said. Her mother had done many selfish things in her past that have directly effected Kirsten’s siblings and herself. There were a lot of things that Helen had did that impacted the way that Kirsten dealt with her mother... She shifted uncomfortably. “I can’t take these. We’re not leaving Stone Creek.”
Helen’s shoulders slumped. “It’s only for a little while.”
“No.”
“Stop being so stubborn! Rodney Burnett is a deadly man and I know what he is truly capable of. That man,” Helen shook her head, “that man has killed people Kirsten. He has taken children and grown women hostage and I don’t want to see that happen to anybody that I care about. I already went to your siblings-”
“What did they say?” Kirsten asked.
Helen rolled her eyes. “Two of these tickets were for them -- truthfully. They don’t want to leave town either; Emmet told me about this allegiance he has to Gideon Wilkinson and Marina’s just excited that she might have an exciting story to write about!”
“I have a business to run,” Kirsten reminded her, “and I don’t know how you conduct business over there at HEAT Magazine, but I don’t walk out on my business without the proper warning. There’s no way that neither of us can take any sort of vacation right now. Thanks for thinking about us -- even if Charlie was last minute -- but I’m not going anywhere and neither is my family.”
“Don’t be so selfish.”
“I’m sorry,” Kirsten looked at Helen in rage, “that’s your job.”
Kirsten could tell that the words were enough to hurt Helen, although she had no clue how much they actually did hurt her. She walked back over to the door and opened it. Waiting as patiently as she could -- which was not at all -- for Helen to get the hint that the conversation was over.
Helen lowered her head in defeat and began walking towards the door. When both women were side-by-side Helen turned towards her daughter, slightly, “One of these days you’re going to get over this grudge you have towards me Kirsten. One of these days you’re going to need me and I’m not going to be here and I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you. So stop acting like a fucked-up child.”
“You did this all on your own, Helen.”
“No, Kirsten, you chose to stay angry with me. I thought that after High School you would get over hating me for taking your trust fund. I thought that once you started your own business you would let it go. But this broken teenager you are acting like,” Helen shook her head, “I didn’t do that.”
Her mother stormed out of the house; her head was held high.
[.....]
Scene Nine:
Stone Creek; Cuttlebone Lake
The Lakeside Inn; Main Ballroom 2
The inside of the ballroom was massive. It held the contents of a few chairs, a couple tables and various planted plants tucked around the corners of the room. On the far wall, opposite the main entrance to the ballroom, was a table placed alongside a major window. The table was the resting place of Aidan Jurado as he stood over it; a couple of clipboards, flyers and binders sprawled across the table. He turned when he caught the sound of shoes clanking against the polished mahogany wooden floor.
“Charlie,” Aidan greeted; he shortened the gap between them and hugged his cousin’s husband, “I know I’m supposed to be in my office working on these things, but I can’t stand being in a small space. Don’t get me wrong, my office is pretty big... Did Felicia send you this way?”
Charlie’s hands found their way to his pockets -- he was taking a moment to think. “I haven’t spoken to her yet. But I’m glad you found a place to let out your creative juices. When we spoke last I didn’t think you’d be able to shake off the whole Amanda and Taylor drama.” Aidan’s face grew red at the mention of their names. “How are you doing, by the way?”
“I’m doing much better.” Aidan smirked; thinking back to Taylor Kern.
“That’s good, I’m glad.” Charlie made his way over to the table where Aidan had been earlier. It was a gesture that made Aidan nervous, he soon followed his boss over. “Which party is this one?”
“A Halloween Office Party,” Aidan pointed out, he reached around back and took his own wrists. They wanted a bigger place to host their office party. The company owns a small building in Now Town and with the way the city was built I’m sure you’re aware that a lot of the buildings are pretty-”
“Small.” Charlie finished; he nodded in agreement.
Aidan licked his lips. “I was able to find some props in the basement. They’re mostly older antiques, but with some tweaking of this ballroom I’m sure that we can accommodate their Halloween theme.” After walking Charlie through the whole concept Aidan couldn’t help but be proud of his work. “Charlie... I also wanted to thank you,”
“For what?” He furrowed his brow.
Charlie placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Aidan, don’t worry about it. You’re my family -- at least through marriage -- so of course I would help you out. You’ve done nothing but help me out here at the Inn so I really have to thank you! Seriously, you’ve done a lot around here.”
He smiled. “I’m just glad I got this chance to redeem myself.”
[.....]
Scene Ten:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Wallingford Institution; Outside
Penelope Wilkinson climbed out of Jeremy’s car.
She looked at the triple-story building in front of her and how daunting it felt. Inside it’s walls there were many people that Penelope had known throughout her life. Many people that Penelope still visited; mainly Catalina Cortez. But there was also one person that she couldn’t bring herself to visit; Grady Wilkinson.
“One step at a time.” She could hear the voice of her companion. Penelope turned to catch Jeremy’s eye as he leaned against his car. “How are you feeling right now?”
“I sort of want to throw-up,” Penelope could feel her stomach begin to bubble with nervousness. After Jeremy had picked her up they endeared a silent car ride here to the Institution where her husband resided. It wasn’t that she felt uncomfortable around the doctor she rode with, but that she felt uncomfortable expressing how she was feeling about her husband. “But I think it just might be me getting older. I think I should start carrying a barf bag with me everywhere. Maybe it’ll become a fashion statement.”
“I doubt it.” Jeremy replied.
Penelope shrugged. “Nobody thought Lady Gaga would be a fashion statement; but then look what happened. Quite frankly I’ve learned over the years that anything is possible. How are we supposed to be able to deal with our lives changing so vastly?”
“Have you thought about what you were going to talk to him about?”
“I don’t think it really matters what I talk to my husband about,” Penelope replied dryly, “he has alzheimer’s he won’t remember anything that I tell him! It’s like the perfect excuse for a husband, actually. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise?” She chuckled.
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Jeremy chuckled.
Penelope shrugged. “I want to talk to Grady about our grandchildren and how much they’ve grown-up. How Greta is fit to marry a detective on the Police Force -- I think I’d leave out the whole ‘her getting kidnapped’ part -- just incase his heart is weak.”
“That might be a good idea.” Jeremy began walking alongside Penelope, his hands in his pockets. “Do you think you’d talk to him about you.. moving on?”
She stopped walking; turned on her heel and scowled. “I want to talk to Grady so that I can move on. But talking to my husband who has alzheimer’s about me moving on... do you understand how silly that sounds? I don’t even know how to comprehend that. The last time I actually seen him was when my daughter-in-law confirmed that he had that damned disease. I just need to take this slow.”
“Penelope,” Jeremy started.
“Jeremy, what are you doing here?” She asked.
He stood up straight. “You asked me to come with you.”
“I know that,” Penelope folded her arms. She knew why she wanted him there for her, but that’s not what she had asked him. Standing before the man she once had an affair with; Penelope was trying to uncover the reason why he wanted to be there for her. “I just was wondering why you want to be here?”
“I thought that maybe in the future-”
“You thought that we could be together?” She finished; her heart sank. “You have to know that I can’t be with anyone right now, don’t you? I’m here because I need to come to terms with my marriage but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to move on with anyone else. Least of all, you-”
“Me?” Jeremy took offense. “Would it be that bad if you still had feelings for me, Penelope?”
She tightened her lips. “I had an affair with you.”
“We’ve been over that already! Yes we had an affair and it was wrong. But don’t tell me you don’t share the same feelings for me still! We had something and it was great. Maybe now isn’t the best time to rehash it-”
“This certainly isn’t the best time!” Penelope snapped; she was appalled that he would drudge out their affair. There was a time when all she wanted was to be with Jeremy Joplin, but right now wasn’t that time. Now she just needed to get through her marriage to Grady first. Her feelings for Grady were deep and dark and if nothing else a ball of confusion. “Maybe you shouldn’t have come.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have!” Jeremy threw his hands up.
They stood in silence. Penelope turned around in a circle before shaking her head in anger and locking eyes with him. “Go now; get out of here! Leave me alone. I can’t be some maiden looking for a knight in shining armor to comfort me Jeremy. There’s not a damned white horse in the city that could carry my guilt.”
“You want me to leave you here?”
“I’ll find a ride home.” Penelope assured him.
Jeremy shook his head. “You had brain cancer, I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Look around! We are at a damned hospital, Jeremy. If there was any place to have an attack from my now cancer-free brain,” she threw her hands in the air, pointing around, “this would be it! And stop... everyone needs to stop using my cancer as this great big monster that’s going to take me out. I survived it. I survived us Jeremy and we all know that one day we’ll all die. So please, stop making me sound so... fragile.”
“I’m sorry.” He admitted.
But she pushed him away. “You can wait out here,” she stepped away, “I’ll be out in a couple hours.”
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
Stone Creek; Now Town
The Stone Creek Ledger; Inside
Marina Thurlow walked through the hallway of the 2nd story of the Ledger with her cellphone clutched to her ear. “She called me this morning telling me that I needed to run by her office and grab a plane ticket out of Cuttlebone City-”
“She bought you a plane ticket?” Kirsten asked.
Marina sighed, she knew that it would be hard to explain to her older sister that she was back in their mother’s good graces. It was sort of hard to explain to herself. They had spent years learning to rework how they reacted to Helen and then now... “I... you know how she is. I didn’t take it though, I told her what I’m going to tell you right now: My career is barely taking off, I can’t leave right now.”
“Way to become a cutthroat journalist.” Kirsten replied, sarcastically. “I don’t blame you, though. When she came by the house earlier I couldn’t bring myself to find an actual excuse to stay in town. Truth is Marina I am scared of what this man is capable of but I’m too angry with our mother to leave town. What do you think? Have you heard anything about Rodney Burnett lately?”
The truth was, Marina hadn’t know anything about Rodney Burnett until this year. It was true that Helen was pregnant with her around the time that Rodney came to Stone Creek. But nobody really mentioned his name around her. She sighed. “Just be careful.” She advised.
“I will.”
Turning down the hall towards the editing room Marina stopped in her tracks; Olivia Joplin was on her way into the room. She hadn’t seen Olivia since the other day when they agreed to work together. “Kirsten, I have to go. Just make sure you’re careful around town until this whole thing blows over, alright?”
“Marina-”
“I have to go!” She exclaimed, Marina hung up the phone and watched Olivia enter the room. Mentally she prepared herself. After Seth called her and explained how he was giving Olivia the headlining story there was so much bottled up jealousy in her. But she needed to play it cool now that they were on working terms.
She didn’t know why she did it, but once Marina reached the editing room she knocked on the door frame. Olivia looked up from her desk and smiled. “I just wanted to say thank you... again. This project is something that I really am excited about Olivia.”
“Are you going to keep calling me Olivia?” Leia asked.
Marina shrugged. “That’s the name you went by in High School. Look, I know that we’ve pretty much been pitting each other against one another-”
“You did that.”
“Yeah, I sort of did.” Marina agreed; she was so irritated with the woman in front of her. “I’m glad we are starting over as friends Oliv- I mean, Leia. Moving forward and starting this project together. It’s nice to have someone in the office that I can trust.”
Leia chuckled. “That would be nice... if you want to call me Olivia, it’s fine. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of the person I once was. Thanks for reminding me.”
Marina smirked, a tinge of guilt in her stomach.
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Miles Fowler’s Room
“We don’t exactly know what he wants.” Miles Fowler spoke, he leaned forward in his bed and looked around the room. Next time him his fiance, Greta Wilkinson, sat; she rubbed his leg and leaned against him. He was grateful to have her there. “Until we figure out that, shouldn’t we wait on trying to find him?”
Helen Schmidt scoffed, “Last time we did that he nearly killed all of us.”
“Helen, you were never in harms way,” James Thurlow spoke up; Miles watched as they two interacted with one another. There was so much history that involved the four older people in the room but between James and Helen -- he could feel the tension between the two.
The redhead shook her head. “The only reason I wasn’t in harms way was because I went into labor with Marina,” she eye’d Daphne Wilkinson, “If I would have stood at the cabin -- if we stood at the cabin James, we both could have not been here today!”
“Helen-”
“No, Daphne!” She spat. “I’m not going to take a second and think this through. I’m not going to play scooby-gang with you idiots and search for clues either! This man is dangerous and he will not stop at anything to get what he wants and I am going to do what worked for me last time.”
Miles held Greta close.
“Fall down the stairs and go into labor?” James scoffed; it was the first time that Miles had ever heard the man crack a joke and he made a note to remind himself the man had a lighter side, other than serious businessman. “With your divorce going the way it is, I doubt David is going to want to have a child with you.”
“Oh shut up,” Helen sneered; she turned to Greta, “There’s a reason why he didn’t kill you.”
Miles noticed how uncomfortable his fiance was getting so he tried to step in. But it was Greta’s father, Gideon, who’s voice he heard instead of his own, “Leave her alone, Helen. She has nothing to do with this.”
“She has everything to do with this!” Helen fired back. “If we are right about Rodney Burnett being back in Stone Creek then we must believe he killed Emily Roscoe,” Miles felt his stomach drop, “and if he kidnapped your daughter and then let her go!”
He knew exactly where Helen was going with this, “Rodney is still going after Daphne. This isn’t some revenge subplot -- he wants Daphne and I’m not going to sit here and protect her like one of those Scream movies! You guys can play hero but I’m not going to die.”
Helen turned to Daphne. “Especially not for you.”
With her chilling words, Helen stormed out of the room. She left everyone else to sit in silence as they all tried to figure out what Rodney Burnett’s next move would be. Gideon Wilkinson spoke up, he garnered everyone’s attention and stood up. “Helen’s right.”
“Gideon, you have to excuse her-”
“No, James,” Gideon turned to his friend, “she might not be the kindest person we know, but she’s right. We can’t just sit here and wait for him to make another move. We know Rodney’s history with Daphne and I think we need to solidify our grounds first.”
The group sighed. “I just can’t believe...” the words mumbled from Daphne’s corner, “I just can’t believe that Rodney Burnett is back in my life after all these years. I-I know what he is capable of and now he is threatening our children like he threatened us before. This has to end.”
“It will.” James assured her.
“I’ll get back to the station and dig up anything we can about his stay in prison and see where he was hiding, if there’s anything on him, we will find it. I’ll get a guard following everyone here just to be on the safe side and if we feel that we need a guard following the kids,” he turned to James, “I can get a couple officers to follow Kirsten, Emmet and Marina if you’d like.”
“Thank you.” James replied.
Miles gulped, “Can I guard Greta?”
They chuckled for the first time in awhile and it felt so foreign.
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Thirteen:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. [Faustino Cottages #7]
Charlie, Kirsten, Charlene & Megan’s Home
Charlene Nelson cut the veggies into thin slices; upon the counter nearest the island in the kitchen. After the breakfast she had with her brother, being able to pick-up Megan from the sitter and coming home to help cook dinner -- it was a fresh breath of air. How she thought that staying with Patrick Sutton would keep her happy, Charlene shook her head at how avoiding she was in her first marriage.
Now she watched as Megan sat on the counter; the little girl was laughing as her father was feeding her crackers. Charlene’s son, Charlie, handed his daughter a cracker and then went back to cooking their main course on the stove. Every now and then he would glance up at Megan and make sure she wasn’t too close to the edge. It was a small act, but it was more than she had seen out of her husband towards their children. At least lately.
“Oh thank goodness!” Kirsten Sutton spoke, she walked into the kitchen and placed her bag on a chair. “After the day I had it feels so good to be home.” She gave Charlene a hug and then threw her hands out for her daughter. The little girl opened her arms in return and leaped into Kirsten’s arms. “You are getting bigger by the day!”
“My god,” Kirsten gasped, she placed Megan down on her feet. Charlie turned towards his wife and scooped her up in his arms. They kissed. “Dinner and kisses from my favorite people in the world? I could get used to this lifestyle. I had the strangest conversation with my mother earlier.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “What this time?”
“Should you have to ask?” Charlene quipped. “If anything comes out of Helen Schmidt’s mouth it’s nothing but trouble and schemes.” There was a time when Charlene had tolerated Helen as a friend, it was during the beginning of her marriage to Patrick when he went into business with the conniving woman.
Kirsten shrugged. “She wanted us to leave town. There was this fear in her voice and it sort of actually made me scared as well. But I told her that we couldn’t leave.” Kirsten looked between her husband and his mother. “There’s no way we could even think about leaving Stone Creek right now.”
“Why would she even ask that?” Charlie asked.
“Something to do with a man named Rodney Burnett.” The mention of his name gave Charlene the chills and although she had never made direct contact with him. She was around to read the newspaper articles when Rodney terrorized Daphne Wilkinson and her family.
“Lets not mention that name anymore?” Charlene smiled nervously.
Kirsten gulped. “That bad, huh?”
“I have no idea why it had anything to do with us.” Charlie burst in, he wrapped his arms around Kirsten as she did her best to comfort herself. “This man was arrested after what he did. They really don’t think he has anything to do with Greta going missing, do they?”
“It’s an idea.” Kirsten suggested.
The atmosphere in the room changed and Charlene felt as if the air began to freeze. Then the doorbell broke their silence. “How about I go get that? The two of you can focus on the dinner and stop talking about that awful man. We could use some peace around here.”
Charlie nodded and Kirsten took over cutting the veggies.
“Reichen,” Charlene spoke, she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her, “I didn’t know you were coming by. Actually, I don’t remember inviting you here. Not that I wouldn’t... It’s just,” she stopped herself from talking in circles and cleared her throat instead.
He smirked. "I just wanted to come by and see how you are doing."
"Come in." Charlene smiled, moving out of the way.
[.....]
Scene Fourteen:
Stone Creek; Now Town
The Stone Creek Ledger; Outside
“Marina!” Leia Joplin shouted; Marina turned to see the tall mocha skinned woman running towards her. Instead of turning around and walking away Marina waved at her and waited. “Marina... are you waiting for the bus? If you want..” she pointed towards her car, “if you want I can take you home.”
She didn’t think that it would happen this quick, trying not to seem ungrateful Marina managed to smile “I’m really fine Olivia, but thanks. I really don’t mind riding the bus anyways. Gives me some time to conjure my inner battered city house wife... or whatever...” she trailed off.
“Inner city house wife?” Leia asked, confused.
“Don’t forget battered.” It was a stupid excuse but could someone really blame her for not wanting to get into the same car as the woman she was trying to sabotage? Marina turned away and looked for the bus. But there was nothing coming and silently she cursed at how slow transportation was. Maybe she’d write an article about it. “Olivia, don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Leia replied. “I just overheard about your car being in the shop and then I saw you out here. I know that we’re not exactly friends and we can’t just pretend to be friends because we are working together... but if you do need a ride home, maybe tomorrow or the day after-”
“I’m getting my car back soon, thanks.”
Leia nodded her head. “Alright, okay, yeah... I’m gonna head out.”
“Bye Olivia.” Marina waved. She watched as the other woman walked away and then turned back to the bus stop and tried to occupy her mind. Although she moved out of her parents home right after High School there hadn’t been a memory of ever having rode the bus for Marina to find comfort in. But today -- today that would change. Today she would finally stamp her city girl card.
Had she not been focused so heavily on the times for the bus, Marina would have noticed the car pull up beside her or that it belonged to Ryan Bauer. “Hey little lady-”
“What?!” She hollered.
Her scowl softened when she spotted Ryan. “What are you doing here?”
“I called the mechanic’s this morning,” he called out, “Can you maybe just get in my car so I don’t have to holler at you? I don’t really want anyone to think I’m trying to kidnap you or anything.” Marina started to laugh. She looked around and noticed that nobody was around even if she were getting kidnapped.
Marina walked up to his car. “You can’t kidnap me.”
“Could I at least give you a ride home?” He asked.
She shook her head. “That would be fine.” So much for becoming a city girl, she thought climbing into Ryan’s car. “I can’t believe you took the time out of your day to come pick me up. I didn’t think... I just hope my care gets out of the shop soon. Do you know what it feels like to not have a car?”
“I’ve experienced that.”
“Have you?” Marina looked at him. “Am I having one of my bratty little rich girl moments?”
“I think you’re just stressing out about something is all. Besides why wouldn’t I be here?” He asked. “Marina I really do care what happens to you. Now,” Ryan put his arm around her, “should I take you home or would you rather go spend the rest of the day with me?”
“Where would we go?”
He smirked. “Well, I’m the kidnapper so I guess it’s a mystery.”
[.....]
Scene Fifteen:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Nurse’s Quarters
Daphne had thought that her biggest problem was keeping the secret that Frank Nelson had been kidnapped. She didn’t even want to know the specifics of why or how Lucy Hahn fell in love with the businessman. But her husband told her anyways and Daphne had worried how she would keep it a secret. Now things were different.
The hospital had been busy today and Dr. Daphne Wilkinson wasn’t the only one feeling the burden. She walked up to the nurses desk -- exchanging paperwork with one of the nurses and a few hello’s -- Daphne thought back to when her daughter was brought into the hospital. How terrified she had been when Gideon had told her that Greta had been missing. It felt so surreal. She heard these stories of woman going missing everyday, some would come into the hospital with bruises and signs of rape and others -- she shuddered.
“Doctor Wilkinson,” the nurse called her back.
She turned around with a curious smile. “Yes, Angie?”
The redheaded nurse looked at the bouquet of flowers that were next to her. With her head in her own thoughts, Daphne had missed the gorgeous bouquet. “These came for you earlier but I didn’t want to interrupt you. I won’t let your husband know, but it looks like you have a secret admirer,” the nurse beamed.
Daphne looked perplexed, she walked back to the counter and looked at the bouquet. A dozen blood red roses neatly trimmed and ready to bloom. “Did they leave a name?” Daphne asked; she held the note in her hand.
“Just the note.” the nurse said.
But the words fell on deaf ears; Daphne dropped the note on the floor and locked eyes Angie, “I need you to get security right now Angie.” She looked back at the roses and felt a horrible knot in her stomach. “We need to get the security tapes as soon as possible.”
“Is everything alright, doctor?” Angie asked, panicked.
Daphne shook her head. “Not in the slightest bit.”
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
+Marina Thurlow spends time with Ryan Bauer.
+Miles Fowler makes a decision towards his future.
+Penelope Wilkinson spends time with her grandson, Bentley Wilkinson.
+A clue found by Daphne Wilkinson leads towards Rodney...
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