The auburn-haired driver grimaced at him, then reached over into her purse to fumble for her wallet. "Alexis Davis," she shot back, showing him the small photo ID inside. "Assistant District Attorney, Port Charles, New York." She flipped the wallet closed and tossed it back towards her purse. "Now let me through before I have the Commissioner demote you to Pigeon Patrol until you’re old enough to draw Social Security!"

"Now, now, now…….." Alexis peered into the darkness when a man’s patronizing tone reached her ears. "There’s no need to get testy with the young man, Alexis." Port Charles Police Commissioner Mac Scorpio strolled up to Alexis’s car with a broad smile. "He’s just doing his job."

"And I’m just trying to do *my* job, Mac," Alexis protested, nodding towards the bright red flares dotting a steep embankment. "So tell this guy to let me through and there won’t be any more problems."

"There’s no *job* for you to do here, Alexis." Mac tipped his head and arched an eyebrow towards the patrolman, silently commanding him to make himself scarce. "At least, I can’t seem to recall when the Assistant DA’s job included getting involved in routine traffic accidents."

"This *isn’t* just a routine traffic accident, Mac!" she snarled in reply. "And you know it!"

Mac shrugged, his face a mask of indifference. "Seems pretty cut and dried to me. The victim was going too fast for the weather and road conditions and the car spun out on the curve." He glanced back over his shoulder when the metallic whine of an emergency vehicle’s tow line pierced the night. "Subject lost control of the vehicle and it went through the guardrail and down the embankment." His lips thinned grimly. "From what we can tell, the driver was alone in the car."

Alexis swallowed hard. "And?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, the medical examiner will tell us for sure, but I’d say she was probably killed on impact."

Alexis’s breath caught on a sob. She stared dumbly at Mac for a few moments and then suddenly opened her car door and started to get out. "I’m going to take a look……"

"There’s *nothing* for you to do here, Alexis!" Mac insisted again. He glanced down at the ground and then put his hands on her arms, trying to hold her back. "I know you and the victim were close, but you have to remember that she probably wouldn’t want you to see her like this….."

Both of them jumped when a loud "bang" echoed from behind them. The emergency vehicle had succeeded in pulling the car up out of the shallow ravine, depositing it none too gently on the edge of the slope. When Alexis saw the "DEZINER" vanity license plate, she covered her mouth with her hand and pushed Mac aside roughly.

"Get out of my way!" she sobbed, stumbling in the muddy ground towards the car. Even though the rain had lessened to a fine mist, she pulled up the hood of her raincoat to shield her face from the breeze-born spray. The front end of the red, late model Mazda Miata was crushed like a tin can. A large tree limb protruded from the broken windshield and smaller tree branches were rain-plastered to the car’s dented body. She had gotten within about 250 feet of the wreck when Mac caught up to her, grabbing her arm to stop her from going any farther.

"You can’t help her anymore!" he shouted, gripping her tightly as she tried to pull away. When Alexis still struggled to free herself, he took her by both arms and pulled her back against his chest. "She’s GONE, Alexis!!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Her anguished wail bounced back eerily off the heavily-forested hillside. She sagged in Mac’s arms for a moment, then seemed to draw on some hidden composure and straightened her spine.

"How did you find out about it so quickly?" he asked gently. He still held her arms but loosened his grip somewhat.

"My brother was listening to the police scanner," she muttered under her breath. Her gaze was locked on the driver side door of the car. When the firemen pried it open and pulled out the limp, broken body of a slim, blonde woman, Alexis mightily fought back tears. "Stefan knows that Chloe drives a red Miata…." She snorted wryly. "He calls it her mid-life crisis car……."

"Looks more like it was her END life crisis car tonight," Mac drawled caustically. Suddenly, he frowned and then waved energetically at the EMT’s. "Hey there!!! Watch what you’re doing!!" He growled a few obscenities under his breath and then took off, jogging towards the gurney where they were loading the victim’s body.

Alexis watched silently as Mac approached ground zero of the accident. Although she wrapped her arms around her waist and rocked from side to side, her audible sobs had lessened substantially. "Ohhhhhh, Chloe…….." She shook her head and placed her fingers against her lips when the paramedics pulled a sheet over the blonde victim’s head. "What *really* happened out here tonight?"

"Nowwwwww…….." Alexis jumped slightly when she heard the low rumble of a voice at her side. "What’s a nice girl like you doing out here on a night like this, Alexis?"

"Lieutenant Taggert……." She sighed and gave the tall, muscular man a melancholy smile. Unlike the patrolmen on duty, Marcus Taggert wore a pair of snug blue jeans and a brown plaid flannel shirt. He turned the collar of his rain parka up against the raw dampness of the night. "Let’s just say I’m out here because another NICE girl managed to get herself killed……" She cast a glaring look in Mac’s direction. "And our illustrious police commissioner won’t believe it’s anything other than a routine traffic accident!"

"But you obviously seem to think it was…….." Taggert reached for a spiral-bound notebook he routinely kept in his back pocket. He was the one cop on the Port Charles police force that Alexis respected – probably the only one, she believed, who knew what he was doing. They had worked together on enough investigations for her to anticipate most of his questions before he asked them. "You knew the victim personally?"

"Chloe Morgan." Alexis nodded sadly as the paramedics pushed the gurney bearing the victim’s corpse past them. "We met shortly after she moved to Port Charles. She was going to be my maid of honor……three years ago……."

When Alexis’s voice broke again, Taggert knew better than to pursue the line of questioning. Dishing gossip about the gory details of a woman’s love life wasn’t exactly his cup of tea, but the word around the station was that Alexis had been engaged to some local hot shot three years earlier. Then, at a splashy engagement party thrown by the groom-to-be’s family, there was a sudden announcement that plans had changed. The engagement was off – leaving Alexis broken-hearted and bitter.

"Sooo…….." Taggert pursed his lips and glanced up at the twisted hunk of metal Chloe had called her car. "You and Miss Morgan stayed in touch since………since three years ago?"

"We were best friends, Taggert." Alexis continued to stare at the ambulance as they loaded Chloe’s body in the back. "Just because……." Her breath hitched in her throat and she swallowed hard. "Chloe didn’t have anything to do with the way things turned out three years ago. There was no reason for things to change between us." She quickly brushed her eyes with the back of her hand, fighting for control. "Chloe was always such a vibrant person……..so full of life……"

"Yep…..she SURE was!" Mac’s voice behind them caused both Alexis and Taggert to turn to him. "Good old Chloe was the life of the party, wasn’t she, Alexis?"

Alexis’s face fell and as her eyes flared in the night, Taggert was glad her anger wasn’t directed at him. "You’ve never been good at sarcasm, Mac," she snarled. "So why don’t you just come out and tell us what you’re getting at?"

"I *mean* that there’s no doubt that what happened tonight was an accident!" Mac held up a crumpled beer can. "My guys found at least a half dozen of these on the front seat of the car next to the driver."

"That doesn’t prove that Chloe was drinking," Alexis argued. Taggert noticed that her chest began to heave with barely-controlled fury.

"She smelled like a brewery, Alexis!" Mac countered, leaning towards her. At least he had the good sense to lower his voice. "I’m ordering the ME to do blood work just to confirm it."

"Chloe wouldn’t have been drinking." Alexis’s terse tone and their prior conversation left no doubt in Taggert’s mind. It would be interesting to see Mac and Alexis slug it out.

Mac grimaced and put his hands on his hips. "I know you two were friends, Alexis, but you have to realize that Chloe Morgan was no goody-two-shoes." When he tried to put a consoling hand on Alexis’s arm, she jerked it away. "I’ve seen her myself at the Port Charles Grille a few times, and we all remember the way she behaved at your engagement party……."

Taggert backed away a few steps – he didn’t want to be too close when the thermonuclear device went off. "You have NO idea what you’re talking about, Mac," Alexis hissed, her teeth clenched. "Chloe had changed. She was …….."

A loud bang when the tow truck hoisted the rear end of the Miata interrupted Alexis’s rebuttal. "Look, it’s late, and I’m getting sick and tired of being wet," Mac whined. He motioned for the tow truck to start pulling the car back towards the road. "Chloe Morgan was probably drunk and couldn’t keep control of the car on the slick roads……" He pointed a finger at Alexis and arched an eyebrow meaningfully. "It was an ACCIDENT, plain and simple," he growled, "so don’t try to turn this into some convoluted conspiracy, OK?"

Alexis took a breath to argue but before she could say a word, Mac stomped off into the darkness. Taggert wisely waited in silence until she finally spoke. "Chloe wouldn’t have been drinking."

"Sometimes it’s tough to accept our friends’ faults, Alexis," Taggert began softly. "I’ve seen Miss Morgan myself at the Grille, tipping a few….."

"She wouldn’t have been drinking at all, Marcus!" Alexis cried, clenching her hands into fists at her side. "Chloe was PREGNANT!!"

Taggert’s eyes widened momentarily and then he tipped his head to the side. "Are you SURE about that?"

"Positive." Alexis nodded and hiccuped quietly. "She took a home pregnancy test in my bathroom and showed me the results."

"And she was happy about the news?" Taggert flipped out his notebook again.

"Ecstatic." Alexis sniffled once. "Although I’m sure that not EVERYONE felt the same way……"

"You mean…….." Taggert stared at the deep ruts the Miata’s wheels made in the mud as they towed it back towards the road. "The baby’s father?"

Alexis snorted softly and folded her arms across her chest. "Or his wife."

"Chloe told you who the father was?" Taggert steadied Alexis when her heel sank into the mud. He put a hand to her elbow and then assisted her as they made their way back to the pavement.

"She was pretty rattled when she first suspected she was pregnant." Alexis nodded sadly as they came to the curb. "But then, as the days went on, Chloe started *glowing* – just like they say pregnant women do, you know? And we sat around and talked a lot about the baby’s future and how it was going to be successful…….with or without its father’s help," she added wryly.

"Do you think the wife knew about the baby? Or the affair itself?" Taggert lifted an eyebrow at Alexis. "Jealousy is a powerful motive for murder."

Alexis sighed and stared down at the pavement. Suddenly, her jaw firmed and she gripped Taggert’s arm tightly. "All I know is that this WASN’T an accident, Marcus!" she exclaimed, pointing to the street. "Look – there aren’t any skid marks!!" She pulled Taggert to face her, grasping both of his forearms. "If Chloe really *did* lose control because she was drunk or because of the rain, the car would have left skid marks when she tried to stop!"

"And if she was happy about the baby, she wouldn’t have tried to just……..she wouldn’t have…….."

Alexis drew herself upright when she realized where Taggert was going with his question. "Chloe wouldn’t have killed herself, if that’s what you’re asking. She wanted to *live*, and she wanted her baby to live!" She shook her head, slow at first, then quicker. "No……….Mac’s wrong. This was no accident." She stared Taggert in the eye. "Somebody killed Chloe Morgan and tried to make it look like she was drunk……. and I owe it to her to find out who did it!"

Taggert put a hand at the small of Alexis’s back, gently guiding her in the direction of her car. "I take it from the tone of your voice that you’ve got some suspects in mind."

Alexis opened the driver side door of her car but stopped before getting inside. "I’ve got some pretty good hunches."

Taggert snorted softly. "Any names you’d care to share with me?"

Alexis chewed on her lower lip, then got into the car. She rolled her window down and gave him an icy look. "Get Congressman Jerry Jacks on the phone first thing in the morning. Tell him I want to see him at 10 o’clock in my office." She started to roll the window back up but then stopped and pointed a finger at Taggert. "And if he’s smart – he’d better bring his attorney."

*~*~*~*

Alexis stared wearily out the window of her office at the docks, her arms folded grimly across her chest. The hustle and bustle of activity reminded her of the churning in her stomach.

She hadn’t expected to sleep much when she got home the night before. Fortunately, her brother, Stefan, was already in bed. Alexis didn’t relish the thought of relaying the evening’s events to him and having to relive the horror of seeing Chloe’s lifeless body pulled from the car. But after washing her face and taking a few aspirin for her splitting headache, grief and sheer exhaustion took their toll and she drifted off into a troubled slumber.

When the alarm went off at 6:30, she was out of bed like a shot. She wasn’t quite ready to face Stefan yet – particularly when she knew he would have a million questions. Ever since a random mugging had confined him to a wheelchair eight years earlier, he spent much of his time devouring news reports on the television. Once a business tycoon, he still dabbled in some financial pursuits via the Internet, but the sparkle that used to light his eyes after a brilliant stock trade was strikingly absent.

Alexis took a quick shower and dressed in one of her trademark navy "power suits" in record time. She wrote Stefan a note, explaining that she missed seeing him that morning but would try to call him by afternoon if she got a break in her schedule. The truth was that she would have *loved* to play hooky that day and completely skip her 10 o’clock appointment. But her loyalty to Chloe’s memory wouldn’t allow her that luxury.

Dark, low-hanging gray clouds completely obscured the sun – almost as though all of nature was in mourning. She had stopped for some takeout breakfast – coffee and a bagel – and then headed to the office to tackle the mountain of paperwork that continued to grow on her desk. For once, she didn’t mind burying herself in work. As she had hoped, it distracted her from thinking about the confrontation to come. When the intercom on her telephone shrilled, Alexis jumped, then let out a long breath and strode back to her desk. She stared at the intercom for a few seconds before pressing the button to speak. "What is it, Barb?"

"Congressman Jacks is here to see you, Miss Davis," the secretary replied efficiently.

"Good." Alexis licked her lips, nodded briskly, and nervously patted her hair. "Send him in please."

She took a seat at her desk and was re-arranging the stack of files on her right when the secretary’s voice came back. "The Congressman brought his attorney with him, Miss Davis. He’s insisting on sitting in on the …….."

"That’s fine, Barb." Alexis shook her head. {Still the same old family. Never a chink in the armor. Leave it to Jerry Jacks not to take a chance on getting caught with his pants down.} "Send them both in."

"But Miss Davis……"

"It’ll be alright, Barb." Alexis squared her shoulders. {You can do this. It’s been three years. You’re tougher now. They can’t hurt you anymore. HE can’t hurt you anymore. Not since he left……} "Just send them both back."

Alexis straightened the few files and pencils that sat in the center of her desk blotter nervously. {What’s the matter with you? You’re acting as though *you’re* the one who did something wrong!! Jerry Jacks is the one who should be nervous – not you!!} She put her hands on her shoulders, rotating her neck muscles in an attempt to calm herself.

{Just think about that ignorant weasel of an attorney he’ll be bringing – Scott Baldwin. That should make you smile.}

If there ever was a poster boy for lawyers-as-ambulance-chasers, it had to be Scott Baldwin. He had graduated in the middle of his class in law school, never even making it past the first cut when he applied for a job with the Public Defender’s office. He finally found some cheap office space in a brownstone near the docks and spent most of his time handling domestic dispute cases and bankruptcy filings. Four years after he started in private practice, he made the smartest career move of his life – he took Jessica Jacks – Congressman Jerry’s sister and the youngest of the Jacks offspring – out on a date.

Over the past two years, Alexis had seen Scott’s picture more and more often with Jessica in the society pages. More importantly, he wormed his way into the good graces of the patriarch of the Jacks family, John. When Jessica accepted Scott’s marriage proposal, his future became secure. John Jacks was a stickler for tight-knit family loyalty – when the going got tough, he firmly believed in circling the wagons and putting only his *own* kin out in front to defend the homestead. It was only natural that Scott became his future brother-in-law, Jerry’s, attorney.

A coy smile flitted across Alexis’s face. It was going to be a pleasure going head to head with Scott in a courtroom. She wondered briefly if John Jacks realized that he was entrusting his son’s very life to a man who couldn’t tell a habeas corpus from a halibut corpse. Her eyes flared abruptly. {Would John get Jerry a different lawyer once he realized just how high the stakes were? But who else would he call? He couldn’t possible get………no, he left, and wouldn’t come back………not until he found her……..}

"Good morning, Alexis!!" Barely three seconds after his knock sounded, Jerry Jacks threw open the door to her office. His cheery bass voice bounced off the wooden ceiling beams – the man’s vocal timbre was *made* for sound bites. His practiced, broad smile was a clear indication that he had NO idea why the Assistant District Attorney wanted to see him.

"Good morning, Congressman." Alexis managed a smile, even though she wanted to rip every perfect cap off Jerry Jacks’ sparkling white teeth. "I appreciate you making time for me this morning in your busy schedule," she added, giving herself three gold stars for not cringing when she returned his handshake.

"Well, you caught me at a good time. I don’t have to hit the campaign trail again until the end of the week……." He frowned and reached into his jacket pocket for a small leather notebook. "At least, I *think* I’m not due in Albany until Saturday."

"You……." Alexis cleared her throat. {Don’t let him off the hook too easily. Remember courtroom strategies – don’t give away the ending until it’s absolutely necessary.} "You might need to make some changes in that schedule after our meeting this morning, Congressman." She held a hand out towards the chairs in front of her desk. "Won’t you have a seat?"

"Nooooowwwwwww, if this is about my tax return," Jerry drawled, not taking a seat, "I can *assure* you that the check is in the mail!"

Alexis smiled grimly. "Congressman Jacks……"

"Or if Bobbie’s accumulated too many parking citations again, I *promise* we’ll have ‘em taken care of by the end of the week!" Bobbie Spencer Jacks, Jerry’s wife of many years, was a flamboyant, buxom redhead who took to life in the rich lane like a duck to water. She had a particular affinity for parking her customized, high octane yellow BMW convertible wherever it suited her, whenever it suited her.

"No, I’m afraid it’s not about parking tickets, Congressman……"

"I didn’t really think it was……" Jerry leaned closer to Alexis, propping one arm on her desk to support his weight. "And don’t you think we can drop the formalities?" he crooned, giving her a naughty wink. "Especially considering the fact that we were almost family……."

"Where’s your attorney??!!" Alexis rose to her feet so quickly her head almost spun. She kept telling herself that there was no logical reason why she should be so nervous. She shouldn’t allow what happened three years earlier to have a bearing on her case against Chloe’s murderer. But above all, she didn’t want slimy Scott Baldwin to slither up to some judge in six months, present a motion, and get the case thrown out of court just because of any irregularities in his client’s questioning. She peered anxiously around Jerry towards the door. "My secretary said that he came with you this morning, and I really don’t think it’s a wise idea for us to continue until he joins us!"

"Alexis…….ALEXIS!! You really need to chill out on the caffeine, darlin’!" Jerry rose to his feet and took her hands in his. "After all, remember who you’re talkin’ to!" He smiled at her, mimicking the campaign posters she had seen so many times they still inspired nausea. "Your friendly State Representative, soon to be Governor!" He patted her hand condescendingly. "And *almost* your brother-in-law!"

Alexis took a shaky breath and extricated her hands as quickly as she could from Jerry’s grasp. "Where’s your lawyer, Jerry?" she reiterated. "I don’t have all day, and I really think we……."

"He just had to run back down to the car," Jerry interrupted offhandedly. "The batteries on that little mini-tape recorder thing of his ran out and he needed some fresh ones. He settled back into his chair and ran his fingers through his coal-black, stylishly trimmed hair. "And it doesn’t surprise me, what with life being so hectic….." When Alexis’s shoulders rose in a silent question, Jerry went on. "……with Jessie and Scott getting married at the end of next week."

"Oh, that’s right……..I can just imagine." Jerry was too self-absorbed to notice the acid that dripped from Alexis’s words. She could remember only too well the three-ring circus her life turned into when she almost became a part of the venerable Jacks family. Looking down at her wristwatch, she sighed loudly and was about to start without Scott when the door to her office opened again.

"Sorry for the delay…….."

Alexis felt like she was about to have déjà vu with her breakfast. That accent – that voice that sounded like rich blue velvet. It could only belong to one man.

"Little brother!" Jerry turned around with a broad smile for the tall, blonde man approaching him. "Glad you could finally join us!"

{Breathe, Alexis. Just keep breathing.} She desperately fought for control when his blue eyes met hers and her heart skipped a beat. She stubbornly refused to acknowledge his presence, directing her comments to Jerry instead. "Congressman Jacks…….where’s …….what’s………"

"Hello again, Alexis." She almost fainted dead away when he extended a hand to her as though the past three years hadn’t existed. "I’m here today as Jerry’s attorney……"

She swallowed hard. Her most dreaded nightmare had come true. Jasper Jacks – one of the most talented criminal attorneys in the state of New York – the man she had almost married – and the only man she had ever loved – was back.

To be continued……..