Alexis raised her head from its cradle in her crossed arms on her desk. "Geez, Taggert…………" She scowled at him, puffing to blow some errant auburn hair out of her bloodshot eyes. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?"

Taggert shook his head as he closed the door to Alexis’s office behind him and walked towards her desk. "Now, Alexis……" He set a small brown bag and two styrofoam cups down in front of her, propping his hands on his hips. "If I’m your enemy, then I guess I don’t have to share these nice fresh cinnamon buns from Kelly’s with you, do I?"

She lifted her head again slightly, squinting to open just one eye. "Cinnamon buns?"

"Uh-huh." Taggert cracked a thin-lipped smile as he took one out of the bag and waved it temptingly in front of her nose. "With extra icing, just the way you like ‘em."

She chewed on her lower lip, then opened the other eye to turn her head towards the cups. "And is that fresh coffee I smell?"

"Tammy just finished brewing a fresh pot," he replied, referring to the newest proprietor of the most successful diner on the waterfront.

"High octane?" She arched an eyebrow critically.

"Don’t I always say that caffeine is next to godliness?"

Alexis hesitated for a few seconds, then quickly reached out to snatch the pastry from Taggert’s hand. She bit into it, closed her eyes and sighed in heavenly delectation, and then opened them again to give him a questioning look. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"H*ll if I know." He took the other bun out of the bag and plopped down in a chair in front of her desk, shrugging his shoulders. "Lord knows it’s a nasty job, but somebody’s gotta do it." Taggert waited until she took another sip of coffee to ask gently, "Did you get any sleep at all last night?"

"A little." She sighed again and set the cinnamon bun down on a napkin to protect her desk. "I had a lot of paperwork to catch up on yesterday afternoon, and then when I got home, Stefan had a field day, asking me a million questions about what happened to Chloe."

Taggert frowned. "I thought he had a chess tournament to go to last night." Ever since the mugging that condemned Stefan to a wheel chair for the rest of his life, playing chess had been the one thing that seemed to brighten his spirits.

"They’re still having the preliminary rounds, eliminating some of the weaker players." Alexis took another bite of cinnamon bun and wiped her mouth delicately with a paper napkin. "Since Stefan won the championship last year, he doesn’t have to show up until the real competition starts in a few days." She grimaced and shook her head. "I swear……sometimes I think my brother had a "thing" for Chloe. He just wouldn’t let it rest until he knew all the gruesome details about how she died……"

"Which is why, I guess, you didn’t get much sleep," Taggert wisely observed. He popped the rest of his cinnamon bun into his mouth and then tossed the crumpled brown bag into her wastecan with all the flair of Shaquile O’Neal.

"Yeah – that, and my little *meeting* yesterday with Congressman Jacks."

"How did that go?"

Alexis finished off the rest of her pastry and set her coffee cup directly in front of her on the desk, wrapping her hands around it with a sigh. "Parts of it went pretty much as I expected," she replied, tipping her head to the side. "When I initially brought up Chloe’s name, he denied knowing her, much less having an affair with her." She pursed her lips and continued to stare directly at her coffee cup. "But then, once I confronted him about the affair – and *especially* about the baby – he didn’t seem very shocked."

"So he knew Chloe Morgan was carrying his child?"

"Sure looked like it to me. And then – when I told him about what happened, and that Chloe was……..was……" Alexis abruptly rose to her feet and put her knuckle to her lips to stifle a hiccup. "……was dead, he really seemed to fall apart." She folded her arms across her chest defensively. "I’m still not sure what to make of that." She shook her head and looked off into the distance. "Jerry’s a consummate politician and can lie with the best of ‘em, but he *really* looked devastated when I told him Chloe and his baby were killed last night."

"And what about Scott Baldwin?" Taggert chuckled to himself as he ran a finger around the rim of his coffee cup. "I’ll bet he didn’t waste much time boo-hooing for his brother-in-law’s late mistress. Noooo, he’s probably chomping at the bit to defend Jerry, just so he can score more brownie points with old man Jacks."

Alexis’s face fell and a distinct chill settled in the room. "Scott won’t be defending Jerry." She took a shaky breath. "Jax is back in town."

"Jax?" Taggert’s eyes grew wide as he looked up at her and the smile left his face. "The guy who………who you…….."

"Yeah – him." Alexis nodded very briefly, her expression grim. "He’s going to be defending Jerry if we file charges because Scott’ll be too busy getting married to the baby of the family, Jessica."

Taggert could tell from Alexis’ physical stance that if he wanted to avoid bloodshed, he shouldn’t delve any more deeply into her feelings about the return of Jasper Jacks. "So – what did Jax have to say about Chloe and his brother?"

"Oh, he was appropriately outraged, which really surprised me." Alexis frowned. "I would think that by now, Jax would have been accustomed to his brother getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak." She shook her head and strolled towards the windows of her office that overlooked the docks, putting her fist to her lips as she stared at the swirling currents of humanity below. "He raised all the customary objections, including demanding a DNA test to confirm that Chloe was really pregnant and that the baby was Jerry’s." She suddenly turned back and arched an eyebrow at Taggert. "The autopsy *did* conclude that Chloe was pregnant, didn’t it?"

"Yep." Taggert pulled his omnipresent notebook out of his back pocket. "The coroner put the fetus at about 8 weeks’ gestation." He gentled the tone of his voice. "It died on impact, just like Chloe."

"And the toxicology screen?"

"It was negative." Taggert rubbed his luminous bald head with his right hand as he read his hastily scribbled notes. "No presence of alcohol or any other stimulants in Chloe’s bloodstream – or the fetus, for that matter."

"I knew it." Alexis’s chin firmed in determination. "So that blows Mac’s little theory that she was drinking at the time of the "accident" out of the water." When Taggert shifted uncomfortably in his chair, she frowned. "What’s the matter, Marcus?" Her arms dropped to her sides and her shoulders drooped slightly in a show of vulnerability. "Is there something else you’re not telling me?"

He rose from his chair with a sigh and walked over to where she stood. "The coroner found a few other things in his examination, Alexis……" When he reached out to take her elbows in his hands, she pulled away, re-firming her "stiff upper lip." "He ……uh……." Taggert glanced down at the floor and then up into her misty eyes again. "He said there were bruises on Chloe’s body that wouldn’t have been caused by the auto accident."

"Bruises?" Her voice broke as she whispered the word and swallowed hard. "You mean……."

Taggert breathed deeply. "Somebody roughed Chloe up pretty bad a couple of hours before the accident." Alexis closed her eyes against the mental picture and turned back towards the window as he went on. "The ME says she was probably unconscious when her car went off Hawkins Road. He thinks that whoever set up that little "accident" " most likely loaded her body into the car and then……."

"Her apartment!" Alexis suddenly interrupted. She spun towards Taggert and reached wildly to grasp his forearms. "We have to get Mac to send a team to go over Chloe’s apartment as soon as possible!" Her breath caught as she couldn’t get the words out fast enough. "If that’s the place where the beating happened, there might be some clues……."

"Hold on, hold on………" Taggert calmly took Alexis’s hands in his and smiled at her. "I’m way ahead of you on this one, OK?" When he lifted his eyebrows one more time and tipped his head in a "just wait" motion, she nodded and calmed down a little. "After the autopsy yesterday afternoon, I took the liberty of going downtown and having a little talk with Mac about the findings." He snorted sarcastically. "He wasn’t too happy that he had another homicide on his hands, but we took a forensic team and went over Chloe’s apartment last night."

Alexis’s eyes were still frantic, even if she had outwardly calmed. "And?"

"And……." Taggert sighed. "There were definitely signs of a struggle. Some fancy statues and knick-knacks were smashed, the sofa pillows were all tossed around, and a floor lamp had been knocked over." When Alexis waved her hand in a "go on" gesture, he chewed on his lower lip before continuing. "There was………well, there were some stains on some of the upholstery that the guys were pretty sure was blood……."

Alexis caught her breath, placing her hand flat over her lips. "Chloe’s?" she finally whispered.

"Possibly." Taggert shrugged. "Or her attacker’s, if she was lucky enough to scratch the guy while he was beating her up."

"Did the coroner detect any traces of skin or blood under Chloe’s fingernails?"

"None." Alexis’s hopeful expression left as quickly as it had appeared when Taggert answered. "But……on the bright side…….the forensics guys did say that they dusted the apartment for prints and might come back with a few partials – aside from Miss Morgan’s of course."

"Mine will probably be there, too." Alexis grimaced. "I went to see her earlier this week to bring her some pre-natal vitamins and soda crackers." She shook her head sadly. "She was having some morning sickness and didn’t want to venture out of her apartment to go to the grocery store for them." After a few minutes of silence, the faraway look vanished from her eyes and she became all business again. "Did you find any other evidence in her apartment that might lead us to her killer? Any handwritten notes, or old phone bills or anything?"

"Not so far." Taggert scratched his head and consulted his notebook again. "We’re still sifting though some of the papers from her desk." He flipped a page as he took a seat again. "I also thought you’d want to know we went over the stuff from the accident scene again. The second time around, the forensics guys found some dried blood stains in Chloe’s car. It’s all fancy science mumbo jumbo to me, but apparently they did a test and they can tell that the blood stains were already there before the car took a dive."

"So then it corroborates the coroner’s theory – that she was already bleeding from being beaten before the car ever went off the embankment."

"Pretty much." Taggert nodded. "They also went back over the car with a fine-tooth comb and found some hair and fabric samples." When Alexis’s eyes brightened, he held up a hand. "But don’t get too excited just yet. It’s gonna take a while to get everything analyzed."

"What about the crime scene itself?" Alexis paced back towards her desk, picking up a pencil to tap it rapidly against her blotter as her mind raced. "Has anyone gone over it again?" She grimaced. "Or is it already too late for any evidence to still be there?"

Taggert smiled broadly. "You owe me BIG time for this one, Counselor." He leaned forward with a "cat who ate the canary" expression on his face. "Apparently there was a rookie cop at the crime scene who started to take a mold of some "curious" footprints leading towards the embankments." He used the first two fingers of each hand to put air quotes around the word. "Mac saw what he was doing and ordered him to stop, but it was already too late. The plaster was partially set." His eyes twinkled as Alexis’s face lifted. "When Mac told him to get rid of the molds, the kid didn’t know what to do, so he hid ‘em in his locker." He sat back in his chair with a self-satisfied grin. "Since he just *happened* to be on the team we took to Miss Morgan’s apartment last night, the kid told me about the casts. I sent ‘em up to Forensics and we should have a definite ID on the brand and size of the shoes by late tomorrow."

"But they were MEN’s shoes, right?"

"Absolutely. Even from just a quick glance, they said it was at least a size 10. Looked fancy, too – like some Italian import."

"Like something a wealthy Congressman would wear, maybe?" Alexis asked pointedly.

"Nowwwwww, I didn’t say that." Taggert pointed a finger at Alexis as she settled back into her desk chair. "And if I were you, I wouldn’t get my heart set on pinning the rap on Jerry Jacks. While we searched Chloe’s apartment, Mac sent some guys over to the Jacks family fortress to take statements from the Congressman and his wife."

She frowned. "Why would Mac do that? He wasn’t around when I told you I suspected Jerry."

"Apparently some little birds over at the Port Charles Hotel told Mac I was snooping around there today, asking about Chloe and the Congressman." Taggert grimaced. "And it seems your almost-father-in-law has been making some phone calls and making it *strongly* known that he doesn’t want any "witch hunts" targeting his family for Chloe’s murder." He shrugged his shoulders. "Mac thought it would appease both sides if Jerry had a strong alibi for the night in question right out of the box."

Alexis held her breath – the rapid tapping of the pencil betraying her inner turmoil. "And did he?"

"I’m afraid so, Lexie." Taggert flipped a page in his notebook and squinted at the page before looking up at her again. "There was some kind of political fundraiser at the Port Charles Civic Center that night. At least a thousand people ate rubber chicken with Jerry and then listened to the Congressman drone on and on about why he should be our next governor."

Alexis’s one eye narrowed. "Until what time?"

"Until he called a cab to come pick him up." Taggert’s lips thinned at Alexis’s disappointment. "Mac’s got a signed statement on file from the cabdriver who took Jerry from the Civic Center back to the family mansion around 10."

She pouted for a few seconds and then she reached for a file clearly marked, "MORGAN." After opening it and scanning its contents, Alexis looked up again at Taggert quizzically. "But that was still fairly early, and the accident didn’t happen until sometime after midnight. Jerry COULD have left the mansion and gone to Chloe’s …….."

"And beat her up? If they were having an affair?" Taggert shook his head. "It don’t make sense, Alexis. Why would he have slapped Chloe around if he loved her?"

"I don’t know……." Alexis rose from her desk and started to pace again, her fingertips against her lips. "Maybe Jerry was a little tipsy from the banquet and Chloe pushed for a marriage proposal……" She stopped and stared at Taggert. "Or maybe he told his father about it, and if John Jacks insisted that Chloe disappear until she delivers, and then if Jerry told Chloe that and they got into an argument……."

"BREATHE, Alexis, breathe!!" Taggert came around the desk to put his hand on her back between her shoulder blades when her cheeks turned fire-engine red. She pressed her lips together and nodded quickly. "You OK?"

"I’m OK. I’m OK." She put her hand on her chest and took deep breaths as instructed. "But it’s possible…….."

"EXCEPT…………Jerry spent the entire evening with his wife," Taggert interrupted in a tired voice.

"That’s what HE says?"

"No, that’s what BOBBIE says," Taggert retorted, retreating to his chair once again. "She says she was with him all evening – at the fundraiser, and later at home."

"Bobbie Jacks is a lush and an idiot – in that order!" Alexis snarled, crossing her arms. "I’ll lay you odds right now that I can shoot holes in her alibi in less than three minutes on the witness stand!"

Taggert winced and flipped his notebook closed. "You’re doing it again, Lexie."

She froze in place to stare at him innocently. "Doing what?"

"You’re refusing to even *consider* the possibility that anyone other than Jerry Jacks killed Chloe because you’re assuming he’s guilty. And you know what they say about assumptions, don’t you?" he asked gently, slipping the notebook in his back pocket. "That they make an @ss out of you and me?"

Her loud sigh echoed in the silent room. "I’m not……."

"Yes, you ARE, Alexis!" Taggert insisted. He rose and went to stand in front of her, laying his hands gently on her shoulders. "You’re so anxious to get some kind of emotional revenge against the Jacks family that you’re closing your mind to any other suspects!"

"What other suspect?" Alexis pulled away from him self-consciously. "You *show* me another suspect!" She gave him a guilty half-smile as she took a seat at her desk once more. "You *know* I’m an equal opportunity prosecutor!"

"Yeah, well you’re gonna *have* to be on this case, baby," he shot back, "because Mac’s put me in charge of the investigation." He walked back towards the door of her office, pausing to look back at her over his shoulder with his hand on the doorknob. "And if you waste too much time spinning your wheels over this Jerry Jacks thing and the *real* killer gets away, it’s gonna cost BOTH of us our jobs!"

Alexis bit her lower lip and nodded. "You’re right. I know." She closed the Morgan file and shifted it to a pile on the right side of her desk. "Get back to me when you find out anything more specific about the shoes or the blood stains, OK?"

"Gotcha." He pulled the door open and was about to leave when he turned and gave her one last grin. "Oh – and you’re welcome for the cinnamon buns and coffee."

The bittersweet smile was still on Alexis’s face long after the door shut behind him. She knew down deep that Taggert was right – she couldn’t close her mind to the possibility that somebody else had killed her best friend. From things that Chloe had told her about Jerry, they were deeply in love. It would have taken something really earth-shattering to send that peaceful bliss into a tailspin that would have resulted in physical violence. If she continued to harass Jerry about his alibi or other aspects of the case without investigating other leads that Taggert turned up, John Jacks could go to Dara Jenson and insist that a different prosecutor be assigned. And most likely – he would get his way.

When her head started to pound with the beginnings of a sick headache, the ringing of her telephone almost came as blissful relief. For the next three hours, Alexis was buried up to her chin in other cases, allowing her to relax and settle into her normal routine. By the time her secretary knocked gently on the door, the assistant District Attorney was back to her usual fighting form.

"If it’s OK with you, Miss Davis, I’m going to lunch now," the secretary said, setting some typed documents and the corresponding files in front of Alexis.

She thumbed through them quickly. "What about the Holcomb brief, Barb?" Alexis frowned. "Don’t we need that one for a pre-trial hearing tomorrow?"

"Hm-mmm." Barb shook her head. "Judge Bannister had to postpone the hearing for another two days due to a death in the family."

Alexis snorted softly. "Seems to be going around lately, doesn’t it?"

Barb turned to leave but then stopped and looked back affectionately at her boss. "Why don’t you come with us to lunch, Alexis?" She smiled and clasped her hands nervously. "You’ve ………well, you’ve had a rough time of it the past few days, and you deserve to take a break, too."

"Ohhhhh, Barb….." Alexis smiled and chuckled softly. "I don’t think I’d be very good company today."

"Oh, come on! A bunch of us are going to Kelly’s, and I *know* how much you love their chili!"

Alexis chewed on her lower lip and then suddenly her eyes lit with renewed spark. "You know, maybe you’ve got a point, Barb." She opened a lower desk drawer and pulled out her purse. "Maybe some lunch *would* help me concentrate better!"

"So you’re coming with us, then?"

"No – but thanks for the invitation." Alexis flipped off the lights in her office as they two women stepped through the door. "I think I’ll go uptown and try that new haute cuisine tearoom."

Barb frowned. "Soggy spinach salad and overpriced coffee with no caffeine?" She lifted one eyebrow at Alexis in confusion. "Didn’t you just say last week that real prosecutors don’t eat quiche?"

"Wellllllll……." Alexis smiled brightly at her befuddled assistant. "A girl’s got the right to change her mind, doesn’t she?"

*~*~*~*

"AHEM!!" The short, dark-haired man stared haughtily at her, hands clasped in front of him, his nose wrinkled as though he smelled last week’s fish. "Can I possible be of some assistance to madam?"

"Ohhhhh, no thank you!!" Alexis had barely gone five feet inside the large, white and gold French provincial doorway before she was accosted. "I’m just………." She looked around and gave him a winning smile. "I’m just browsing for now, thanks!!"

He still looked like he believed she was going to steal everything that wasn’t nailed down if he left her alone. "Madam," he sneered as his chest puffed out snobbishly, "this is NOT your local Walmart!" His nose wrinkled up so far she thought his nostrils would become a permanent part of his eyebrows. "We do not BROWSE at Maurice’s House of Bridal Apparel!"

Alexis was no stranger to Maurice and his over-priced, underwhelming assortment of wedding finery. Three years earlier, when Jax told her that Jane Jacks wanted to take her there and "treat" her to a special dress for the engagement party, she got her first introduction to the concept of "Wedding Styles of the Rich and Famous." Although Lady Jane turned out to be a charming, warm, delightful shopping companion, Alexis loathed the dress that everyone in the salon had deemed "perfect" for the occasion. It wasn’t difficult for her to toss it in the Good Will collection box the morning after that disastrous night.

"So………" Maurice’s distinctly nasal taunt drew her out of her reveries. "Can I show you something specific, MADAM?"

"Well, actually…….."

"Monsieur Maurice!!!!!!!!!" A high-pitched yelp from the second floor of the salon interrupted their conversation. They both looked up the curving white marble staircase to see a young blonde man with spikey hair wringing his hands in dismay. "You need to come upstairs IMMEDIATELY!!!"

"Can’t you see I’m with a customer, David?" Maurice snarled, a smile still painted painfully on his face. "Perhaps YOU can handle this……."

"The new girl in the stockroom just accidentally set the entire shipment of monarch butterflies FREE, Monsieur!!"

Maurice’s eyes widened. "The butterflies for the Von Alstein nuptials?" he gasped, patting his chest to calm his palpitations.

"ALL of them, Monsieur!" The words were barely out of David’s mouth when Maurice went galloping up the staircase towards him. "And we can’t *possibly* get another shipment before Saturday……"

"Then get a NET, YOU IDIOT!!!!!!" Maurice charged past his frazzled assistant, waving his arms and shouting that everyone on his *entire* staff was fired until further notice. As more employees poured out of small dressing rooms upstairs, nobody noticed the feline smile of satisfaction growing on Alexis’s face. She waited until they had all gone to the back of the salon and then slowly climbed the staircase to the very top, pausing to listen for the sound of semi-familiar voices.

"Well………..all I can say is I’m certainly bloody GLAD now that we decided against butterflies!!" It didn’t take long for Alexis to recognize Jessica Jacks’ Aussie drawl. She tiptoed down the hallway towards the room where the voice originated, pausing to press her ear against the doorway to make sure before taking any further action. "Mum, what do you think of this one?"

"It’s lovely dear." Alexis pressed her fingers against her lips, stifling a soft gasp. Despite all the dismally painful retributions she had wished on various members of the Jacks family, she always held a tender spot in her heart for Jax’s mother. Lady Jane had touched something inside Alexis – a void that her own mother’s death had created when she was only seven years old. The sound of Jane’s voice could still chase away the cold in the chasm where her heart still somehow managed to beat.

"Yes, but do you think this is THE ONE?" Jessica pressed. Alexis shook her head. Three years hadn’t changed Jax’s younger sister. She was still the spoiled, over-indulged brat she had always been.

"I think they’ve ALL made you look beautiful, Jessica," Jane replied smoothly. Alexis wondered how she managed not to lose her temper and slap some sense into her youngest child. "Which one do YOU like best?"

"I don’t know……" Alexis could just imagine how far Jessie’s lower lip protruded beneath her upper. "I mean, I KNOW they’re all beautiful, but I sort of had my heart set on that new one from Milan that Maurice ordered."

"I know that, dear." Even though a door separated them, Alexis instinctively knew that Jane was probably rubbing Jessie’s shoulders, trying to soothe ruffled feathers. "But Maurice can’t help it if there was a fire at the factory and the veil was destroyed." Her voice brightened. "Perhaps you’ll like that Mondelli creation he described…….."

"Yes……if he’d ever get back in here with it. I’m beginning to feel like they forgot about us in here………" Alexis silently pumped her fist in victory. {Talk about your perfect opportunity.} She lifted her hand and knocked twice sharply on the door.

"Come in!" Jane sounded eminently relieved. "You see, dear, I told you that they didn’t forget about……."

Alexis pushed open the door and strode confidently into the room. "Good afternoon, ladies."

Jessie froze in place, standing on a small platform in front of full-length mirrors that covered three walls of the dressing room. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt while yards and yards of fine Chantilly lace cascaded from a small tiara nestled among her blonde curls. She swallowed hard, blinked, and then choked with recognition. "Alexis?"

"My God……." Alexis’s attention was drawn to Jane when her almost-mother-in-law softly crooned her name. "Alexis………I’ve missed you SO much!" She hurried over to take her almost-daughter-in-law in her arms, embracing her as though the past three years didn’t exist.

"La……." Alexis blinked back tears of her own. She didn’t *want* to miss Jane. She didn’t *want* to love her and need her so much. But unfortunately – she did. "Lady Jane," she finally managed to murmur, pulling away from the shorter woman’s fierce hug. "It’s good to see you."

"Yeah, well I wish I could say the same about you." All heads turned at the sound of Bobbie Jacks’ snide greeting. She rose somewhat unsteadily from the white satin brocade settee at the side of the room and undulated towards Alexis, her hips leading the way. "What the h*ll are you doing here, Alexis?"

"I’m…..uh……." Lady Jane kept a stubborn arm around Alexis’s waist as the brunette stared down at the floor and then back up at the group. "I’m afraid I’m here today on some official business," she replied.

"You’re not supposed to be in here!" Jessica’s voice was as cold as the looks passing between Alexis and Bobbie. "This is supposed to be a *private* fitting!"

"I *understand* that, Jessie," Alexis returned firmly. "But I know how busy you must be with wedding preparations and so when I found out you were going to be here today……."

"How DID you find out?" Bobbie shrilled.

"When I found out you were going to be here today," Alexis reiterated, staring past Bobbie towards Jessie, "I thought I could just come and take your statements here – so that you wouldn’t have to make a special trip downtown."

"Well, isn’t that just SOOOOOO SWEET of you!" Bobbie pointed a finger in Alexis’s face, only nearly missing scratching her cheek with a sharply manicured nail. She snorted and turned to walk back to the settee and pick up a champagne glass. After taking a fortifying sip, she spun back towards her almost-sister-in-law. "Cut the cr@p, Miss Davis! Your storm troopers came to the house last evening and took our statements! We have nothing further to say!"

"That’s not EXACTLY true, Bobbie," Alexis shot back smoothly. "Lieutenant Taggert only got a statement from you and your husband – not from Jessie or Lady Jane." She turned to Jax’s mother. "Can you tell me exactly where you were two nights ago?"

Lady Jane took a shaky breath and then smiled. "John and I had dinner with Lee and Gail Baldwin that night – at the Grille at the Port Charles Hotel."

{Now THAT’S an alibi. Something concrete, with lots of witnesses.} Alexis peered past Lady Jane towards Jessie, who had removed the bridal veil in a fit of fury. "And what about you, Jessie?"

"I was home – all evening." She tossed the expensive veil into a heap with other frothy clouds of white tulle. "I was on the phone a lot, checking on last minute details for the attendants’ luncheon yesterday."

"And did you see Jerry – at all?"

"I…..uh…….." Jessie shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Well, I did leave the house for just a little while – I had to go pick Scott up because his car broke down."

"And about what time was that?" Alexis pressed.

"WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET THE H*LL OUT OF OUR LIVES?" Bobbie shrieked. Some of the champagne in the glass she loosely held sloshed over the side onto the expensive plush carpet. "I told your Lieutenant last night that I was with Jerry ALL night – at the fundraiser, and then later at home!"

Alexis licked her lips, choosing her words carefully. "The PCPD appreciates your cooperation in our investigation, Mrs. Jacks, but I’m asking your sister-in-law about her whereabouts right now – NOT yours."

Bobbie ambled towards Alexis until she stood directly in front of her. Malicious fire erupted from her slightly dilated eyes. "Chloe Morgan is DEAD, Alexis," she hissed, pointing a weaving finger at the brunette. "Get over it!"

"Well, you see, I can’t just do that." Alexis kept her voice calm, refusing to be drawn into Bobbie’s hysterical theatrics. "Because the evidence shows that she was murdered……"

"And she DESERVED it!!"

"BOBBIE!!" Lady Jane’s sharp reprimand didn’t have any effect on her daughter-in-law’s rage. "That’s QUITE enough!!"

"Well, it’s TRUE, Lady Jane!" Bobbie protested, glancing over at her mother-in-law before turning her attention back to Alexis. "Everyone thinks that Chloe Morgan was some kind of *angel*, all sweet and light and perfect……."

Alexis’s teeth clenched with barely-controlled outrage. "Chloe Morgan didn’t have an evil bone in her body!"

"Ohhhhh, really?" Bobbie snickered and then stared daggers at Alexis. "Then why the H*LL was she blackmailing my husband?"

To be continued……..