"This is RIDICULOUS, Dara!" Brenda hissed, pacing back and forth in front of her boss’s desk. "And you KNOW it!" She stopped to stare daggers at Dara, propping her weight on her fisted hands on the desk. "Taking me off the Brighton case just because the all-powerful Jasper Jacks waved a big stack of cash in front of our illustrious mayor is a CROCK!!"

"Yes, it’s unfair, and it’s a shame…….. and yes, bribery is still as illegal as h*ll," Dara sighed, folding her paper closed. She looked up at Brenda for the first time since she had barged into her office shortly after 1 o’clock. "But Justus isn’t fooling around on this one, Brenda." She folded her hands on top of the newspaper and leaned towards her confidentially. "He told me that if I didn’t pull you off the case, he’d fire BOTH of us! And he even implied that he’d get our law licenses revoked!"

"He COULDN’T!!" Brenda pulled back, her eyes wide. "We haven’t done anything wrong!!"

"With Jasper Jacks’ money backing him," Dara grimaced, "there’s NOTHING that Justus couldn’t do." She sat back in her chair and shook her head. "And I hope you’re not naïve enough to think that evidence can’t be manufactured to fit their purposes."

"That just………." Brenda’s chest heaved and she balled her hands into fists at her sides as she started to pace again. "That makes me so mad ………I could just……..well……….I COULD JUST SPIT!!!!" she finally exclaimed, trembling slightly from head to toes.

"Well, go ahead and spit all you want, girl," Dara drawled, "cause you’re NOT gonna be handling the Brighton case anymore." She shook her head and reached for the top file on the right side of her desk. "Now let me go over the specifics of the Johnson mail fraud case with you …….."

"I *refuse* to waste my time prosecuting magazine subscriptions scams!" Brenda snarled. She slammed her hand down on the file Dara had opened, blocking the papers from view. "Let me ask you this – if YOU had gotten the call from Jimmy Statler last night, would YOU have gone down there to meet with him?"

"I……uh……" Dara’s chin jutted forward defensively and she refused to meet Brenda’s stare. "Well, I probably would have……."

"You’re D*MN RIGHT you would have!" Brenda pointed a finger at her victoriously and then resumed her pacing. "And wouldn’t you have gone down to Beds and Beyond to check out the lead from Nick Raines?"

"Wellllll………" Dara cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips in maternal disapproval. "I *might* have waited until broad daylight……"

"Ohhhh, yeah……..THAT’S when ALL the drug dealers come out to buy their linens….." Brenda shot back sarcastically.

"Which is exactly the POINT, Brenda!" Dara argued. "You’re an assistant prosecuting attorney – NOT a detective!" It was her turn to point a finger at the seething lawyer. "It’s NOT your job to investigate the cases and catch the bad guys!! That’s what the police are supposed to do!!"

"And we BOTH know what a great job Mac Scorpio is doing, catching the bad guys!" Brenda rolled her eyes dramatically.

Dara let out a long sigh and closed the file, setting it to the side on her desk again. "Look Brenda – if you want to know the truth, I’m *glad* that Justus pulled you off the case."

"You’re……." Brenda frowned and her voice dropped off to a whisper. "You’re glad?" She sank into the chair in front of Dara’s desk a little unsteadily. "But that morning – when you called me to tell me that Nick Raines had died – you SAID that I shouldn’t feel guilty about it!"

Dara nodded slowly. "I know……"

"And despite the fact that Jimmy Statler died last night, we now have an *excellent* lead on the real brains behind the drug operation!" Her brown velvet eyes started to glow again with enthusiasm for her job. "And if we can just manage to catch this Sorel guy, we’ll close out dozens of cases and shut down a *big* part of the Port Charles drug traffic!"

"That’s not the point, Brenda!" Dara propped an elbow on her desk and pressed a closed fist to her lips while carefully selecting her words. "I wasn’t saying that I thought you screwed up on the Brighton case."

"Then……." Brenda frowned again. "Then what is it?"

"It’s all………" Dara licked her lips, sighed softly, and then looked into Brenda’s eyes again, this time a gentler expression on her face. "It’s about public relations, Brenda. You’re not exactly helping create a good image for the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, you know."

"Because……" Her eyebrows drew even closer together in her confusion. "Because I’m digging deeper and finding out who may actually be the source of the cr@p that’s ruining our kids’ lives?"

"Nooooo………" Dara reached into the stack of files and pulled out a copy of the newspaper. "Because you can’t seem to go *anywhere* lately without your "shadow," the Caped Crusader."

"He……uh……." As realization dawned, she fought the blush that she could feel creeping up her neck. "He doesn’t *wear* a cape." When Dara gave her a "you-know-what-I-mean" look, Brenda tipped her head to the side and added in a whisper, "At least, not ALL the time."

Dara waited a minute and then shook the paper, opening it to the inside editorial columns. "Have you seen this morning’s edition, Brenda?" She pointed to a cartoon above the Letters to the Editor. "They’re calling you Lois Lane now…….." She shook her head and closed the paper. "…..and one jerk even speculated on whether or not Kismet has used his X-ray vision yet to answer the burning question on everyone’s mind – does the Assistant District Attorney wear bikinis or a thong?"

"He *doesn’t* have X-ray vision!" Brenda gripped the arms of the chair tightly, then backed off a little when Dara glared at her again. "At least, I don’t *think* he does," she added, settling back in her chair. She grimaced and then suddenly her eyes widened. "Look, Kismet’s saved my life three separate times now!"

"I know that, Brenda," Dara interrupted, sensing where Brenda was leading the conversation. "And I’m not implying that we’re not grateful or that we wouldn’t have wanted him to intervene ……"

She shrugged her shoulders cavalierly. "I can’t help it if he just *happens* to show up every time I get a good lead in this particular case….."

"But don’t you see, Brenda??!!" Dara threw up her hands in exasperation. "The press is putting the two of you together as some kind of crime-fighting team, and all of these little "escapades" you’ve had together just reinforce that fact!" She folded the newspaper again set it on the stack of files again. "We just can’t afford to have the District Attorney’s office associated so intimately with a man who feels he has the right to take the law into his own hands! It makes us look like hypocrites!"

Brenda pressed her lips together and let out a long breath. Even though she didn’t like it, she could see the logic in Dara’s reasoning. After working so hard to uphold the criminal justice system, the last thing she wanted to do was put the DA’s office in a bad light. Yet, this Brighton case meant so much to her, and she already had invested so much time and effort in the investigation…….

"Look, Dara…….." She suddenly sat forward, her eyes bright with inspiration. "Just give me two weeks……."

Dara snorted and then laughed sarcastically. "Brenda? Are you nuts?" She shook her head. "Haven’t you been listening to a word I said?"

"Just…….." She held up her hands in a "stop" gesture, palms outwards. "Just keep an open mind for a minute, OK?" When Dara grimaced and then nodded briskly, Brenda did a seated "happy dance" in her chair. "I’m going to put the final nail in Sonny Corinthos’s coffin this afternoon……."

"You’re sure about that?" Dara cocked her head to the side and narrowed one eye. "Because he’s slipped through our fingers too many times before, Brenda. I wouldn’t want to get my hopes up again for nothing."

"The "Teflon Don" won’t be going anywhere soon without an orange jumpsuit and ankle irons – I guarantee it!" Brenda chortled happily. "And once that case is out of the way, I can use my free time….."

"…..to work on all of these cases that Justus *wants* you to work on," Dara interrupted dryly.

"Yes, I’ll work on those cases, too," Brenda conceded. "But I’ve got some really good leads now on Joseph Sorel, and it would be a *crime* just to let them go to waste!"

Dara’s eyes darted back and forth – almost as though she was making sure nobody else was around to hear their conversation. "You’ve got good stuff on Sorel?" she whispered, leaning towards Brenda.

"That, and some leads on the dummy corporations behind that linen shop that blew up." Brenda shifted in her seat as cautious optimism lit a fire in her eyes. "Just two weeks, Dara – and I *promise* that I won’t take any crazy chances or do any investigating on my own after dark!"

Dara stared grimly at her for almost a minute and then licked her lips. "No more field trips to dives down near the docks?"

Brenda straightened and smiled broadly. "Cross my heart," she replied, making the appropriate gesture.

"I must have lost my mind to even *consider* letting you do this……." Dara sighed and shook her head. "Alright – you can have two weeks, Brenda." When she clapped her hands and then pumped her fist in happiness, Dara pointed a finger at her assistant DA. "But that’s ALL – no extensions, you understand? You’ve gotta have something concrete for me to take to the grand jury in two weeks or else I re-assign the case."

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!" Brenda jumped up and twirled gleefully. She danced her way towards the door to Dara’s office, glancing back over her shoulder when she opened it. "You won’t regret this, boss!"

Dara watched her assistant virtually skip to the elevator and then disappear inside. She let out a long breath, whistling softly, and then took the top file off the stack on her right. "Somehow, Brenda – I KNOW I probably will."

*~*~*~*

"Thank you, Mr. Corinthos." Alexis Davis smiled broadly at her client and then walked back towards the defense table. "I have no further questions for my client at this time, Your Honor."

Judge Monahan nodded sagely and then shifted his gaze to Brenda. "Your witness, Miss Barrett."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Brenda tapped a pencil on the yellow legal pad in front of her, then rose and walked briskly towards the witness stand. Since her interview with Dara, she had smoothed her hair into a sleek French braid at the back of her head and traded her print silk blouse for a filmy taupe chiffon blouse and the cocoa brown jacket that matched her slim skirt.

"Sooooo…….Mr. Corinthos……" She licked her lips and clasped her hands in front of her as she stood about five feet in front of the witness stand. "I have to tell you – I found your testimony to be *really* fascinating!"

"Really, Miss Barrett?" Sonny grinned engagingly at Brenda, folding his hands in his lap. "Well, since it was the TRUTH, I don’t know what you’d find so *fascinating* about it! I mean, isn’t the TRUTH what you ALWAYS hear in the courtroom?"

"You’d be surprised, Mr. Corinthos," Brenda drawled. She nodded her head and then glanced over at Carly Corinthos, who was seated – as usual – in a prominent spot near the front of the courtroom. "I just find it interesting that you expect us to believe you spent the ENTIRE evening of March 22 in your wife’s company, and there’s NOBODY else who can corroborate that fact."

"Wellllll, we’re newlyweds, you know," Sonny replied, a naughty twinkle in his eyes. "And most newlyweds don’t exactly invite a lot of friends over to spend time with them, if you know what I mean!"

"Riiiiight." Brenda pressed her lips together and nodded. "You’re newlyweds." She glanced down at Sonny’s hand on the front railing of the witness stand. "Yet you’re not wearing a wedding ring."

"I *would* be if your fine police staff hadn’t forced me to surrender it when I was arrested!" Sonny protested. When Alexis gave him a pointed stare, he settled down a bit and smiled again at Brenda. "I’m very proud of being married to Carly. I’d LOVE to be wearing my wedding ring – and I can’t WAIT until I’m declared innocent so I can put it on again!"

"So your wedding ring is with the rest of your personal effects – in police custody?" Brenda leaned casually against the table provided for the prosecution, propping her weight on her hands behind her.

"Objection, Your Honor!" Alexis raised a hand, holding a pencil, in the air as though calling for a teacher’s attention. "Counsel can easily get a listing of my client’s personal effects from the PCPD." She gave Brenda a dirty look. "I fail to see where Miss Barrett is going with this."

"I have to admit I’m a little puzzled myself, counselor," Judge Monahan admitted. He turned towards Brenda. "Objection sustained. Let’s get on with it, Miss Barrett."

"Yes, Your Honor." She nodded grimly and then lifted playful eyes to meet Sonny’s gaze. "You know, Mr. Corinthos, as long as we’re on the subject of hands ……" Brenda walked slowly towards the witness stand, never breaking eye contact with her prey. "You have REALLY nice hands, Mr. Corinthos."

"Why…..thank you, Miss Barrett." Sonny blushed ever so slightly, but he met Brenda’s gaze head on.

The corners of her mouth lifted in a sexy smile. "Long, strong fingers……." She stopped at the witness stand and took one of Sonny’s hands in hers, stroking his knuckles thoughtfully. "I really LOVE a man with beautiful hands, you know."

"YOUR HONOR!!" Alexis rose wearing from her seat. "I FAIL to see the relevance of Miss Barrett’s line……"

"Let her go, let her go!!" Sonny’s outburst drew a chuckle from everyone in the courtroom. His dimples deepened as he grinned back at Brenda, even daring a furtive wink. "If the woman’s got the hots for my hands, who am I to complain?"

Judge Monahan rapped his gavel for order when soft laughter spread through the courtroom. Then he glared at Brenda. "Miss Barrett? Do you plan to share your admiration for any OTHER parts of the defendant’s body with us?"

Brenda maintained her composure amid a new wave of titters. "No, Your Honor." She let go of Sonny’s hand and was about to walk away when she stopped and stared down at his fingers. "I have to admit though, Mr. Corinthos – I’ve been admiring your hands a LOT during these past few days in court……."

Sonny smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "My mother always did say that you could tell a *real* man by two things: if his shoes were shined, and if his fingernails were clean." He raised his hand and glanced at his fingers, buffing them on the sleeve of his suit coat. "My momma was a smart woman."

"That she was, Mr. Corinthos." Brenda nodded and clasped her hands in front of her. "In fact, I’ve been SO fascinated by your hands during the past few days, that I started looking at some old photographs of you – just to admire those beautiful, long, strong fingers." She quickly spun and strode back to the prosecutor’s table. "I’d like to enter these photographs as Peoples’ Exhibits number 56 through 61." After handing a copy of the pictures to the judge, she took a set to where Sonny sat. "Do you recognize these pictures, Mr. Corinthos?"

Sonny frowned and stared at them for a few seconds before his facial muscles relaxed. "Yeah – those were taken at some fancy shindig for General Hospital – last Christmas, I think."

"Before you were married?"

"Yeah." Sonny nodded and pointed to a spot on the picture. "See? I ain’t wearin’ no wedding ring."

"That’s right, you ain’t….uh, aren’t!!" Brenda smiled quickly and pointed to the picture again. "But that DOES seem to be a rather distinctive ring you’re wearing on your right hand." She walked to an easel in front of the jury box and took off a cover to show an enlargement of the same picture. "Exactly what kind of ring is that, Mr. Corinthos?"

"It’s……" Sonny’s breath caught when he tried to speak. "It’s a ring that belonged to a very dear friend of mine."

"Really?" Brenda’s eyebrows rose. "Well, from a few of these other photographs, I’d say it must have been a pretty special friend, because you wore the ring ALL the time." She flipped through the set of enlargements, each one showing a detail of the same ring on Sonny’s finger. "If that ring belonged to a friend, can you tell me exactly why YOU were wearing it?"

"Objection, Your Honor!" Alexis half rose from her chair. "I still fail to see the relevance……"

"I’m not sure I see it either, Miss Davis," Judge Monahan confessed, "but I’m going to allow Miss Barrett to continue. Objection overruled." He nodded at Brenda. "Please continue, Counselor."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Brenda stared intently at Sonny. "Where did you get the ring, Mr. Corinthos?"

Sonny sighed loudly and then grimaced. "The ring belonged to a young kid that worked for me. His name was Stone Cates. He was like a kid brother to me. He …….." His voice broke again and he stared down at his lap before looking up again to continue. "He died of AIDS about five years ago. Before he died, he gave me the ring to wear as a remembrance."

"I see." Brenda nodded, her voice gentle. "I understand now why that ring would be so important to you." She chewed on her lower lip and then her face twisted into a frown. "Were you wearing that ring when the police arrested you for Mr. Morgan’s murder?"

"Uh……." Sonny shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "I guess so. It was all such a mess, I don’t remember."

"Which is why it’s a good thing that the police keep an inventory of all of your personal property, just as your attorney pointed out a few minutes ago!" Brenda crowed. She walked to the prosecution table and picked up a piece of paper while Alexis buried her face in her hand. "Referring to People’s number 62, Your Honor……" She handed the judge a copy of the sheet. "I don’t see that onyx ring on this list, Mr. Corinthos."

Sonny shrugged again nonchalantly. "I guess I wasn’t wearing it when they arrested me."

"But you just said you wear it ALL the time – in memory of your dear departed friend."

Sonny was silent for thirty seconds as he returned Brenda’s glare. "I guess I forgot to put it on that day," he finally growled.

"So if we went to your penthouse with a search warrant right now, we’d find the ring in your jewelry case? Because you forgot to put it on that day when you were arrested, and it’s still at home in a safe place?" Brenda asked innocently. She walked to the table again where her papers were stacked and picked up one of them. "You see, I have an application for a warrant right here – and I’m sure Judge Monahan would be more than happy to sign it for me……"

Sonny’s eyes grew black as coal with rage. "I lost the ring, alright?" One eye narrowed slightly when Alexis’s shoulders slumped. "You won’t find it at the penthouse."

"And you didn’t report it to the police?" Brenda shook her head and clucked her tongue. "I find that hard to believe, especially when this was such a valuable piece……"

"It was more of a sentimental thing." Sonny’s words were terse. "Some things you can’t replace with money. Like people."

"No, you can’t – can you?" Brenda glanced out at the gallery of onlookers. "I imagine that’s the same way Dr. and Mrs. Quartermaine feel about the son they lost." She came to the witness stand and leaned on it, staring daggers at Sonny. "The truth is that you lost the ring in the process of murdering Jason Morgan, didn’t you, Mr. Corinthos?"

"That’s a bunch of bull!" Sonny shouted, pointing a finger at Brenda. "I *didn’t* kill Jason Morgan!"

"Mr. Corinthos…….." Brenda shook her head and gave him a scolding, maternal look. "May I remind you that you’re under oath?" He snarled something under his breath and sat back in the witness chair, his elbow on the armrest, his fingers curled into a fist against his lips. "Sooooooo……." Brenda whistled softly. "You say the ring isn’t in your possession, and it’s not with the rest of your personal property at the police station, and you lost it, but you’re not sure where……."

"And just what the f*** does all of this have to do with my case????!!!!" Sonny exploded, gripping the armrests of the chair tightly.

"Wellllll……." Brenda failed to be moved by his bluster, even though Alexis looked like she was ready to crawl under the defense table in mortification. "I just think it’s interesting that I may have located your ring!"

Sonny sat back, his eyes wide. "You did?"

"Well I think so…….." Brenda feigned innocence as she went to the prosecution table and picked up another photo. "Right here, in Peoples’ exhibit number 63." She gave a copy to Judge Monahan before presenting one to Sonny. "Isn’t that your ring?" she asked, pointing to a detail on the photo.

Sonny stared at the photo for a minute before lifting hate-filled eyes to meet Brenda’s gaze. "What the h*ll is this?" he hissed, his hand shaking.

"It’s a photograph of a hand, Mr. Corinthos," Brenda replied sweetly. "Wearing *your* ring, I believe."

"I can SEE that it’s a hand, Miss Barrett!!" Sonny growled. "WHOSE hand is it??!!"

She smiled triumphantly. "If it please the court……." She walked over to the easel in front of the jury and lifted another enlarged photo to the front of the stack. "Peoples’ exhibit number 63 is just a portion of peoples’ number 64 – one of the photos of Jason Morgan’s body taken at the crime scene – room 829 in the Port Charles Hotel on the night of March 22."

A collective gasp rippled through the courtroom. "Jason?" Sonny finally whispered. "This is Jason’s hand?"

"I have several different views, if you’d care to see them, Mr. Corinthos," Brenda stated in a cool, crisp voice. "They all show rather clearly that your ring was on Jason Morgan’s hand after he died."

More whispered filtered through the court. "That’s impossible……" Sonny shook his head vehemently and stared at the photo. "It must be another ring – an identical copy……"

"Oh, there’s not another one like it in Port Charles, Mr. Corinthos." Brenda smiled sweetly while moving in for the kill. "We checked with the jeweler where you bought the ring for Mr. Cates six years ago. He said that you gave him specific instructions that the mold be destroyed so that it would be unique – just like Mr. Cates."

"You must be NUTS, lady!!!" Sonny’s low chuckle was almost demonic. "Are you saying that you think *I* put that ring on Jason? Because if you think that I would put a ring like that – something I *treasure* -- on a guy you *allege* I just whacked……..then you MUST be out of your f***in’ mind!!"

"Welllllll," Brenda drawled, "if *you* didn’t put the ring on his finger, Mr. Corinthos……." She walked to the center of the courtroom in front of the judge. "Then who else could have done it?"

"I DID!!"

A loud gasp went up in the courtroom. Sonny’s eyes widened and he gripped the edges of the witness stand tightly as he peered into the gallery. "Who………" His chest heaved as he struggled for breath. "Who said that?"

"I did." Everyone in the gallery turned towards the back of the room, where a young, slender dark-haired woman rose to her feet. Her face was somber, her eyes locked with Sonny’s. "I found your ring on the floor that night – after you murdered Jason – and I put it on his hand."

"YOU B*TCH!!!!" Carly Corinthos’ screech echoed in the courtroom above the din as Judge Monahan pounded his gavel furiously. She jumped out of her seat and launched herself at the mysterious young woman, only to be restrained by a bailiff.

"ORDER!!!" The judge had to shout to make himself heard above the ruckus. "I WANT ORDER IN THIS COURT IMMEDIATELY!!!" When three more bailiffs rushed in from the corridor after hearing the screams, the courtroom settled down somewhat. Judge Monahan straightened his robe and then looked gravely in the woman’s direction. "Young lady – approach the bench!!"

"You………you………" Sonny snarled venomously at the girl as she slowly walked up the aisle towards the witness stand. When the judge lifted an eyebrow, another bailiff moved to stand next to the defendant to prevent any more violence.

Brenda walked slowly to the swinging gates to allow the girl entrance to the front of the courtroom. The brunette completely ignored Sonny, keeping her eyes locked on the judge instead. "Now…." Judge Monahan said, eyeing her keenly. "Would you care to tell us exactly who the blazes you are?"

"My name is Elizabeth Weber, Your Honor," she replied firmly. "I work as a hostess at the Grille in the Port Charles Hotel." Her glance flickered ever so quickly towards Sonny, then back to the judge again. "I found Jason’s body the night he was murdered."

"Your Honor……" Brenda stepped back up towards the judge. "Since it’s apparent that Miss Weber has critical information to my case, I’d like to ask the court that she be allowed to answer a few questions at this time."

"OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR!!" Alexis practically jumped out of her designer suit jacket, rising quickly from her chair. "The prosecution has already called its witnesses!! This is HIGHLY unorthodox!!"

"I agree, Miss Davis," Judge Monahan said, looking slowly from each player in the drama to the next. "But Mr. Corinthos IS on trial for a very serious crime here. And since this IS apparently vital new information that could determine his guilt or innocence, I’m going to allow it."

"But Miss Weber’s sworn statement to Detective Garcia the night of the murder has already been entered as evidence!" Alexis argued in rebuttal. "You can’t allow her to come in here and change her testimony at the last minute!!"

"I can…….and I’m going to," Judge Monahan pronounced somberly. He narrowed one eye at Elizabeth as a furious Sonny was led back to the defendant’s table. "I would remind you, Miss Weber, that you’re already in a spot of trouble for lying in your first statement. I wouldn’t *compound* those troubles by being less than truthful now, if I were you!"

"I understand, Your Honor." Elizabeth’s voice never wavered as she solemnly vowed to tell the truth. She took the seat that Sonny had vacated and folded her hands primly in her lap.

"Miss Weber," Brenda began tentatively, "did you see who killed Jason Morgan on the night of March 22?"

"No," she replied firmly. "I didn’t."

"Mr. Morgan was already dead when you found him?"

"Yes." Elizabeth’s eyes suddenly widened. "At least, I *think* he was! I put my ear down near his chest, and I didn’t hear a heartbeat, and when I put my hand over his face, I didn’t feel him breathing."

"And can you tell us WHERE you found him?"

"Exactly where he was when I brought the police to the room ……" She nodded and stared directly at Brenda, never glancing over towards a fuming Sonny. "Jason was lying in the bed. His eyes were closed, and his hands were crossed across his chest."

"But was everything EXACTLY the same when you brought the police?" Brenda prodded gently.

"No……." Elizabeth blinked rapidly. "It wasn’t." She took a deep, shaky breath. "When I first came into the room and found Jason, I didn’t know what to do. I was so upset, and there was all this blood." Brenda saw tears glint in the corners of Elizabeth’s eyes. "I guess when I leaned down to see if I could hear his heart, I must have touched the bed next to his body, because when I straightened up I saw Sonny’s ring."

"And where was Mr. Corinthos’s ring, Miss Weber?"

"It was on the bed – right next to Jason’s body." She wiped the back of her hand across her cheek to dry the tears. "It was all covered with blood – and there was a little pool of blood around it."

"So if somebody had killed Mr. Morgan, and then lifted the body and carried it to the bed, it’s possible that the ring slipped off in the process?"

"OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR!! Counsel is leading the witness!!" As Brenda expected, Alexis was on her feet in a split second. But the damage to Sonny’s case had already been done. She had succeeded in planting a possible scenario in the minds of the jurors that would send Sonny to prison for the rest of his life.

"I withdraw the question, Your Honor," Brenda quickly interjected before the judge could rule. She turned back to Elizabeth. "So then what did you do with the ring?"

"I …….I………" Elizabeth blushed. "I put it on Jason’s finger. It was so pretty, and I thought he deserved to have something like that……" Her dark eyes pooled with tears. "Jason was such a wonderful man……..and I………I loved………."

"He didn’t deserve you……." Sonny’s ferocious growl echoed in the silent courtroom. Although Alexis put a hand on his arm to try to restrain him, his voice grew in volume. "No matter how hard I tried, you always loved Jason best! You always picked HIM over me! That’s why he DESERVED to die!!"

"You……." Elizabeth frowned and stared at Sonny. "You killed Jason so he couldn’t have me? Because *you* love me?" She sniffled softly and pointed at Carly. "But I thought you loved HER!"

"I don’t love her!!" Sonny growled, sending Carly into a fit of rage. He glared at his wife in disgust, then turned back to Elizabeth. "I love YOU!!"

"But you CAN’T love her!!" Carly suddenly exploded, rising to her feet and pointing a finger at Sonny. "And I DON’T love you either!! Because I loved JASON!!"

"But *I* loved Jason!!"

"No, *I* loved him more than you did!!"

"NO, I LOVED HIM MORE!!!"

"ORDER IN THE COURT!!!!!" Judge Monahan pounded his gavel for a full minute before some semblance of order was restored to the courtroom. "May I remind all of you that this is a COURT OF LAW, people – NOT The Jerry Springer Show!!!" He rubbed his face briskly with both hands, then looked to Brenda. "Do you have any more questions for the witness, Miss Barrett?"

"No, Your Honor." She resisted the urge to smile victoriously.

The judge sighed. "Miss Davis?"

"No, Your Honor." Alexis looked like she wanted to dig a hole, crawl in, and pull the hole in after her. "The defense – rests."

"Very good." The judge gave the assembled circus of players one last dirty look. "We’ll take a short recess to restore some order to this courtroom and then I’ll proceed with my instructions to the jury…….."

*~*~*~*

Jax sat back in a swivel chair in front of a huge bank of computers. He watched bright red lights blink on and off on a grid that corresponded to a map of Port Charles. When a bright orange light lit and burned steadily at one particular point, a smile graced his face.

"Alllllll right, guys……." he murmured, pointing a finger at the spot. He glanced down at a file, checked some data on a sheet, and then pumped his fist in victory. "Score one for the good guys!"

The look, the feeeeeeel, of cotton…………

Jax frowned and spun around in his chair when a warbling, baritone voice echoed in the cavernous, high-tech hideaway beneath his mansion. He stifled a grin as Thomas sashayed his way towards the computer bank, waving his arms and snapping his fingers while singing an offkey cha-cha-cha.

The fabric of our lives…………

"You’ve been watching too much TV again, Thomas," Jax chuckled, reaching up to make some adjustments on the control board. "I’m starting to worry about you."

"Yeah, it’s true, boss……" Thomas hung his head in mock abject desolation. "I’m having a torrid affair with the Snuggle Fabric Softener bear….." The corners of his mouth lifted when Jax shook his head and laughed aloud. "But seriously – I’ve got your Kismet outfit all clean again for your next trip out to the big, bad city."

"Good." Jax settled himself at a keyboard in front of the grid of blinking lights. "I appreciate you getting that tear in the sleeve mended so quickly, Thomas." He lifted one blonde eyebrow when another orange light glowed steadily. "Although, if our good police commissioner continues to shut down some of those sleazy drug dealers on Courtland Street at this rate, maybe Kismet can go into early retirement."

"Achhhh……." Thomas snorted at the computer bank in disgust. "I wouldn’t put too much faith in the PCPD, boss." He licked his lips and smirked self-righteously. "After all – look how long I managed to pick pockets before you set me on the straight and narrow!"

"Very true." Jax glanced over at another computer, frowned, then pushed his chair over towards that keyboard and hit the return key furiously. "What the bloody H*LL is going on?"

"What’s the matter, boss?" Thomas followed to stare at the maze of blinking lights in utter confusion. "Did something bad happen and you weren’t there to stop it?"

"Yeah……something bad happened……or is ABOUT to happen!" Jax growled. He stared at the monitor, then looked down and began frantically typing on the keyboard. "I thought I had this wasn’t supposed to happen…….she wasn’t supposed to be working on this anymore……."

Thomas watched words and numbers fly across the screen for a few seconds. "Threads, Incorporated………Elanco Corporation………." He frowned and then his eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a minute………" When Jax sat back to hiss a few more obscenities under his breath, Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. "Ain’t those the people connected with that Brighton case? The one that leads to Sorel?"

"It sure as h*ll is, Thomas," Jax muttered, his fist against his lips. When "Elanco" appeared on the screen again, he sat forward and rapidly typed commands into his keyboard. "And Brenda’s NOT supposed to be working on it anymore – but she IS!!"

Thomas watched for a few more seconds. "Ummmmmm, boss…….." He pointed to the computer screen. "Exactly what is that thing, and how do you know Brenda’s working on the case again?"

"My computer is linked to her terminal, Thomas," Jax sighed. "Whenever she enters a command or starts a search…….."

"You’re EAVESDROPPIN’ on her!!"

"I prefer to think of it as preventive surveillance," Jax replied, never taking his eyes off the screen. When another set of commands popped up, he quickly leaned forward and typed in a set of his own. "She’s getting closer – too close for her own safety." He chewed on his lip, then his eyes lit with inspiration and he typed a little more. After hitting return, he sat back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. "That ought to stymie her for a little while."

"You know," Thomas drawled, "if Brenda ever finds out that you threw a monkey wrench into her investigation, there’s gonna be h*ll to pay."

"Which is exactly why she won’t," Jax replied firmly. He watched more typing fly across the screen. "D*mn, the woman is persistent!" he suddenly exploded. "How can she be so ……. so…………bull-headed??!!"

Thomas grinned and leaned down to whisper in Jax’s ear, "Ahhhhhh, but that’s JUST why you love her, isn’t it, boss?"

Jax sat, frozen in place, staring at the monitor until long after Thomas returned to the above-ground portion of the mansion. He finally shook his head and flipped a switch to turn off that portion of the computer bank. "Thank God – another night down and you’re still safe." He rose from his chair, putting his hands to the small of his back to stretch and sigh wearing. "Now……..I just have to figure out how to keep you from digging any further………and putting yourself in any more danger."

To be continued……….