PREVIOUSLY

“Sam?” asked Todd and the plaintive tone in his voice caused the older man to turn around. “You have Susannah’s number, right?” Sam nodded as the guard tugged insistently on Todd’s upper arm. “Call her and tell her I need her,” he said in a shaky voice. His attorney sighed deeply as he watched the man he had tried repeatedly to help led away in chains.

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Todd stared into space, still reeling from the way his whole life had crashed and burned during the last 24 hours. An hour had passed since he had been dragged from the courtroom, forced to exchange his own clothes for prison blues, and summarily locked up in the maximum-security section of the Llanview City Jail. Although his mind was a frantic jumble of panicked thoughts, he closed his eyes and struggled to breathe deeply in an attempt to remain in control of his emotions. His eyes roamed over the grim surroundings.

The high security cellblock consisted of four small cells facing each other two by two across a corridor. The only natural light came from a barred window set high in one wall. Todd occupied one of the cells closest to the window. This gave him the luxury of a little more light in an otherwise gloomy setting, since it had a side wall consisting of steel bars instead of cement blocks. His cell had the usual arrangement of bunk bed, stainless steel toilet/sink combination, and a tiny desk and stool. Since no other prisoners were currently housed in the other cells, for all intents and purposes he was suffering solitary confinement.

Todd still couldn’t believe a mere perjury charge had landed him in so much trouble. He had to hand it to Delgado: there was no denying she was a force to be reckoned with when she was out for revenge. As he thought about his daughter, Starr, and how upset she had been by the police invasion the previous night, his eyes filled up with tears. Now he would have to rely on Blair to comfort and explain things to the little girl. Knowing that he had let his precious child down again was the worst punishment he had to endure. The combined pain of losing his freedom and separation from Starr was almost unbearable, made worse by the knowledge that he had brought it all on himself.

Todd looked up listlessly as the door to the cellblock slid open. Turning his head to the side, he let his gaze follow Téa as she came around the corner of his cell and planted herself in front of the barred door. She held a sheaf of papers backed with the telltale light blue, which marked it as a legal document. He remained seated on the bunk with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced tightly together in front of him. His eyes locked onto hers, which were shining with a triumphant light at the sight of him brought low. As he watched, the light slowly faded and died, replaced with a hard, determined look.

“Well, Todd,” she taunted, “I’ll bet you’re wishing you had Tom and Rod and Miss Perkins with you now. Too bad they were all fake, and you have no one to spend the lonely hours with but yourself.”

He drew his breath in sharply, hiding the fact that her words had stung. “So, Delgado, maybe you can explain to me why Bozo and his cop clowns have me down here in solitary when I’m only charged with perjury. Last time I looked, that is a non-violent crime.”

Téa laughed contemptuously. “Oh yeah, Todd. Your lies didn’t hurt anyone, did they?” She shook her head. “Anyway, this isn’t solitary-it’s the high security lock-up. Something you earned when you escaped from custody last summer. Bo’s not taking any chances this time.”

“If it’s not solitary, why am I the only one here?”

“I guess it’s just your bad luck that no other prisoner is sufficiently violent to merit the extra precautions, Todd. Besides, locking up anyone with you would be considered cruel and unusual punishment,” grinned Téa.

Todd glared at her, stunned by the cruelty he heard in her voice. He was deeply frightened at the thought that all the love she had for him might really be dead. Téa stared back at him, secretly shocked at the pain she saw in his eyes. When she realized that she was again letting Todd get to her, she stiffened her spine and tried to harden her heart against him. Todd sighed deeply and climbed to his feet, moving closer to the cell door. “Cheer up, Todd. You’ll only be here a little while. Just until you exchange it for even lovelier accommodations in Statesville Prison,” she snickered.

He stared back impassively. “I don’t suppose you could ask them to send down a copy of the Sun, or even the Banner? There is only so much entertainment value in counting the bricks or bars in here. Is that too much to ask?”

“Maybe you could ask Blair to send over the 3-D puzzle of the Kremlin. It was still unopened in the hall closet last time I was in the penthouse,” said Téa, taking satisfaction in the fury she saw in his eyes.

Todd couldn’t believe she would throw his misguided attempt at marital harmony back in his face. He turned away angrily and folded his arms across his chest. “Say what you came to say and get out,” he said through gritted teeth.

Téa watched the back of his shirt, stenciled with ‘Llanview City Jail’, shaking slightly and decided to move on to her primary topic. She waved the document in front of her face. “Oh look. Here are those annulment papers you were talking about last night. And what do you know, Todd? There IS a signature on the bottom of the page.” She saw him stiffen. “Yes, right here in black and white: Téa Marisa Delgado. Guess you were wrong about my commitment to this marriage, huh Todd? I honestly forgot these papers in a drawer. But thank you for reminding me about them last night.”

Looking like he had been kicked, Todd turned around and moved to the cell door. He gripped two bars and stared at the signature on the annulment papers in silence. For a moment, his face was a study in complete misery. Then, swallowing hard, he raised his eyes to meet Téa’s. His glance hardened. “OK, Delgado. So you signed. Big hairy deal. We both know those papers don’t mean anything until they’re filed in court, and you’re busy down here yanking my chain.” His lip curled up in a sneer. “Better hurry up, Téa, or you might have to spend one extra minute married to the monster of Llanview. I’ll bet with your little ADA contacts you can push those papers through today. Go on! What are you waiting for?”

Téa raised her chin defiantly. “I’m going up there right now. You’ll need to have a lawyer look over the document before you sign it.”

“Forget it. I don’t need a lawyer for that. There’s no settlement, right? Just bring me a pen and let’s get it over with.”

Téa glared at him in shocked silence. She had expected more of a fight from Todd, and was now uncomfortably aware that he had thrown her off base again. “If….if that is what you want, Todd,” she whispered quietly.

“What I want? You mean I actually get a vote?” He turned his back on her again, and she was disconcerted to see him wipe quickly at his eyes. Todd took a deep breath. “What I want is for you to be happy, Téa,” he said sadly, a catch in his voice. Téa felt tears spill from her eyes as she turned and began to move toward the entrance to the cellblock. “But I’m convinced that if that pink tape had never existed I could have found happiness with you,” Todd continued. “I…I love you.”

Téa stopped cold, staring at him through the bars. He looked over his shoulder at her. “What do I want?” he whispered, moving closer. “Your forgiveness. I’m sorry I hurt you. Help me, Téa. Don’t punish me.”

She shook her head sadly. “You did this to yourself, Todd. I believed in you. I wanted to help you, and you made a mockery of my love. I can’t do this.” She ran to the locked barrier and shook it violently. “Guard!” she screamed.

Todd ran to the side of the cell and gripped the bars. “Delgado!” he shouted. “Wait!” The guard unlocked the door and Téa stopped halfway through it and looked back at the prisoner.

“Todd, please! We’ve said it all!”

He grinned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, which were full of tears. “Not quite all, Téa. I want to say goodbye.”

Téa sniffed loudly. “Goodbye, Todd. Take care of yourself.” She ran out the door and Todd could hear her heels clicking as she traveled down the corridor to the exit. He leaned his forehead against the bars and closed his eyes tightly against the pain. The guard cleared his throat and Todd looked up. His keeper held out an unsealed white envelope.

“This came down for you,” he said, handing it through the bars. The policeman retreated through the gate and locked it behind him. Todd examined the note, and recognized Sam’s handwriting. Collapsing to the floor, he opened it and read: “Dear Todd. As we agreed last night, I have seen you through the preliminary hearing. But my doubts about you leave me unable to continue as your attorney in this case. I have talked to a new young lawyer in town, Joe Franklin, and he has agreed to represent you. He will be by the station to talk to you tomorrow. Take care, Sam.”

Crumpling the note and envelope into a ball, Todd threw it between the bars and watched as it bounced off the cement wall. Placing his forearm across his knees, he put his head down and wept bitter tears.

TO BE CONTINUED

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