08-28-2017 (Monday) Waiting and Watching

Justin tells Maggie and Victor that he and Adrian are back together, admitting that he is as shocked as anyone.  He tells them that he wants to go ahead and move her back into the mansion; Victor has no objection and Maggie says if it’s okay with Victor, she is fine with it.  He leaves to go tell Adrian the good news; Hattie and Bonnie argue over who’s fault it is that Angelika is dead; then they try to decide what to do.  Bonnie thinks they should call the cops; Hattie tells her not to do that.  Hattie says they could put her in a bag and take her down the elevator to her trunk, and “dump it.”  Bonnie says it sounds like taking out the trash; Hattie says, “well, sort of; she wasn’t very nice.”

Lucas starts to come around; he asks what’s going on.  Bonnie talks him into going back to sleep.  Hattie starts toward the door, to go “get the bag” and Justin knocks, calling out to Adrian; Bonnie doesn’t know what to do now.  Hattie ushers her out the door, avoiding letting Justin come in; they head to Victor’s.  Hattie undresses Angelika and puts her in bed with the still unconscious Lucas; she says that’s much easier than dragging her to the trunk.  She turns out the lights and leaves.

Valerie talks to Eli; she tells him she is angry that he arrested an innocent man.  He says they don’t know for sure that Abe is innocent; he apologizes but says he has a job to do.  Abe says he isn’t sure how much longer he can keep this up; Hope and Rafe ask him how his alliance with Eli came about.  He tells them, Eli came to him and told him that he already knew who Dario’s partner was; he tells him it involved Lani, because it was Commissioner Raines.  Abe asks how that involved Lani; Eli says he has been pressuring Lani to tell him what she knows, which is nothing right now.  He proposed the idea of finding another suspect, to get Raines to make a move; he said the other suspect had to be big enough that Dario would go for the exchange.  That’s how he became “the man,” he says.

JJ and Lani discuss the case; JJ says maybe Rafe and Hope know that the charges aren’t going to stick.  They sort of figure out that Abe is being used as a pawn just by discussing the facts, and wonder who the actual partner could be; they decide to help Dario remember what he claims to have forgotten.  Raines checks in with Myron, who tells him he doesn’t know of any evidence linking the mayor to the counterfeiting operation; Raines says, “then, get some.”  He tells him he wants something linking Abe Carver to the counterfeiting by tomorrow; Myron tells him, his lawyer told him to keep his hands clean and his mouth shut and he refuses to do it.  The commissioner tells him it is not a request; he mentions what happened to Abigail recently and says he’d hate something like that to happen to Myron.  Myron asks if that’s a threat; Raines tells him, if he were him, he’d be really careful… Myron gets the understanding that he is not trying to find the real criminal; he is trying to frame an innocent man here.  JJ and Lani catch Eli outside of the Club, spying on Commissioner Raines; JJ calls him on it and Eli can’t deny the obvious.

08-25-2017 (Friday) Angelika Gives Up

Gabi reads a headline in the Spectator about Chad walking “right back to his ex.”  She sits a table in the Square, alone.  Jen tells Eric she saw Lucas and he was totally drunk; he admits that he saw him at the Pub and he was already drunk there.  Jen says she can’t believe he’d start drinking again after all these years, but then says, a broken heart is a hard thing to carry around.  Eric agrees, as he thinks about holding Nicole and almost telling her he loves her; Nicole walks through the Square and has the same memory.  She sees Gabi, and asks what’s wrong.  Gabi just starts to cry; Nicole hugs her.  Nicole tells Gabi she understands why she’s sad, but reminds her she has her baby girl; Gabi thanks her for the reminder, saying he is so sorry she doesn’t have her daughter right now.  She then says she hopes the person that killed Deimos gets away with it; Nicole hugs her and tells her, her heart will heal in time.

Jen asks Eric if he wants to talk about whatever she walked in on; he tells her he and Nicole were just coming to an understanding.  Sitting in the park now, Nicole reads news reports that police have no new leads on who killed Deimos Kariakis.  Jen and Eric try to figure out why his mom would do this to John, and why Adrian would break up with Lucas.  Jen tells Eric she has to go and says she hopes things get less complicated for him and Nicole.  Sonny and Paul laugh gleefully about being able to wake up next to each other every morning after they get married; they discuss making arrangements with Chad and Abby to coordinate their wedding dates.  Sonny tells Paul he wants to be the one to tell Marlena; Paul says he understands, as Will was her son and they both loved him.  Chad tells Abigail that Sonny and Paul are also getting married, and says they are going to be each other’s Best Man.  She says she is happy for them, but has to admit that she misses Will.  Chad says Will would want Sonny to be happy, just like he would want them to be; Abigail agrees. 

Paul tells Sonny he was going to ask his dad to be his Best Man, but he can’t seem to find him anywhere.  John tells Marlena that it looks like mad Hattie had them both committed; Marlena says this seems more like Hattie following someone else’s direction.  She recalls Hattie saying, “we spiked ‘em” about the strawberries n whipped cream.  John tries to think who she would be working with; Marlena says it is someone who makes elaborate plans.  She thinks it may be Steffano.  John doesn’t think so; he says it is someone equally manipulative and diabolical though.  Angelika asks Bonnie what Lucas is doing there, saying she must have lost her mind; she says her roll in the hay with this drunk could cost them everything.

Angelika says they need to get out of there before ‘sleeping beauty’ wakes up, but Bonnie refuses to leave Lucas.  She says Lucas Horton is a good man, a successful business man and loving father, who is also an alcoholic; she says they may have ruined this man’s life forever and she doesn’t know if she can live with herself after this.  Angelika tells Hattie and Bonnie that they are both morons, calling them “Ethel and Lucy.”  Bonnie says she should watch how she talks to them; Hattie agrees, saying if she heard her right, she just called them stupid.  They threaten to “blow the whistle” on her and talk about what would happen if… Bonnie tells her the party is over.  She plays on their desires, reminding them that they can get the benefit of these women’s money by playing along, and points out that if they blow the whistle, they would be going back to lock up themselves.  She points out that all the evidence leads straight to them; her hands are clean, she says.

Gabi comes by to bring Abigail a Get Well card Arianna made for her “aunt.”  She sees Chad and Abigail kissing, then notices the ring on Abby’s finger.  Chad says he should have told her and apologizes; she says it’s okay.  She gives Abby the card and says she has to go; Abigail tells Chad he should go talk to her.  Chad says he is sorry again, adding he didn’t mean to hurt her; she says he didn’t, saying she did that all by herself.  Sonny and Paul come into the hospital and see Gabi; they announce their engagement and she starts to cry, saying that’s wonderful, everyone she knows is getting married.  She walks away; Sonny follows her and apologizes.  She tells him it’s okay, really; she says she is happy for them, and she is happy for Chad and Abby too.  He tells her that she will also have all the happiness she deserves one day; they hug.  She admits she can’t just turn her feelings off, and although she hoped she and Chad were going to be together, Chad was never hers to have, she says; Sonny assures her she is not alone, pointing out that he is also her family.  She admits he is right; he assures her that Paul accepts that she and Ari are going to be in his life forever.

Paul visits with Abigail; he tells her he hasn’t been able to find his dad.  John tells Marlena maybe they just got in somebody’s way; maybe this isn’t really about them at all.  John tells Marlena once they get out of there and he gets her in his arms again, he is never going to let her go.  After Sonny comes in and asks if they have picked a wedding date yet, adding that they need to work this out because they are going to have an identical guest list; Abigail suggests they have a double wedding.  Bonnie tells Angelika she can’t control them anymore; she holds up the binder Lucas found and points out that it has Angelika’s fingerprints all over it.  She dares Angelika to come after her for it; Angelika does.  They begin to wrestle.  Angelika suddenly gets a strange look on her face and falls over backwards, onto the bed next to Lucas.  Bonnie laughs, asking if she gives up; Hattie checks her pulse and says, “she’s dead.”  

08-24-2017 (Thursday) Love Restrained

Sonny and Chad ask each other, at the exact same time, if they will be each other’s Best Man.  They both congratulate each other, saying they are lucky men.  Jen talks to her mom about Thomas, then marrying Chad again; her mom is lost in thought.  Abby asks if she’s thinking about Lucas; Jen says she can’t believe his spirit has been broken.  They both say her breaking up with Lucas doesn’t sound like the Adrian they know and love.  Abigail says she feels so bad for her Uncle Lucas, but she can’t really get mad at her Aunt Adrian for being indecisive.  Chad can hardly believe it when Sonny tells him that his parents got back together.Lucas tells “Adrian” that he has already lost everything else; he says, he can’t lose her too.  She looks sincerely sorry; Angelika tries to call, then complains about Bonnie not answering her phone.  “Marlena” find Angelika in the park; Angelika remarks she is another one who doesn’t answer her phone.  She asks if she was able to correct the problem at Bayview; Hattie tells her there was a little snag.

She says John Black followed her there and got a peek at Marlena; Marlena wakes up, now in her straight jacket again.  She remembers John being there, and is sure it wasn’t a dream; she wonders what happened to John.  Lucas asks why she didn’t just tell him the truth in the first place; she says, “truth be told,” breaking his heart almost broke hers.  He clumsily turns and knocks a binder off the desk; it has his picture inside.  He picks it up and asks her what this is; she says she was just looking at some old pictures (he’s so drunk, he buys it).  He says he knew she still loved him and he kisses her; she pulls away at first, but then says, “oh what the hell” and kisses him back.  In bed, Lucas realizes that “something is different” he tells her she is different and says, “you aren’t Adrian.”  Yet when she asks, “what’s in a name?” he continues kissing her and then passes out.  Angelika asks what she means, "John saw Marlenna"; Hattie says not to worry about it, saying she took care of it.  She tells Angelika she locked him up with Marlena.  Angelika says this isn’t going to end well for them, figuring John will tell the doctors who he is and they will be found out; Hattie smiles and says, “let’s see.” 

Marlena calls out to John, asking if he can hear her; he answers, through the vent.  He is in a cell behind her, also in a straight jacket.  He says, “I’m here.”  Hattie and Angelika go to see Bonnie; they are shocked to see Lucas passed out, naked in her bed.  She smiles, a guilty smile.

Nicole asks Eric what he is working on; he holds his computer close to prevent her from seeing the letter he is writing to her.  He says it’s nothing, just a draft of something he’s not sure is very good; she offers to read it, but he says maybe after he works on it some more.  She tells him the letters he wrote her from prison were so beautiful, she wishes she would have read them sooner; things might have been different, she says.  He asks how; she says she may not have had so much hatred in her heart, and maybe she would never have given it to a man like Deimos.  She says she is sorry she didn’t forgive him sooner; he touches her arm and tells her it’s alright.  Standing face to face, she talks about their complicated history and says she is glad they could move forward as friends; Eric says there is something he needs to tell her.  She goes on and on about Brady suspecting them having an affair and he certain he is now that they didn’t; she says he went crazy looking for evidence though.  Eric asks what he thought he was going to find; she flashes back to her recollection of killing Deimos and describing it to Brady.  She doesn’t tell Eric; she asks if anything was missing from his apartment after Brady tore through it.  He says no.

He notices how nervous she is and asks her what’s wrong?  She says she can’t lie to him; he (thinking she is going to confess her love) says he can’t lie to her either.  The door opens; Jen apologizes for interrupting.  Nicole says she has to go anyway, claiming she has an appointment, and tells Eric she’ll make up her hours tomorrow.  Brady takes another drink after Nicole heads to ‘work.’  Victor walks in the room; he asks if Brady has turned to amulet over to the police and Brady says he did not; Victor asks why the hell not.  He tells him that he confronted Nicole about her suspicions and it turned out to be nothing; he doesn’t want to turn Eric into the police now.  Victor scoffs at his believing Nicole; Brady tells him he loves her and trusts her, and Victor calls him an idiot.  He says just because Eric and Nicole didn’t “do the deed” it doesn’t mean Eric isn’t guilty of killing Deimos; Brady says Eric didn’t kill Deimos.  Victor asks how he knows that and who he is protecting; he realizes, it is Nicole.  He gets Brady to admit it.  Brady explains everything Deimos had done to Nicole; Victor tells him he isn’t her defense attorney.  Brady asks his grandfather to promise him right here and now that he won’t tell anybody anything; he says he’ll take the fall for her if he has to.  Victor agrees not to tell; but he says he can’t get rid of the amulet then – because as long as he has it, she doesn’t go to prison.  He says she better realize that Brady is responsible for her freedom.

08-23-2017 (Wednesday) Together Again

Justin is confused when “Adrian” won’t make love to him; he asks her if she changed her mind and wants to be with Lucas again.  She says no, but she feels like she can’t just “go jumping in between the sheets” after just breaking a man’s heart.  Paul and Sonny celebrate his release; still in bed, they tell each other how much they love each other, and laugh about the last time they had breakfast in bed.  Everyone thought Paul was having an affair with a famous model with beautiful brown eyes; Paul says they had the beautiful brown eyes part right.  Sonny goes to see his mother, to tell her that he and Paul are now engaged; he is surprised to see his father there.  Though happy when they tell him they are back together, he questions, “what about Lucas?”  “Adrian” says she feels awful about it, but had to follow her heart; he says he’s always routed for them, and makes his announcement.

Lucas goes to see Kate; he tells her that Adrian dumped him.  Kate says, “I told you so.”  She points out his inadequacies with woman, and how they’ve all hurt him; he asks why he thought he would get compassion from his mom.  She says he can’t let Adrian make him drink again; he yells at her, saying he drinks because of her, not Adrian.  She says she will having to fire him, if he keeps drinking, calling it “tough love” and he asks if she knows any other kind, as he storms out.

Eric writes another letter to Nicole, sitting at the Pub; Lucas walks in and they have words.  Lucas is ready to just have another drink (and still looks drunk); Eric can’t deny having feelings for Nicole.  Lucas invites Eric to join him for a drink; Lucas says he’ll just go somewhere else.  Eric says he can’t let him drive; Lucas laughs and says he isn’t going to drive.  He says he is going to take a cab, asking, “who do you think I am, you?”  Brady stands over the liquor tray; Nicole walks in the room and asks him what he’s doing.  He says he is just thinking about a lot of things; she hugs him, and says, “I really did it, didn’t I?”  He tells her everything will be okay.  She apologizes for making him think something was going on with Eric; he tells her it doesn’t matter now.  She promises him, “no more secrets between us.”  He looks guilty now.  Paul goes to see Brady and tells him about the engagement; Brady says he is happy for them and hugs him.  Paul admits he only told him first because he couldn’t reach their dad; he says maybe Brady and Nicole could be next.  Nicole comes back out; Brady tells her that Paul and Sonny are getting married.  She mutters about Sonny sitting in jail all this time; Brady tells her to quit it.  She says he has to go to work; and asks Brady if he is certain nothing is going on between her and Eric.  He says he does and reminds her that she can’t say anything to Eric about killing Deimos; she nods her head.

Chad and Abigail wake up, together, on her hospital bed.  He tells her he could sleep like that forever; she says she can’t wait to get home.  They talk about being together again, and dream of the future.  He tells her he needs to go but he’ll be back later.  Kate finishes up a deal on the phone, and brags about her ability; Andre walks in and tells her he saw her kissing Roman at the Pub.  He wonders how the board would feel about her cheating on her doting DeMira husband; she insists Roman kissed her and it was no big deal.  He tells her next time he’ll get a picture, because he will be watching her.  Chad comes home and announces that he and Abigail are getting married again; Andre hugs him and is obviously delighted.  Kate asks, “what about Gabi” and questions how Chad could just “throw her aside.”  He says Gabi understands.  Andre bounces out the door; Chad asks if he is being weirder than usual.  Kate tells him to pay him no mind; she asks Chad if he is sure about this.

Jen goes to visit Abigail; Abby shows her the ring and announces that she and Chad are together again.  Jennifer asks her if she is sure about this.  She tells her mom she has never been so sure about anything; Jen reminds her that not so long ago she wasn’t sure.  Kate reminds Chad how much Abigail has hurt him; he says they have both made mistakes.  She calls her a damsel in distress; he says she has saved him several times.  She apologizes and says if he is happy, she is happy; Jen toasts with Abigail (with lemon bars) to a long life of love and happiness.  Lucas walks in, with a bottle and adds to the toast, “to glorious love.”  Jen sees him out of the room, asking what he thinks he is doing.  She asks him to let her help him, to let her be there for him like he was for her when Abigail was injured.  He says he doesn’t know why he came and he leaves; he goes to Adrian’s.  “Adrian” asks what he is doing there; he says, “I can’t live without you.”

08-22-2017 (Tuesday) Abe, A Criminal?

Abe gets a visit from Theo; Abe says he shouldn’t be there.  Theo asks him why he is; Abe tells Theo he would never “knowingly” break the law.  Theo thinks, then asks, “why did you want my laptop so bad?”  Abe asks what he means; he asks if he took his laptop so he wouldn’t find out that he was stealing from the DeMira’s too.  Abe insists he isn’t connected to Dario or his criminal activities; he says it’s all a mistake.  Theo asks if he is gonna be okay; he says yeah, and promises this will be over soon.  Claire obsesses once again over social media; this time, angry about the “trolls” dis’ing Abe Carver.  She is surprised when Tripp walks in; he tells her, because of her, he decided it was better not to run away.  They talk about Joey turning himself in and heading to prison today; he talks about how he ruined his place in the family by trying to sabotage Kayla, and now has to earn it back.  She mentions screwing up things with Theo, being glad they are at least still friends.  He tells her Theo will come around, and thanks her for talking him out of leaving town.  She says, “you’re welcome,” and hugs him; Theo walks in.  She asks how it went; he says he doesn’t know what to believe now and asks what the text was about.  She says she’ll explain on the way and tells him to come with her, leaving Tripp behind.

Commissioner Raines tells everyone that Eli was the one in charge of the investigation that led to Abe’s arrest; Hope and Jennifer are astounded.  Julie tells Eli she is angry as hell with him (for having Abe arrested), and says she wants the house back.  He looks shocked.  Eli says he didn’t want it to be Abe; Julie says it isn’t Abe.  She tells him he is gunning for the wrong man.  She asks why Abe would do something like that when he has so much to gain; she reminds him that Hope and Abe grew up together and says he is turning his back on his whole family.  He tells her it was all Raines’ doing and says he will review all the information personally, and if Abe is the man she says he is, he will make sure he is cleared.  Raines tells Hope to handle the paperwork; Jen asks how she can do this.  Hope tells Jennifer she has to do her job; Justin comes in and says he is Abe’s new lawyer.  He asks Jen how Abigail is doing; she says she is much better.  Justin tells her Lucas is going to need her support now, telling her he and Adrian are back together; she is stunned.  Hope tells Justin to make sure this is what they ‘both’ want, saying he is her dear friend and doesn’t want to see him hurt.  Eli comes back to the station.  The commissioner makes it known that he expects Eli to “make these charges stick” on Abe Carver; Eli says he will do his best, although, he says, it’s hard for people to accept that a respected public figure could do something like this.  Raines asks if he agrees with him.

Roman tells Joey he is proud of Joey for taking responsibility for his actions; Joey says the DA cut him a deal, and he is ready to face prison now.  He says he hates what it’s doing to his mom though; Kayla hears this and tells him she understands now why he needs to do this, and she’s okay.  Joey tells her she won’t be okay until she stops pushing his dad away.  He tells her that he needs them together; Roman asks Joey if he could have a minute with Kayla.  Joey leaves.  Roman tells Kayla when she says goodbye to Joey, she and Steve are going to need each other; she says she isn’t sure that will ever happen again.  Steve knocks on “Adrian’s” door; Bonnie tries her best to remember who he is.  She answers the door, calling him Patch” and it takes him by surprise.  He can’t remember the last time she called him that.  He hugs her and says he feels like his whole world is falling apart; she isn’t quite sure how to respond.  He tells her he came there because she always has a way of getting his head straight; she asks if it’s trouble with the wife.  He says yeah, but also Joe; he mentions telling the authorities that he killed Ava, and she gasps.  He says, you knew this… she claims she just buried it deep.  He shakes it off and continues to tell her that he was actually covering for Joey, and Joey has now confessed; he says he is going to prison today.  Bonnie says, “no, he can’t go there; he might run into…” she stops short.  “Might run into who?” Steve asks.  She says just “hard core cons” you know; Steve says he got Joe sent to a minimum security prison by calling in some favors.  Bonnie calls it a “country club place” and says the worst he’ll learn there is how to cheat on his taxes – then stumbles, saying that’s what she hears anyway.  He tells her Kayla blames him for this and kicked him out; “Adrian” says she’ll get over it.  He invites her to a get together for Joey; she tries to get out of it.  He says Lucas is invited too; she tells him they broke up.  He especially confounded when she tells him she is already back together with Justin; he says, “you are full of surprises today.”  She shakes her head.

He goes back to see Kayla; Joey is happy to see him.  Kayla tells Steve she believes Joey knows what he is doing; Steve tells her he has made calls and will see to it that Joey makes it in that facility.  She thanks him, but cries, “this shouldn’t be happening.”  Steve tells her Joey would have never been at peace; he says he should have thought more about the impact of bringing Tripp there, on Joe.  He tells Kayla after all they’ve been through and found their way back to each other, he still loves her so much; he says he can’t lose her again and takes her hands in his.  She tells him she is sorry for the things she said and she can’t imagine making this through this without him; Joey comes out to see them resolve to “do this together, and by there for their boy.”  They get up and kiss him.Joey apologizes to Theo and Claire for not being able to help pay rent now; Theo tells Joey not to worry about it, saying their place won’t be the same without him.  Julie says she can’t believe this; she says between him and Abe, this is a bad day for Salem.  She scoffs at Hope for the arrest; Hope says she hopes after all the evidence is in, they can clear him.  “Adrian” comes in; she refers to this get together as a “send off” to which Kayla takes offense.  Jen asks if they can talk; she asks how she could break up with her brother like that, saying he was so devoted, took care of her when she had cancer and wanted to spend his life with her.  Bonnie snottily throws out “I’m not the one hooked on pain meds.”  Jen is stunned, and hurt, and asks how she could say that; “Adrian” apologizes, saying she doesn’t know what came over her.  Justin walks in; they kiss.  Jennifer walks away.  Steve asks who they are to judge.

Eli goes to see Abe; Abe tells him Theo was here.  He tells Eli that he thinks he may have made a terrible mistake; Eli tells him he won’t have to “play this role” much longer… just until they make Dario’s silent partner think he’s in the clear.  They discuss how Commissioner Raines got Roman’s job and then used it as a front for his counterfeiting operation.  Joey goes to see Tripp; he says he can’t tell him how sorry he is.  Tripp says he can’t tell him enough how sorry he is for what he did to his mom; Joey says, at least everything is out in the open.  He tells him to take care and they hug each other.  Kayla and Steve talk about Joey being born premature, tiny and helpless; Steve says he always had a fighting spirit and it will help him through what’s coming next.  They prepare to take Joey to prison; he says he’s ready and they walk out the door.

08-21-2017 (Monday) Hattie Out

Paul says he needs to go find John to get Sonny home; Sonny tells him he has to ask him this question first, saying, it can’t wait.  He tells him how much he means to him, how afraid he was of losing him, how all this made him realize they shouldn’t waist anymore time.  Paul says, “what are you saying?”  And just as Sonny starts to answer (or ask), his father comes in and tells him he is free to go home.  Paul and Sonny hug each other.  Sonny asks his dad where his mom is; Justin says he doesn’t know.  He tells him he thought he would at least get a text from her by now to see how things went, but nothing.  Angelika sees “Adrian” in the Square, shopping, and asks her what she thinks she is going, reminding her that she is supposed to be with her son right now.  She takes her shopping bags and tells her to get going.  When she shows up at the station, the first thing she does is tell Justin that she has decided that her heart belongs to him and starts recounting details from their former life together.  Justin looks at her like she has lost her mind; but then he tells her since the day she chose Lucas, he’s been waiting to hear that.  He kisses her and tells her he loves her and wants her more than anything; surprised at first, she happily kisses him back.

Chad explains to Abigail that he knows where he belongs now, he loves her and wants to have her home; he asks again, if she will marry him.  He tells her he doesn’t want to waste another second.  She tells him she can’t.  He asks why not, and then apologizes for pushing her.  She tells him that’s not it; she reminds him she’s still married to Dario.  She does tell him she wants to be with him again though and suggests they call her mom to bring Thomas over so they can celebrate together.  Chad tells her he has to go, but he will be back; she laughs as he dances out the door.  He shows back up with her ring, saying he wanted to make it official; he puts it on and kisses her.  Sonny and Paul are now in bed, half-dressed, kissing and laughing about making up for lost time; Sonny tells Paul that now is a good time, and says before they were interrupted at the station, he was going to ask him to marry him.  He asks him again, officially; Paul smiles, and says, “yes.”

Andre watches as his ‘wife’ (Kate) kisses Roman; he leaves before they quit kissing, laughing about what they are doing.  Roman tells her that he is thinking maybe they should try again; Kate shakes her head.  She reminds him that their marriage was not a huge success; he says they’ve made a lot of progress since then.  Marlena struggles, trying to get out of the straight jacket and calls out to John, while “Marlena” paces inside her hotel room, trying to avoid answering the door.  John knocks on the door and tells her he knows she is in there; she pulls herself together and answers the door.  He tells her he knows this “just isn’t you” and demands to know what’s going on – she tells him she just can’t do this anymore, calling him a second-hand Roman Brady, and says he just needs to accept that this relationship is over.  He says, “no, I’m not going to accept that” and he leaves, hesitating as he steps out of the door.  “Marlena” calls Angelika and tells her she has had it; she says, “I’m done” and tells her she is never playing Marlena Evans again, adding “Hattie out.”  She heads out somewhere; John, hiding behind the corner of the building, watches and follows her.  For some reason, she goes back to the mental hospital and asks to talk to whoever is in charge of “this very sick patient” (pointing at Marlena’s room); the guard shows her the way.  John steps into the hallway and looks through the window of the door; he sees Marlena.  He picks the door and goes in; he says, “I knew it!”  He runs to her and hugs her, and kisses her, then undoes the straight jacket; they hear the door lock.  Hattie looks in and tells John, this way they can have a little undivided attention.

Brady asks Nicole if she’s okay; he tries to take the amulet from her hand.  He tells her he knows she doesn’t want to believe Eric could have done that, but the amulet being in his room says a lot.  Nicole says she doesn’t think Eric did it, and reminds Brady that she was in Eric’s room.  She says at one point, she went looking for Eric; Brady asks if she found him.  She tells him no, she found Deimos.  She says he walked toward her, she picked up a knife and he started laughing at her – making fun of her – she says he was so smug, he taunted her about losing Holly and says he was the one who made it happen.  “Just like the first time,” he says, “except that time, I was in love with you.”  He continues to mock her, saying no one is more unfit to be a mother than her; she says she will get her daughter back, and he laughs.  He says, the judge only told her that to make it seem fair – after all, he didn’t go through all this just to deprive her of her little girl for a few months.  He tells her he is adopting Holly, leaving Salem tonight, and taking “his daughter” with him.  Nicole cries, “no.”  He holds up the amulet and calls Nicole a “lying, cheating whore” then says it’s time to go pick up “daddy’s little girl” adding that he is going to spoil her rotten.  Nicole says she will never let him take her daughter and starts swinging the knife; Deimos grabs her hand, then we hear “crunch” as the knife plunges into his chest.  Nicole tells Brady, “oh god, I did it… I killed him.”  She asks Brady what she is going to do; he kisses her and tells her not to worry, saying he won’t let her go to prison.

08-18-2017 (Friday) The Kiss of a Stranger

Roman pushes “Marlena” off of him and asks her what the hell she thinks she’s doing; she says she hopes to rekindle things between them.  He tells her she can’t be serious; she asks if he hasn’t thought about all the wonderful times by had… he admits, “of course.”  She smiles.  He tells her just because he thinks about it doesn’t mean he wants it; she starts carrying on, how they could have all that again… he tells her to slow down.  He says he won’t do that to John; besides, he says, “something was off.” Paul gets a text from John; Chad tells Sonny, “we got this.”  Paul greets Sonny when he is released and tells him he never doubted him, even though Sonny admits that he doubted himself.  Sonny tells him all the things he was afraid he would never get to do again; he tells Paul he has something he wants to ask him.

Kate catches John in the Square and apologizes for being “brutal” the last time they talked; he tells her she was pretty much on the mark, and says, “she dumped me, Kate.”  Kate tells him that Marlena loves him, right or wrong, good or bad; she says something else must be going on here.  John agrees; Kate takes him to get a drink and says they are going to figure out what is going on here.  Roman tells “Marlena:” the kiss was different, and he thinks he knows why.  He says they are just two different people now; she denies it, saying they are just the same.  He tells her she loves John and insists she go find him and work this out; he says there can never be anything between them in this life, not now, not ever.  She gets up and storms out, walking right past John, as he and Kate come in.

John demands Roman tell him what just happened here.  He says he and Marlena had a disagreement; he tells John they were talking about their past, and then they were kissing.  John punches him.  Roman stands up and yells at John to listen to him; he tells him that he told her to get out of there, find him and make things right.  John apologizes; Roman says he’s fine… he says he’s not sure about Marlena though, saying she caught him completely off guard.  John apologizes again and goes to find Marlena.  Kate nurses John’s bleeding lip; he tells her that his talk with “Marlena” made him think maybe it is time for him to open himself up to the possibility of finding love with somebody new, or someone he loved and lost.  Kate looks at him lovingly, shakes her head and touches his chin; he draws her closer, and they kiss.  Andre walks in and sees them.

Julie visits Abigail; they talk about Abe Carver’s arrest.  Julie says he is practically a saint; Andre walks in mocking her.  Julie excuses herself, telling Abigail, the “scent of something in this room” has made her queasy.  Andre apologizes to Roman for the things Julie said; he sits down by her.  He tells her that Chad should be talking to the judge right now; at that moment, Chad walks in (with a rose) and tells Abigail he is free.  Andre excuses himself; Abigail tells Chad she is happy he came back to her.  He says he will always come back to her.  He asks her to marry him again; Abby giggles.  Chloe goes to see Eric, looking for answers about his feelings for Nicole.  Of course, he denies having any feelings for her, other than friendship.  He says he knew working with Nicole would be complicated, but he can handle it; Chloe tells him hiding his feelings won’t be easy, and she leaves.

Nicole tells Brady that she knows he has come up with all kinds of scenarios about her and Eric; she swears it’s not true.  He asks why he should believe that.  She says she loves him; he tells her he knows all about her private little photo shoot with Eric.  She asks how; he tells her he heard her talking about it; she get the pictures out and shoves them at him, telling him to look at them.  After she explains that they are for Holly, he begins to feel bad; still he asks her to explain “the secret” she couldn’t tell him, and she confesses that she had forgiven Eric.  He asks why she didn’t just tell him; she said things were just so shaky between them after the party, she was scared to tell him, thinking he would jump to all these crazy conclusions – then that’s exactly what he did anyway.  Brady tells Nicole that he still isn’t sure Eric did nothing wrong; he tells her that he thinks he may be the one who killed Deimos.  She asks why he thinks such a thing and he shows her the amulet; Nicole recalls that night and Eric telling her he thought he did something bad.  She says she couldn’t imagine Eric could to that though; Brady asks how else she can explain the amulet being in his room.  Her mind flashes back again, to herself, standing in her red party dress, holding the amulet.

08-17-2017 (Thursday) Broken Heart, Bloody Mary

Lucas wakes up to find Adrian next to him.  He tells her she looks like a dream; she laughs, hugs him  and disappears.  He sits up and sees Chloe… he says, ”oh no, it really is a nightmare.”  He realizes everything really happened; Adrian broke up with him.  He thanks Chloe for helping him; she asks about Brady – was he really there, drinking with him?  Lucas tries to lie about it; he fumbles his words and says he must have been confused.  Ultimately, though, he admits that he did say that.  Chloe tells Lucas she is sorry about Adrian breaking up with him; he thanks her for her compassion.  He says Adrian was everything to him… his lifeline, so all he feels is sadness and grief now.  Chloe tries to make Lucas feel better by takinng him to lunch, and reminding him how many other people care about him and would do anything for him; she laughs about their past, but tells him if he needs anything he can call.  She leaves him at a table in the Square.  “Adrian” happens by, trying to cover her face with her purse; Lucas calls to her.  She seems to feel bad, noting how bad he looks, and seeing aspirin, assumes he is nursing a hangover; he begs her to tell him it isn’t too late to fix this.  She says she can’t, saying it wouldn’t be fair to him; she says she can’t do this and gets up and leaves.  Lucas orders a Bloody Mary and tells the waitress to “keep them coming.”

Adrian is reading a magazine; a woman takes it away, calling her Bonnie… she insists she isn’t Bonnie; and asks, “why won’t anyone believe me?”  She tries to convince the guard; he laughs at her – he says, “if there was a switch, you must have been there, how’d it happen?”  She racks her brain to remember; she recalls her meeting with Angelika, realizes she must have spiked her latte, and switched her with Bonnie.  She desperately starts pleading with him to help her prove this, but her screaming only gets her in trouble; the guard hauls her off to solitary confinement.  Bonnie orders room service and laughs about Abe’s arrest.  Hattie comes to pick her up; asking why she isn’t ready yet.  Bonnie asks Hattie how she has much energy after partying so hard last night.  Hattie brags about how fit she is and says she has to get going; she’s planning a meeting with Roman. Bonnie takes notes while Angelika tells her how to break Justin’s heart so she can swoop in and pick up the pieces; she reminds her what she has to gain by then seducing Victor and “appropriating his entire fortune.”

“Marlena” (Hattie) heads to Brady’s Pub; Roman is surprised to see her and inquires about her breaking up with John.  She scoffs and says she should have done it sooner; she says it’s for the best.  He asks how she can suddenly feel this way; she says it’s not sudden.  He reminds her they have a LONG history together and insists this isn’t right; she tells him, maybe their relationship was doomed from the start because of him taking over Roman’s life.  Her ending up falling in love with John, she says, may have been all wrong; she tells Roman maybe she shouldn’t have let him go.  He looks at her with astonishment.  She goes on to talk about what a great life they had together, and how they raised those three kids (almost messing up, forgetting that Sammi and Eric were twins).

Victor gloats over the news as well; Brady is sober, home from his overnight stay at a facility.  Victor tells him no one here suspects a thing, not even Maggie; he swears it won’t happen again.  He still insists Eric must be the one who killed Deimos.  Victor suggests he go to a meeting; Brady tells him he knows where one is.  He thanks his grandpa and says he’ll work hard to regain his trust; Victor damns Chloe, noting she was the one who ‘started’ his addiction.  Brady tells Victor he can’t blame his addiction on anyone else; he accepts responsibility, he says he is going to a meeting and then going to the police station to get Sonny out; he starts to leave.  Chloe is at the door; she asks if they can talk in private.  Brady tells her he has no secrets from his grandfather; she tells him Lucas told her he was drinking with him last night.  Victor quickly speaks up and says Brady was there, working with him all night; Brady goes along with the story.  Eric is looking at Nicole’s pictures.  Nicole appears in his doorway; Eric looks uncomfortable.  He tells Nicole about his room being trashed.  After they talk, Nicole realizes she has to find Brady “before this gets out of hand” (let’s hope it’s not too late).  She tells Eric she’ll do her service hours tomorrow; he says okay and she leaves.  Brady puts the amulet in his pocket and resolves to go to the police station to tell them Eric is the one who had it.  When Nicole gets home, Brady is walking out the door; she asks where he is going and he tells her to “go ask Eric.”

08-16-2017 (Wednesday) Decisions

Claire apologizes, and lets go of Theo’s hands; he asks why she’s apologizing.  She says because she knows it’s not what he wants; he tells her it’s okay because she is his friend, and he takes her hands back.  They get a little intimate, face to face for a moment, and then Claire suggests they go to the beach today; she heads off to pack a bag.  Theo smiles.  He reminds himself he just wanted to be friends; she comes out looking extremely “hot.”  She asks him to put sun block on her back; he does, whispering to himself, “friends, friends, friends.”  Claire smiles.  He continues rubbing her way longer than is necessary and she asks if he is almost done; he says, almost and bends down and kisses her neck.  Looking at her phone, she jumps up and screams, “what? Oh my god.”  Theo looks worried.  He asks what is wrong… she says it’s just a nasty comment on one of her songs, but then says she was trying to protect him.  She shows him her phone; we are not able to see the screen clearly (but it might be a video).

Valerie comes back to the table to see Abe again, but he says he needs to go; he tries to blow her off, but she sits down and says she wants to know what’s going on here.  He says, okay; he sits back down and tells her he hopes she will be “understanding”… he tells her about Theo’s work for the DeMiras.  He tells her they had a big fight about it and he feels awful; she says she feels responsible for advising him to trust Theo.  She asks what she can do; he says, nothing.  He tells her Theo could be arrested as being an accessory after the fact; she says they can’t let that happen.  JJ tells Lani he is glad they are going to be working together again; she says they aren’t, exactly.  She tells JJ about her altercation with Raines; JJ says he probably deserved everything she said.  She says she apologized, but he is still pretty mad at her.  JJ stands up and demands that the Commissioner reinstate Lani as his partner; Eli walks in and says he needs to talk to Raines.  He tells them they are about to make an arrest and tells Lani, in particular, she needs to prepare herself; Rafe and Hope approach the table.

Valerie stands up and asks them to please forgive Theo; they are confused.  She mentions his work with the DeMiras; they say they have no intention of arresting Theo… they tell Abe they are there for him.  Abe demands to know what the charges against him are, pretending to be offended; they tell him counterfeiting.  He says that’s what they were going after Dario for; Valerie says Abe is the most honest guy she knows.  Hope says the evidence is sold and reads Abe his rights; Rafe puts him in handcuffs and they escort him away.  When they get to the station, Abe tells Elli he’s been duped; he says Dario gave him his name to throw them off his trail.  Raines stands in Abe’s face and begins to berate him; Abe insists he isn’t involved in this.  He tells Rafe Dario played them all; he had to name “someone important” – he says this whole damn case is made up.  He says his name was just big enough to divert their attention, and it did.  Lani and JJ seem to side with Abe, saying it is possible it’s a coincidence that Abe has been throwing money around lately, some of which has turned out to be counterfeit.  Abe seems genuinely surprised.  Abe threatens to sue every one of them when he is cleared of this.  Lani gets mad at Eli for not telling her before; she shoves him and tells him he won’t get away with this.  JJ gets her to leave with him; Raines commends him on a “job well done” and calls him son.  Eli stops his mom from leaving and tells her they need the necklace and earrings for evidence; she pulls them off and throws them on the floor, storming out.  She hugs Abe and tells him he can count on her.

Kayla pleads with Joey, saying this is the answer for all of them.  Tripp promises he will never tell anybody that he killed his mother.  He says what he did to him and his mom is every bit as bad as what he did to Ava; there is no score to settle, he says.  Joey looks to his father for advice, but Kayla cuts Steve off saying she wants Joey to speak for himself.  Joey still says nothing; he doesn’t know if he can live with it, still.  Kayla and Steve start screaming at each other; Kayla says it’s all because of Steve that Joey is ready to throw his life away.  He says Joey could get a break because he’s turning himself in voluntarily; Kayla gets even more angry when he says he talked to Roman about this.  Kayla turns around and hangs onto Joey; she begs him to please not turn himself in.  Joey asks his mother if they can talk alone, outside; he tells her he didn’t realize how bad things are between her and his dad.  He apologizes saying he knows its because of him; she tells him to stop.  He says it’s his fault; he tells her he couldn’t handle it if they break up.  She tells him they can fix things if he stays; Joey tells her that’s emotional blackmail.  She apologizes, but insists, what good is it going to do?  She says there’s no guarantee he’ll get a short sentence; he says he knows, but he deserves it for taking someone’s life.  He still feels he has to pay the price for that; she says he has already paid a huge price, carrying around this huge burden of guilt.  She says none of them want him to suffer any more, reminding him of how much potential he has.  She says she knows he is doing this to make his dad proud; he says she is actually the reason he wants to turn himself in.

He reminds her of a time when they were without his father, and he stole money from his grandma; she talked to him, right there on that bench and made him go back and tell her what he did.  Then she made him bust his ass to earn money to pay her back, with interest.  He says his grandmother told him he shouldn’t feel bad about not having his dad around because he had the best mom in the world, teaching him right from wrong.  He says he is just trying to do now what she taught him.  She shakes her head.  Steve talks to Tripp about wanting to take him out, himself, when he found out he had turned on his flesh and blood; Tripp asks why he didn’t and he says, “because you’re my flesh and blood too.”  He says he wanted to protect him because that’s what a parent does for their child.  Kayla tells Joey she understands now and it’s okay; he can do what he wants.  Tripp vows to make things right with Joey, him and Kayla; Steve tells him they’ll get through this as a family.  Joey comes in and tells his dad he is still going to turn himself in; Kayla tells Steve she has accepted his decision, though she is crying.

08-15-2017 (Tuesday) I'm Sorry

Abe tells Theo he believes he made a mistake by taking Valerie’s advice to stand back and let him be independent; Theo hands over his computer.  Abe tells him he compromised himself and broke the law, for nothing as it turns out… The just shakes his head.  Theo reminds his father that he is a DeMira when Abe starts talking crap about “them.”  He tells him he wanted to help and he would do it again. His dad demands that he quit his job at DeMira; Theo says, “no” taking his father by surprise.  Abe says, “what?”  Theo says, “you heard me, I’m not going to quit.”  He walks off.  Lani meets with Eli and tells him she doesn’t think she can work with him anymore; she tells him Raines is pushing her for information and she can’t even tell him that she pretty much “knows butcass.”  She tells Eli that he threatened to fire her, but says she handled it beautifully, by telling him that he could, but then her father could fire him, admitting that it was an empty threat.  She says she would never put her dad in that position, nor would he let her.  Eli dismisses her, effective immediately.

Hope says she can’t believe they have to re-open “this case” and Rafe says that’s what happens when you have more than one credible witness.  She says at least she is glad he is there with her, and not in Mexico; Rafe tells her he has determined that Dario is probably still here in Salem.  Rafe confesses to Hope that he doesn’t like Eli thinking that he can run this investigation; she says he is trying to help.  Rafe says he has wracked his brain to think if there was anything he could remember Dario saying, but he says he never mentioned who he was working with.  Hope says Eli won’t say either, which means whoever it is, is a “major player.”   Raines comes out to talk to Rafe and Hope; he complains about Lani not telling him anything, saying she seems to forget who she works for.  Lani comes back and apologizes to Raines, telling him she is no longer working with Eli.  She also retracts her threat admitting her dad would never abuse his power and she wouldn’t ask him to.

Eli asks his mom what the occasion was; she says none, he’s just been generous as of late.  She tells him Abe said he got a good price for it because he paid cash for it; Eli is intrigued by this information.  Theo gets home and tells Claire that he just got in a huge fight with his dad because of the work he’s doing for his family; she asks if this work has anything to with Chad’s arrest.  He says, “kind of.”  She tells him she hopes it doesn’t get him in trouble.  He starts getting uncomfortable and symptoms of autism manifest; he starts squeezing his hands and moving around.  Claire bends down and takes his hands; she rubs them and tells him it’s going to be okay.  Eli finds Abe sitting at a table in the Square; he thanks him for taking care of his mom, mentioning the presents.  Eli asks if he won the lottery; Abe asks about leads on Dario Hernandez.  Eli says no; Abe asks if the case is closed.  Eli says far from it; Abe looks disappointed.  (Oh my, is Abe the major player???)  Eli asks Rafe and Hope to meet him in the park; he tells them it’s time he let them in on who this major player is, and says they aren’t going to like it.  Abe pulls a wad of cash out of his pocket, counts it and puts it back.

Kate is mad at Andre; she asks when he was going to tell her Chad confessed to killing Deimos.  Andre admits to telling Chad the truth because he deserved to know how much Abigail loves him and was willing to give up for him.  Kate asks if he thought about what this has done to their “bottom line.”  Andre mocks her; he says its all okay because Chad has recanted his confession, and Sonny has been cleared too.  Kate says she needs to call the board.  She reminds him that the board doesn’t trust him and starts getting bossy; Andre says he did his damnedest to change Chad’s mind, even trying to enlist Gabi’s help.  He says she needs a reminder that she may run the company, but he runs the family and when he divorces her, she will be on the outside again, pressing her nose against the window.  They have a stare-down.  Andre asks if they have irreconcilable difference; he welcomes her to divorce him, reminding her the board could press charges for fraud.  She apologizes for being harsh.  She tells him they can just forget they had this conversation; Andre reminds her that neither one of them ever forget anything.  He walks off laughing.  He later hears her on the phone talking to someone about him, saying “it appears he isn’t up to the task.”

Roman asks Steve what happened between him and Kayla; Steve tells him things are so broken this time, he doesn’t know if they will be able to fix it.  He tells Roman about Tripp being the one that set Kayla up, reminding him about the day at the bar and how guilty Joey was feeling.  He says Tripp jumped to the wrong conclusion and wanted to make Kayla pay for his mother’s death.  He tells Roman Tripp snapped and tried to kill Kayla.  Roman asks where they go from here.  Claire reads the news about Chad’s confession; she tells Joey she didn’t think the DeMiras admitted to anything, ever.  Joey says it must have been hard for Chad; he tells Claire he is planning on doing the same thing.  She tries to talk him out of it, but he says he has made up his mind.  He goes to the Pub and tells his Uncle Roman that he quits and can’t give him two weeks notice; he asks his dad to come with him to the police station.Kayla remembers their first conversation with Joey about Tripp, before Steve went looking for him.  Tripp surprises her when he walks up behind her and says her name.  He asks if they can talk somewhere private; she says no, but he can talk to her right there.  He tells her he wanted to say he was sorry.  He admits his Uncle Angelo got him worked up about her needing to pay; he says he was just going to talk to her and then he got enraged when he saw her sleeping and thought about his mother struggling to breath with that pillow over her head.

He again says he is so, so sorry and says she is right; he deserves to go to prison for what he did.  He tells her that he heard their conversation and he was just going to take off, but then he talked to Claire and she helped him see that he’s just be running away.  He says if he wants other people to pay for the things they’ve done, he should too; Kayla says she has every right to go to the police, but she isn’t going to.  She says she was angry when she was talking to Steve; she doesn’t want to ruin his life anymore than she wants Joey’s ruined.  Tripp says he doesn’t know what to say; Kayla says he doesn’t have to say anything, but there is something he could do.  Steve asks Joey if he is sure turning himself in is what he wants to do; Joey says yes.  They get ready to head out and are surprised when they see Tripp walk into the Pub with Kayla; she tells them Tripp has something he wants to say to them.  He says he has realized that they can all be pushed to do bad things; he tells Joey he has paid enough and he just wants this to all be over.  Kayla says it’s what she wants to, and asks Joey what he thinks; Joey hesitates to answer.

08-14-2017 (Monday) Are You There, Doc?

Lucas wakes up with his head on the bar; he grabs for his drink and Chloe grabs it out of his hand.  She asks what is the matter with him, reminding him that he is a recovering alcoholic and has been sober for “so long.”  He tells her to leave him alone; he asks why she’s even there.  She tells him she got a job offer and asks what happened to make him fall off the wagon; he says he didn’t fall off… he was “pushed.”  He tells her she just changed her mind today; he says he saw the look in her eyes and it was like she turned into a totally different person.  The bartender comes back and Lucas tells him he wants one more; Chloe protests but the bartender says it’s not his problem.

Chloe sits down and asks what happened between him and Adrian.  He tells her; she says it doesn’t sound like the Adrian she knows.  He says it’s not; it’s the new and improved Adrian.  The bartender gives him a shot and he downs it before Chloe can say, “Lucas, don’t.”  He tells her she’s got to be quicker than that.  She tells him tossing away his sobriety is just hurting himself; she begs him to go with her to a meeting.  He refuses.  He reminds her that she cheated on him with Daniel and says she is no better than Adrian is.  She says maybe Brady can get through to him; Lucas laughs and says he isn’t going to stop him.  He tells her that’s who he was drinking with before she got there; she is stunned.  She says she doesn’t believe it; none of this makes any sense, she says.  Lucas agrees, none of it makes any sense.  Chloe threatens to have the bartender arrested if Lucas gets in a car and kills someone, if he serves him again; the bartender cuts him off.  Lucas says he needs to go and falls as soon as he stands up.  Chloe demands his keys; he hands them over and tells her she is going to drive him.  He cries as they walk out of the bar, asking why and calling out, “Adrian!”

John is confused when Marlena calls from a random number and tells him she needs him more than ever; instead of coming out and saying “help me” right away – he seems suspicious of the call.  She goes on to tell him that Hattie is back and she’s changed places with her; she tells him she is at Bayview… John asks “are you there, doc?” telling her she is breaking up; I don’t think he’s heard anything she’s said.  She finally says “help me, John, help me.”  He hears “help” and says he knew something was up when they talked earlier; the guard grabs the phone out of her hand and hangs up.  Eric goes to see his mom and stops at Adrian’s door; he is shocked to hear the music and laughter… even more to see the plastic solo cups and bottles on the table when he walks in.  He asks “Marlena” to tell him what the hell she is doing there.  He is a little confused, but seems to buy their story, about Adrian being upset and Marlena trying to make her feel better.

Brady goes back to the mansion and shows Victor the amulet; he tells him he just found it in the room of his “beloved brother.”  Looks like they’ve got their ‘patsy.’  Brady explains to Victor that Sonny had that with him at the party.  He says his brother stabbed Victor’s brother to death and he’s going to let Sonny fry for it; Brady tells Victor to come on.  He wants to go tell the police immediately.  Victor stops him and reminds him that his fingerprints are all over it now; Victor tells him that he can tell he is “drunk as a skunk.”  He reminds him that he had him thrown into rehab before, and he can do it again; Brady argues he can handle alcohol… his problem was cocaine.  Victor reminds him he is supposed to be in charge of Titan while Sonny is locked up; he says all hell could break out if word gets out he’s “off the wagon.”  He tells him to go take a shower and then they will go talk to someone.

Eric tells his mom that John is a wreck; she says she doesn’t want to talk about it.  She says she is sorry about that, but she is much happier in her life without him in it.  “Adrian” tells Eric she used to have a bowl of oatmeal every morning; one day she woke up and decided she just didn’t like it anymore.  “Marlena” agrees, saying it can happen suddenly sometimes.  He agrees to go for now, but tells his “mother” they need to talk about John later, alone.  She nods; he leaves.  He is shocked when he gets back to his room and finds it a complete disaster.  “Marlena” says she is going back to her room now; she runs into John when she walks out of the door.  Shocked to hear him say she called him, she plays along; she says yeah, she did, blaming it on stress.  He ‘reminds’ her she said she needed help and asks what he can help her with.  She quickly spurts out, “I need to get some things out of the house tomorrow morning and want to make sure you won’t be there.”  He tells her there is something more going on here, and he isn’t going to stop until he figures out what it is.  The guard tells Marlena she is going to learn what bad girls get now; he gives her a sedative shot and puts her back in the straight jacket.  She quietly calls out to John, “help me, John, help me.”

Chad and Sonny try to reconstruct the events from what they remember; deducting that whoever took that amulet off of his body is the one who killed him.  Sonny says, whoever has that thing is going to regret it; he says the curse on that thing is ridiculous.  Chad asks Sonny what he remembers from the party; he tells Chad he wore the amulet to the party, thinking it was a good idea.  This was the day he had hired everyone Deimos had hired.  All he could think about was getting back at him; he says he remembers drinking the toast and going to look for Paul.  He says that’s when he saw Deimos dressed as a waiter.  He says he passed out in the hall; woke up to find Deimos grabbing the amulet.  He took off; Sonny ran after him.  He says he remembers nothing else, until Chad found him leaning over his body; Chad tells him to take a break and close his eyes.  He starts talking about his being able to get up and walk away from where he had passed out; he asks if he ran into Deimos when he was looking for Paul.  He remembers he was in the garden; the garden that was off the living room.  Sonny remembers walking into the room and finding Deimos already laying there with the knife in his chest; he tells Chad he didn’t kill Deimos.  They hug each other when they realize that means Chad didn’t do it either.

08-11-2017 (Friday) Out of The Blue

Lucas thinks Adrian is “messing with” him; he says it’s payback because he was acting so jealous.  She tells him he has reason to be jealous, because she has been thinking of Justin this whole time.  He tells her she isn’t the same woman he spent the morning with and says he isn’t going anywhere until she tells him what’s really going on.  He tells her to look him in the eye and tell him she doesn’t love him; she does.  He says he should have known when she didn’t kick Justin’s ass to the curb when he broke up there wedding, saying he must be really stupid.  She hands him her ring back and tells him, he was right; she isn’t the same woman he woke up with this morning.  He takes the ring and leaves crying.  “Marlena” shows up; she comes in with booze and some new clothing.  They toast to starting over.  They sit down on the edge of the bed to watch a movie and chose “adult entertainment” screaming and giggling.  They watch in astonishment, heads tilting this way and that, then reach a point where they have to turn it off.  “Marlena” says that’s taking it to a whole new level; “Adrian” tells her it took everything she had not to jump on that hottie when she was breaking up with him.  Hattie tells her about her past with “Alfie” (Andre) and how they used to get pretty crazy when the lights when out.  Bonnie asks if Roman will be able to match the crazy, then tells her she just wants Victor for “the old coot’s loot.”  They laugh and continue drinking.  Marlena talks the guard into taking off the straight jacket when he brings in her lunch; as she maneuvers out of it, somehow, she gets a hold of his phone.  She calls John; he answers.  She tells him its her, and asks if he can hear her.

Sonny is shocked to see Chad walk in the jail cell; he tells him he just confessed to murdering Deimos.  He explains that he doesn’t really remember doing it, but says there was a photo; when he tells Sonny someone who thought they were helping him has deleted the photo, Sonny doesn’t understand why he turned himself in.  Chad says he wasn’t about to let his best friend go down for something he might have done.  Gabi tells Abigail that she understands completely; she says the two of them belong together.  She tells Abby that she loves her, and she loves Chad too, but he should be with her.  She asks where Chad is; Abigail tells her that he went to turn himself in.  Sonny tells Chad Dario could have doctored that photo; Chad thinks.  He remembers Sonny standing up from over Deimos; he tells him he’s “got this” and tells Sonny to go make sure the coast is clear.  He bends down to get the knife… he tells Sonny he remembers.  It appears Sonny may have done it after all.  All he tells him though is that he remembers leaning over the body and wiping off the prints; Sonny asks what else he remembers and Chad’s memory flashes.  He and Sonny picked up Deimos’ body and move it; Chad simply tells Sonny, “you helped me and that makes me the guilty one.”

Gabi gives Abigail an electronic baby book she made for Thomas while she was gone, with videos and pictures.  Abigail tells Gabi she knows its awkward but she really wants her to be a part of his life, and asks her to stay with her; they start looking through the pictures.  Sonny tells Chad something doesn’t sound right; he says he has to remember what happened BEFORE he wiped off the knife.  Chad recalls; Sonny was scrambling, looking for the amulet when Chad walked in… Chad sees Deimos with the knife in his chest and laughs, then, asks Sonny, “what did you do?”  He tells Sonny, but says it doesn’t mean he did it; he asks Sonny if he has the amulet.  Sonny says no; Chad says then whoever has the amulet is probably the one who murdered him.

Eric talks to Nicole on the phone as he stares at the pictures he took of her; she thanks him again for doing this for her and Holly, calling him an “amazing photographer.”  He sees John in the Square and asks if his mom is okay; John says yeah, and tells him she didn’t call all night because she was angry he kept her waiting again.  Eric asks if they are okay now; he says no, “actually, she just moved out.”  Marlena wakes up in a white, padded room, still in a restraint jacket; she starts freaking out, sounding a lot like Hattie.  The attended laughs at her as she rants; she tells him she has to get out of there, screaming, “don’t you understand?”  He tells her she needs to get comfortable because according to her chart she is there for the long haul.  Eric asks if his mom really moved out “just like that” and John says, “yep.”  He admits that something just didn’t feel right about it thought.  Nicole walks in the mansion, telling Maggie “you won’t believe what Eric came up with” and Maggie cuts her off; she asks what about Brady.  She says she sent Nicole messages; Brady is in a bad way, she says.  She tells Nicole he thinks she and Eric are having an affair.  Brady is sitting at a bar, with two drinks in front of him; the bartender says it’s happy hour.

Lucas walks in and says, “you too, huh?”  He tells Brady that Adrian totally blindsided him; they both mope about how they thought they were completely in love and it’s all “a big lie.”  Nicole tells Maggie she has to talk to Brady before he does something they will all regret; she tries to call, but he refuses the call.  He chugs one of the shots; Lucas sips on his, then downs the rest.  Nicole tells Maggie she can only imagine how upset he is right now; Lucas tells Brady when he looked in Adrian’s eyes they were empty – he says there was no love there.  Brady says to join the club.  Lucas goes on and on; he asks how he could be so wrong about someone he thought was so right.  Brady tells Lucas at least his girlfriend had the guts to tell him; he says his just went right to his brother, and he knows his brother has been taking pictures of her.  He saw the camera around his neck when they came out of his room earlier, he says.  Good and drunk now, he tells Lucas he needs to leave; they wish each other well.  Brady goes to Eric’s room; the bed is an absolute mess.  He begins searching the room, looking for the camera.  He trashes the room; he finds the amulet.

08-10-2017 (Thursday) Emotions Run Hot

Kayla gets angry with Steve and says if he is willing to let their son go to prison, then so should HIS.  Tripp overhears; he stands in the hallway.  Steve exclaims, “he is my son!”  Kayla says, “so is Joey, or have you forgotten?”  Steve explains, Tripp has had a rough start; prison would ruin him, he says.  Kayla is appalled and asks if he doesn’t think it will ruin Joey; he tells her, “Joey’s soul is already in prison.”  Kayla begins to cry and tells Steve that none of this would be happening if it weren’t for him.  She walks away and Steve follows her; she tells him to leave her alone.  He apologizes for not discussing it with her more when he brought Tripp to town; he tells her he wants to talk this out.  He says if Joey wants to lift the weight that’s been crushing him, they need to support him; she says if he has his way, their sweet boy Joey goes to prison while Tripp gets everything he wants.  She says it doesn’t feel like he wants to protect Joey at all; she begins to cry but won’t let him comfort her.  She tells him to go.  He leaves the Pub frustrated; she holds back the tears.

Theo sees Claire in the Square as he goes on his way to see Abigail with flowers in hand; he says, maybe if he had worked faster, she wouldn’t be there.  Claire asks him what he means by that.  Abe and Valerie are having lunch at the Brady Pub; he places a jewelry box on the table.  She thinks it’s a ring; he assures her it’s not… it is a pair of earrings.  She thanks him; he tells her it’s a thank you for her.  He says because of her, he and his son are in a good place.  Claire insists Theo talk to her, saying she can tell, he needs to talk.  He says he has to get to the hospital; she says okay, but says if he ever needs to talk, about anything, he can trust her.  He says he knows.  Tripp comes by the Square and gives her back her Mp3 player; he tells her he believes one day, he will be watching her in concert and telling people he knew her when she was waiting tables.  She says front row passes for all of them when that happens.  He tells her he’s afraid he won’t be around for that; she looks confused, and he tells her he is leaving town.  She questions his motives; he says Kayla hates him now.  He confesses to Claire what he did.  She tells him that her Aunt Kayla is very forgiving; she says it’s not completely impossible because he is family.  She begs him not to give up so easily and gives him back her Mp3 player, just in case; she tells him he can listen to it and tell himself he knew her when.

Angelika comes to the hotel room where the new “Adrian” is staying; she introduces herself.  She says their dreams are all about to come true.  She asks if she knows what she is supposed to do; Bonnie says, yeah, “break up with Lucas.”  Angelika nods; Bonnie’s okay with this because, apparently, she has her eye set on Victor?  Angelika explains, after she breaks up with Lucas, she is to get back together with Justin.  Bonnie asks, “isn’t that who you want?”  She says yes, but he’s so hung up on Adrian, she says, he needs his heart broken by her again; oh ho… they laugh.  Bonnie is starting to see the big picture; Justin, angelica says, will move her right into Victor’s mansion.  Soon, she tells Bonnie, “you’ll be running that place.”

Lucas knocks on the door; Angelika tells her to follow her lead… she answers the door.  When Lucas asks if she is harassing Adrian, Angelika says she is actually there to offer a truce; “Adrian” confirms they have been having a “lovely conversation.”  Angelika excuses herself; Lucas tells “Adrian” she has an especially beautiful glow today. She smiles, “oh really?”  She giggles.  He leans in and kisses her; she kisses him back after only a slight resistance.  She pulls away when he suggests they make love; she says they need to talk, about them.  He says he wanted to talk about them too; he says he wants to get married as soon as possible.  She says no.  He apologizes; he says he knows she is concerned about Sonny.  She takes a breath and tells him he is such a good guy; so handsome too, she says, sweet and caring.  He asks if that’s a yes.  She tells him no; as much as she hates to do it, she says, “it’s over.”  She says she has decided that he heart belongs to Justin; Lucas questions how this happened since they made love this morning.  She says she just finally realized she has been lying to herself; she loves Justin.  She asks Lucas to leave; he is dumbfounded.

Maggie visits with Abigail; Chad brings Thomas to see her.  Maggie says she should be going; she wants to offer some alone time to “this little family” and kisses Abby and Thomas goodbye, pinching Chad on the cheek and telling him she loves him too.  Thomas gives his mother his stuffed elephant; (Chad says) “he says it has magical powers.”  Commissioner Raines pulls Lani into his office and asks her for details regarding the FBI investigation she has been helping Eli with; she tells him she can’t tell him anything.  She suggests he talk to “Agent Grant” but he demands she tell him now, saying, if she doesn’t she will be fired.  She says she’d like to see how that looks in the paper, ‘Mayor’s daughter fired from police force.”  He asks if that’s a threat; she says no of course not.  But she can’t divulge any information from the FBI case; he tells her she is dismissed and orders her to leave his office.

Chad sees Theo when he arrives at the hospital; Theo tells him he has been thinking and maybe if he had worked faster, Abby wouldn’t have gotten hurt.  Chad tells him he did everything he could; he tells Theo that he needs to turn himself in.  Theo doesn’t understand, because the picture is gone; Chad says he can’t let Sonny take the blame for something he may have done.  Chad tells Theo that he may have to tell the police about the picture and they may want to talk to him; “because I destroyed evidence,” Theo says.  Chad assures him he will do everything he can to protect him.  Theo says he understands; Chad hugs him and says he loves him.  Theo says he loves him too.  He goes to the police station and tells Commissioner Raines he is there to confess to the murder of Deimos Kariakis.

08-09-2017 (Wednesday) The Exchange

Kayla wonders if Tripp is going to turn Joey in for killing Ava now; she as Steve how they could have missed all the signs.  Steve says Tripp really made him think he was over it… that they were a family.  She as him if he thinks Tripp is going to tell; Joey comes out and says, if Tripp doesn’t, he is going to.  Kayla tries to talk him out of it, but Joey has his mind made up.  Steve says he is going to stand behind Joe; Joey says he doesn’t want to live with it anymore – in fact, he says he can’t.  He tells his mom his life is already ruined.  Joey says he has to go; he has a shift at the Pub… he tells his mom he will think about it before turning himself in, but says he isn’t going to change his mind.  He leaves; Kayla screams at Steve, asking why he didn’t try to stop him.  Steve tells Kayla he didn’t think he should.

Justin talks to Sonny; he says another suspect would be helpful.  Sonny tells his dad Paul may have found a lead; Justin insists he tell him what it is.  Sonny tells him that his uncle Victor may be behind Deimos’ murder; Justin gets angry and says that bastard is not going to get away with it.  Justin asks how his mom is doing; from his father’s response, he sense he is still very much in love with Adrian.  After a little pressing, Justin admits so – (like we didn’t know).  He says its been nice spending time with her again; Sonny asks if he is going to tell his mother.  Justin smiles.  (Adrian knows, but wants to be with Justin; I wonder if Bonnie is going to mess that up for her.)

Brady frets over whether or not he an actually trust Nicole; he gets so upset thinking about it, he pours himself a drink.  He replays Nicole telling Eric “this is our little secret” over in his head; meanwhile, Nicole is telling Eric thank you for helping her in the Square.  He says that’s what friends do; she says she is glad they are friends again.  He tells her he is there for her, whatever she needs; she looks slightly uncomfortable though.  Brady sips on his brandy; he sits the glass down when Paul comes in, but Paul notices it.  Brady denies that it is his; he says Victor must have left it there.  Nicole tells Eric she owes him so much and she feels bad for how horribly she treated him; he says they were both suffering.  He says they got to the other side and now they are focused on the future; Nicole says seeing Holly today made things so much harder.  He suggests making a recording of her singing a lullaby for Holly; Nicole says she needs to see her.  Eric says he may have an idea.  Brady tells Paul that he believes his grandfather; he says he is beginning to think that Sonny did it, himself.  Paul gets a little upset, but then realizes Brady is hurting; he asks again about the drink.  Brady gets defensive at first, but then admits he poured it, but says he didn’t drink it.  He tells him he suspects that Eric and Nicole are having an affair; Paul tells him he has to be jumping to conclusions.  He tells him about seeing Nicole walking out of Eric’s room (but doesn’t mention what she said).  Paul says he should talk to her about it before he reaches any further conclusion.  Brady pours out his glass, and tries to call Nicole at the Center; he is told she isn’t there.  He asks for Eric and finds out he isn’t there either; he leaves no message, and throws the glass against the wall.

Eric offers to take pictures of Nicole; he has her sit down on the bed and takes dozens of shots, as if she is modeling for him.  It gets annoying, actually, that he doesn’t stop, even as they keep talking.  She compliments him again, saying he still has the same kind soul inside he has always had.  He smiles.  She leaves, thanking him again for taking the pictures; Brady stands out in the hall. “Marlena” (Hattie) goes to see her friend Bonnie, in prison; she tells her today is the day she gets to start living her life.  She asks Hattie how she plans on getting rid of Adrian; Hattie tells her she’s already done it.  She tells her she is in the trunk of her car and they are going to pull the “old switcharoo.”  They laugh about Adrian sitting there, in prison, while she is out there living her life.  Bonnie asks how they are going to pull it off; Hattie tells her to report to the kitchen for duty like usual and then… she whispers in Bonnie’s ear and they both giggle.  One of the security guards comes in and asks Hattie if she has what she promised him; she says she does, but he better make sure the kitchen door is open.  He mentions getting in trouble with Hope for helping her last time and says he is nervous he might crack under pressure; she tells him not to worry one little bit, because “come bed time every dame is going to be accounted for.”  Bonnie, now as “Adrian” walks in the door with Hattie, laughing and hollering, “we did it!”  “I’m free!”  They hug.  The guard tells Adrian to wake up, slapping her upside the face; Adrian wakes up and asks where she is.  The guard says the same place you’ve been for the past ten years, Lockhart.  Statesville Prison.”  Adrian asks, “What?”

08-08-2017 (Tuesday) The Breakup

Rafe knocks on Eli’s door; he tells him they need to talk.  Eli is just fresh out of the shower, but Rafe won’t wait; he pushes his way in.  Hope talks to Jen on the phone; she says she is happy Abby is doing better and says she and Rafe are not giving up on finding Deimos’ killer.  Angelica tells Hattie she needs her help to get rid of Adrian, today.  Rafe tells Eli he needs to know the terms of deal the FBI made with his brother before someone else gets hurt; he says the car that hit Abigail was meant for Dario and his family members could be next, including Gabi and Arianna.  Eli says he can’t tell Rafe anything, claiming he doesn’t know enough to tell him; Rafe gets angry and says fine, he will find out some other way, and he leaves.  Hope comes by Eli’s next; he says he can’t tell her anything either, but she pulls the “family” card and says Rafe is going to Mexico to confront some drug lord.  Eli gives in, telling her that the hit-n-run had nothing to do with drugs; it was the result of a counterfeit operation Dario is running, and his contact is someone in Salem, not Mexico.  He says he can't tell her anymore than that.

Hattie tells Angelica she needs Marlena’s phone back, “to get rid of John Black” and tells Angelika to call her later.  There are dozens of missed calls and messages from John; Hattie dials.  John and Paul come in to file a missing person’s report on Marlena, but just before they do, John receives “Marlena’s” call.  He anxiously goes to meet her in the park by the Square; he finds her by the bench, and hugs her, flowers in hand.  She is stiff in response; he asks what’s wrong.  She tells him when he didn’t get home on time last night, she just went out; says she went for a drive, to clear her head.  She goes on and on about all the times he has left her alone; he asks if they can have this conversation at home.  She says no; she tells him she is never going home again.  In fact, she says, she wants a divorce; he reminds her that they aren’t currently married.  She says they’ve been married and divorced so many times, she can’t keep it straight; she says she just wants out.  He tells her he isn’t leaving the home they built together; she says, “fine… I’ll move out.”  He drops the flowers.  He asks her what else she isn’t telling him; she says she needs romance, then proceeds to complain about his absence again.  He says this doesn’t sound like her; he says this isn’t the Marlena he knows.  Hattie says, “yeah, well she’s done, and now it’s ME, and my needs come first.”  John picks up the flowers and walks away.

Nicole asks Brady if his uncle was as mean to him as he was to her; Brady asks what Victor said to her.  She reiterates his feeling that the judge was right not to award her custody of Holly, and says he believes it’s only a matter of time before she betrays him with another man; Brady says that’s ridiculous, remarking that she would never hurt him that way, then asking, “would you?”  Maggie comes home from visiting Holly; Nicole says she has to get to work at the Center.  Brady tells Nicole to say hi to Eric for her; Maggie catches on that there was something more than “hello” behind that request.  Brady admits to her that he is suspecting this ‘service’ is the perfect excuse for Eric and Nicole to be together all day, every day.  Maggie asks why he doesn’t talk to Eric and Nicole about his suspicions; he tells Maggie he overheard their conversation the other day and asks Maggie to tell him what happened between them the other day.

Nicole walks through the Square; she sees Holly.  Her foster mother leaves the table to put money in the meter and Holly starts crying; the foster sister gets nervous.  Nicole asks if she can help; she picks up Holly and says, “mommy is here.”  Not real smart. The foster mom comes back and asks what’s going on; the daughter tells her this lady offered to help stop Holly from crying.  Nicole lays Holly back down; she starts to cry again.  The lady suddenly recognizes Nicole, asking, “don’t I know you?”  Eric happens by the table and hugs Nicole, calling her by a different name; he quickly ushers her away and asks if she was trying to violate the court order.  Maggie tells Brady he is doing their relationship a big disservice here, telling him he shouldn’t be suspecting that something is going on between Eric and Nicole.  Brady says he knows something is going on, because Nicole snuck out of the house today to go and see Eric.

Adrian and Lucas are in bed; he tells her he needs to get going because he told Jennifer he’d meet her at the hospital.  Adrian says she is keeping an eye on the Spectator for Jen; she gets a call from Angelika, who tells her to meet her at the Brady Pub in half an hour.  Angelika puts a vial of powder into a cup of coffee, or a latte; when she gets there, Adrian is gullible enough to drink it.  Angelika says they could at least try to get along, now that she’s moved back to Salem; Adrian questions why she moved back.  She says, if it’s because of Justin, he will never go for her; Adrian says she is going to tell Justin what Angelika is up to.  Angelica mocks her as she stands up from the table and falls down; Adrian gets back up and leaves in a huff.  Angelika follows shortly after and finds Adrian, passed out, in the alley; she wonders where Hattie is now.  Lucas sees John throwing his flowers in the garbage; he asks what’s going on.  John says it’s amazing how things can turn on a dime; he says sometimes, someone you love can turn into a total stranger.  He tells Lucas to hang onto Adrian; love is a precious gift.  Hattie meets Angelika and they begin to pick up Adrian to move her somewhere.