The plan sounded like a good one to Jennifer and Andie. It was clever and scheming, a plan that even Michael would have appreciated, if it weren't a trap for him. It was also risky, but Jonathan and Derek had decided that it was worth the risk to be sure that Michael would end up behind bars where he belonged. Without any evidence, they would need Michael's confession to assure themselves of a conviction in the case. Derek and Andie's hurt over Michael's betrayal had quickly turned into anger and they were both determined to make sure he paid for his crimes. He had turned both of their lives upside down and he wasn't going to get away with that. Jonathan made a few phone calls, including one to Lieutenant Grey, as they would be needing his help the following day. After ensuring that all of the necessary preparations had been made, he returned to the group. After a brief discussion of the details of the plan, the Harts invited Derek to stay for dinner, a decision which Andie wholeheartedly supported. Over casual conversation, the Harts actually decided that they liked Derek, a fact which compounded the guilt they already felt over their treatment of him. Jonathan and Derek found themselves discussing business, something which caused Jennifer and Andie's eyes to glaze over with disinterest. Eventually, Jonathan got around to asking Derek about the financial health of Sanders Construction. "You were correct when you implied that Sanders Construction has recently encountered some difficulties," Derek told Jonathan. "I would appreciate it if you kept that fact to yourself though," he explained, "As selling the company would be difficult in even the best of circumstances. Profits have been down the last three quarters and things are looking even bleaker for this quarter. Michael has been constantly assuring me that is was just a temporary situation but considering what I have just learned today I wonder how much Michael is a factor in this." "You think he could be stealing money from you?" Jonathan asked. "If you had asked me that question yesterday, my answer would have been a resounding 'no', but I guess I really have no idea what he is capable of. He does handle all of the daily operations so he certainly has opportunity." Derek shook his head slowly, as if embarrassed by the lack of judgement he exhibited when placing Michael at the helm of Sanders Construction. "I raised that boy as my own. How could he do this to me?" He paused a moment before continuing. "You mentioned that my company was being investigated? Can you tell me what you know about this? Today was the first I have heard of it." While Jennifer and Andie cleaned up the dinner dishes, Jonathan explained what he had learned from Stanley about the rumors surrounding Sanders Construction. Unfortunately, Jonathan had no hard evidence to provide him with, merely speculation and suspicions. "It does explain a lot," Derek told Jonathan. "I didn't expect to have such a hard time selling the company but if this is fairly common knowledge, it's no wonder no one is interested. Do you think you could get me any more information about this? I know you are well connected. And, if possible, I would appreciate your discretion." "Absolutely," Jonathan told him, placing a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. Just then Andie reentered the room, carrying a tray with dessert and coffee on it. "As she placed the tray on the table, she faced Derek and spoke inquisitively. "Derek, how could profits be down at the company? I assumed business was somewhat better the last few months as the monthly deposits in my account have increased significantly." She had earlier explained to the Harts about the percentage of profits that were automatically deposited into her account and how that amount had increased since she had fled San Diego. She was confused about how this could be. It didn't make sense to her at all. "The information I gave Jonathan was correct," he reaffirmed to Andie. "Our profits have been declining fairly steadily over the last year." "How could that be?" she asked. "The last few months deposits in my personal account have been much larger than normal. And..." She stopped mid-sentence, as if she had just discovered something. She looked Derek squarely in the eyes, knowing he was behind her sudden financial windfall. "You put the extra money in my account, didn't you?" "Yes," he said softly. "But why?" she asked. "Why would you do that after I left the way I did? After I changed my last name? I certainly wasn't deserving of the money." "Because you are my daughter," Derek explained. "I know you're not my biological daughter, and I know that we have never had the kind of relationship you had wanted, but I still do love you. I didn't want you to struggle." He paused briefly, his voice cracking with emotion. "Andie, there's a lot you don't know about me. And a lot of bad things that you DO know about me. I wish I had done a lot of things differently with you...and with your mother..." Jonathan quietly slipped away, recognizing the need for Andie and Derek to spend a few moments alone together. He snuck up behind Jennifer in the kitchen, who was opening a can of dog food for the eager little dog at her heels. He wrapped his arms around her quickly, catching her off guard and causing the can of dog food to fall to the floor. Freeway quickly began lapping the food from the can, his nose disappearing into the can as it emptied. A few seconds later he looked up at them, the can stuck firmly on his nose, causing them to break out into laughter. He wimpered softly, as if pleading with them to help him with his current predicament. They bent down to him and with a gentle tug, Jonathan removed the tin can from the pup's nose. He barked appreciatively and licked the remaining food from the fur surrounding his mouth before jumping onto Jonathan to thank him properly. Jonathan and Jennifer continued to laugh at Freeway's antics which just further encouraged his behavior. After a couple minutes he scampered outside, exiting through his doggie door which flapped behind him. "Well, at least we don't need to leave the house for entertainment," Jennifer exclaimed, still stifling her laughter. Promptly pulling his wife into his arms, he raised his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Have we EVER needed to leave the house for entertainment?" He kissed her gently, yet teasingly, until she reluctantly pulled away. "You're terrible," she told him, "We do have company, you know!" "Yeah, you're right," he sighed, knowing that for now his passion would have to wait. "I came in here for a few minutes to give Andie and Derek some time alone," he explained to Jennifer. "But it is getting late and we should all be getting to bed soon," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "We do have a big day tomorrow and I know that I, for one, want to be well rested." She looked at him and smiled, knowing that rest was not his true motivation. "Well, we should go and have dessert, Derek and Andie are probably waiting for us." He perked up at her suggestion. "Dessert? EXACTLY what I was thinking!" "Jonathan, you're incorrigible!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him into the dining room to rejoin their guests.
After enjoying their dessert and arranging to meet Derek the following morning, the Harts said goodnight to Andie and retired to the master bedroom.
"I can't believe how wrong we were about Derek," Jennifer commented to her husband, as she pulled back the satin covers of the bed and gently slid under them to join him. "Or should I say that I can't believe how wrong I was. You seemed to have figured this whole thing out. What made you suspicious of Michael?"
"Well darling," he said as he leaned over to turn out the bedside light, "It wasn't so much that I suspected Michael, I just wanted to examine all of our options. It was almost TOO convenient, all of the evidence pointing directly to Derek, as if he had made no attempt to cover his tracks. A man with his intelligence would certainly have made some effort to cover his guilt. And there was something about Michael that didn't sit right with me, he was too slick, too willing to accept that facts when we told him that his Uncle was a criminal. I think that if someone had tried to convince me that the man who raised me and treated me as his own son was guilty of such horrible things that it would take more than a few words from a stranger for me to accept it. I would have at least questioned it...I don't know...I just got a bad feeling about him."
"Well, hopefully this will all be over tomorrow. I think Derek and Andie both have a lot of healing and soul searching to do. But I don't think their relationship is beyond repair. I think that they really do love each other." She reached over and turned out her bedside light and snuggled up tightly to her husband, her head resting on his chest and listening to him breathe with every rise and fall of his chest. She gently lifted her head and spoke to him softly, "Didn't you like my Creme Brulee tonight? You hardly touched it." She was sensitive about her cooking skills and feared that her husband's sudden lack of appetite indicated that she had experienced yet another culinary disaster. Both Andie and Derek had eaten it and commented on how much they enjoyed it, but perhaps they were only being polite.
"Darling, it was delicious." He answered simply, causing her to wonder if he was telling the whole truth or merely trying to spare her feelings.
"Then why didn't you eat more then two bites?" Her tone changed rapidly to exasperation as she sat up and turned on the light so that she could read his expression. She just wanted him to be honest with her, she was very capable of handling constructive criticism.
"Well, you see darling," he replied carefully, "I was very much in the mood for dessert..."
"But the Creme Brulee wasn't okay?"
"I told you...the Creme Brulee was terrific..." He paused and pulled her back down to his side, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath and smell the scent of his skin. "It's just that I didn't want to fill up on custard when it was really another dessert I had in mind....something a little more..." He searched for the right word, "Satisfying." His eyes grew wider and his lips curved into a slight smile, revealing his true intentions.
"You're unbelievable, Jonathan. Here you let me think all this time that my dessert was bad when all you wanted was..."
She was unable to finish her sentence when he pulled her lips down to his and quickly silenced her protests.
Michael Sanders paced the corridor outside of the LAPD visitors room. It had been nearly an hour since he had requested to see DiMarco and his patience was wearing thin. What was taking so long? It was late, and not during the standard visiting hours, but the officer on duty seemed willing to make an exception, especially when Michael had mentioned his generous contributions to the yearly LAPD Officers Ball, a major fundraiser conducted by officer's wives for charity. Surely Tony would agree to see him. Michael knew he was Tony's only chance of posting bail and that even Tony wouldn't be stupid enough to refuse his offer.
Finally, the officer returned, carrying a file in his left hand and whistling a tune, as if he had all the time in the world.
Michael was infuriated by the young man's demeanor and demanded an explanation. "Where is DiMarco? I asked to see him over an hour ago!" His blood was nearing a boil and he could feel his blood pressure rising. "I demand to see him...RIGHT NOW!!"
"I'm sorry about that, Mr. Sanders, but that won't be possible." He opened the file and pulled a computer print from it. "According to this report, Mr. DiMarco was released earlier tonight. Someone apparently posted bond for him."
"What? Who was it?" He quickly changed his tone from demanding to more friendly, knowing that he would be more likely to get information from the officer with this subtle change in attitude.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. That information is confidential, you understand."
"Yeah, I understand," he replied, heading for the door.
An hour later, as he sped down the highway from Los Angeles to his home in San Diego, he pondered his situation. Maybe the fact that DiMarco was free wasn't such a bad thing. It would save Michael a couple steps and a lot of bail money. His had planned to get him released, find out what information he had provided to the cops, and then eliminate him personally. He had always had Tony to do the dirty work for him--first his parents, and now this mess with Andie--but this was one he would have to handle on his own. Tony had probably gotten sick of waiting for him to come with the bail money and had called some long lost relative or something. He knew that Tony had some rich Uncle who lived outside of LA, maybe he had agreed to post bail. Tony hadn't had much to do with his family, but they might have come through for him in a crisis. It didn't matter anyway. The important thing was that he knew how Tony thought as well as he knew his own thoughts. Tony was a schemer, and he knew how to make a buck. It wouldn't be long before Tony would surface, demanding a large sum of money for him to keep his mouth closed about the attempts on Andie's life. Probably enough for him to get a comfortable start in some Latin American country without an extradition treaty with the US. He would surface quickly, this Michael knew for sure. And when he did, Michael vowed to be ready for him.
