From: GRAHAM@process.com

Well, the clues continue...the promo says that now that Stacey has met her 
demise, here's the next clue, and it shows a drink of light brown liquid 
spilling....and at the end of yesterday's show, Tess and Danny were gonna drink 
to their agreement...(so who's the red herring, Curtis or Tess or both?)

Alex and Ava are asleep, he touches her and asks if she's awake. Yes, she says 
sleepily. He says he really missed her. That's nice sweetie, Ava sasy still 
asleep. No, I missed you, he says. He caresses her. Alex, she says, it's the 
middle of the night. Yeah? he says. Yeah. You turn me on even when you're 
sleeping, he says. Talk is cheep, she says as she turns over and they go at it 
hot an heavy as the camera pan up.

Buck enters the Rodeo Bar. He turns on the lights. Jacob asks if he wants to get 
drunk, shoot pool or wreck the place? He doesn't have to babysit, Buck says. 
He'll just sit here, quietly, Jacob says, taking a seat. He'll be here if he 
wants to talk, he adds. Buck says Stacey is lying dead in a hospital morgue, he 
doesn't want to talk. We can fight, Jacob says. Don't tempt him, Buck says. 
Whatever, Jacob says. Buck starts throwing furniture. You want more 
conversation? Buck asks. Jacob says that he hears him loud and clear.

At the hospital, Charles tells Angie that it's time to go home. She's waiting 
for the blood tests. It was a heart attack, Charles says, that's what she said. 
Angie is surprised, Stacey didn't smoke, there was no history. Charles reminds 
her that after Deborah Brewster had her heart attack, she said women were as 
likely to have one as men. She's paged. She calls the lab. Are you sure? When 
can you have an answer? Call her, she'll be right here. She hangs up. What did 
they find? Charles asks. An elevated level of a toxic substance, Angie tells 
Charles.

In the afterglow, Ava says it was wonderful. Alex says he loves her. She loves 
him, too. No, he really really loves her, he says. Sometimes he doesn't know 
what to do about it. She thinks he did a very good job. Alex says that when they 
first got together, it was like the forces of nature...rain and wind and snow 
and...Alex, she interrupts...just make love to me. Again? He smiles. They fall 
back to the bed.

Charles asks Angie if she is saying that Stacey could have been poisioned? Yes. 
Was it something she ate? He asks. Her stomach was empty, so were her lungs, 
Angie says. Charles asks her to have the lab take a sample for the police, too. 
Please don't jump the gun, Angie says. Charles says he doesn't have a choice. He 
has to rule out that Stacey may have been murdered.

Jacob tells Buck he sure has a way with words. He's a regular Shakespear, Buck 
says. He should have heard all the lies that he told Stacey when he was screwing 
around with Tess, when he was dealing with the loan shark, and the famous dream 
house. He picks up some of the chairs he tossed. Take a look at the house Buck 
built, he picks up the model and shows it to Jacob. Jacob tells him to go easy. 
No one talks it up like Buck does, Buck says. Jacob says he's been there. Can 
you screw up a relationship over a cardboard house? buck asks. First make sure 
no one helps you, he contineus, especially the woman that loves you. Then, when 
you find out she went to the bank, break off with her and make her miserable in 
the last few weeks of her life. Jacob says that he's not responsible for 
Stacey's death. Stacey is dead, Buck says, and this is what he has in her place. 
He picks up the model of the house and he trashes it, screaming.

Ava, eating in bed, tells Alex that she's gonna hate him when she wakes up and 
steps on the scales. He knows how to work off those calories. Again? Ava smiles. 
Two weeks is a long time for a man's sex life to be put on hold, Alex says. This 
will teach her to go off to Florida on business, he adds. She says she has to, 
she is asking the business people to invest in a chain of stores all over the 
country, she has to do some hand holding. When does she have to leave? Alex 
asks. In a week or two, maybe, she's not sure. She says that she wants to be a 
successful businesswoman. He tells her that she'll never appreciate the things 
she has. Ava says she appreciates him and the kids. Does he want another woman? 
she asks. Ask him that the next time she's out on a business trip, he replies. 
Would he be interested in a house frau? Ava kids him, as she carasses him. 
Sounds good to him...She caresses him again. He loves her, Alex says. Why? Ava 
prompts. Cause she's so smart, Alex smiles...They kiss and start again.

Angie tells Charles that she has gone over and over this report, and there is no 
indication of toxicity entering the system. Charles tells her to have the lab 
call her at the house. Angie cries. She doesn't want to leave her. She's dead, 
Charles says. Angie cries and says it's cold down there. She's too young to die. 
They're all gonna miss her, Charles offers. Angie says she was always knocking 
herelf out for other people...for her...she should have been able to save her! 
Charles tries to get her to go home. No, she has to return these reports to her 
office. Charles calls Alex. Ava tries to get him not to answer the phone. It 
might be important at this time of night. Charles tells Alex Stacey is dead. 
Stacey? Alex asks, how? Looks like a heart attack, Charles says, but the lab 
found some toxic substance. He tells Alex to check forensics and look carefully. 
They hang up. Ava says, Stacey? Alex says that she had a heart attack, she's 
dead. Ava is shocked.

Buck tells Jacob that he wants to drive over to Stacey's house and talk to her. 
He always wanted to talk to her when he was troubled. Jacob says that he knows 
the feeling. For months, Jacob says, he thought his wife and kids were away. He 
figured that they were at her mother's. Buck says that JJ and Heather are at 
camp. Someone has to tell them, Buck says, getting out his car keys. Jacob says 
it's 4 in the morning. Buck says that if he drives, he'll make it by morning. 
Jacob says Angie called Stacey's mother, who will fly up and take care of the 
kids tomorrow. Buck says he can't live without her, he loved her so much. Jacob 
says he knows she loved him, too. You could see it in her eyes. Buck cries that 
nothing else matters. They hug.

At Angie's, she checks the machine. Frankie is staying at a friend's. Poor 
Frankie, she says, this will devastate him, she says. Stacey's message 
plays...she goes on and on and on and mentions the strangest thing just 
happened, she found the box and it's this georgeous box of sented body powder 
from Buck. While listening to the message, Angie gets more and more upset. By 
the end of the message, she's crying. Angie says she must have made the call 
right before she died. Charles takes the tape. Why is he doing that? Angie says. 
This could be evidense, he says. She was alive at 9:15, he adds, what time did 
Buck call 911? She doesn't know, she says, upset. She 
refuses to believe that someone would kill Stacey.

Jacob tells Buckt hat it's only Stacey's body that is gone. She will always be 
there for him. The love she had will always be there for him. Buck just wishes 
he could have talked to her one last ime. He would have told her...Jacob says 
she knows. 

Alex, in Stacey's bedroom, with gloves on, sees some of the power on the floor. 
He smells it. He sees the container, he smells it. He sees the note. Sweet 
dreams, my love. He takes the tissue paper out of the top and he looks at a tag 
(it's a small TV, can canyone be more specific?) The phone rings. He answers it. 
Hello? No one is there. Alex looks suspicious.

We see a gloved hand hang up a black phone, and "The Ittsy Bittsy Spider" is 
sung in a child's voice as the gloved hands rip something *slowly* tbat could be 
a picture...we see the back of it.

who-will-be-next-hanger-aka-who-do-both-Tess-and-Curtis-hate

deb
(graham@process.com)

