From: Robert Willers <willers@trombone.sps.mot.com>

LOVING Update for Friday, August 11:

STORYLINE: TWO MEN OF THE HOUSE
 (location: Forbes house)
* We see a mixing bowl, then two small hands pouring the mixture into
 a pan.  It is J. J., trying to make breakfast.  
 awake, asking what is going on -- it looks like World War III.  J. J.
 promises to clean it up.  He says he made too many pancakes, but that's
 fine since the first batch didn't turn out so well.  He says he didn't
 know whether Buck wanted bacon or sausage, so he made both.  Buck says
 he isn't much of a breakfast eater, and that J. J. didn't have to do
 this.  J. J. says he said he would contribute, and that Buck won't have
 to cook or eat out now that he is around.  "Hey, cowboy, we're going to
 have to have a little talk."
* Buck says he loves J. J.  J. J. says he loves Buck, too, and that's
 why he came back.  Buck says he has to go back to Rose's house.  J. J.
 asks why he can't stay and help find his mom's murderer -- "Because I'm
 a kid, right?"  "No, because you're not a policeman."  J. J. gets mad,
 saying that he'll leave the house, but he's staying in Corinth to help
 find his mom's murderer, and there's nothing Buck can do about it.
* Buck says he can't stop him, and he has to do what he thinks is right.
 He says he has to do the same: keep the bar going, seven days a week.
 J. J. says he doesn't need a babysitter.  Buck asks what Stacey would
 think of this.  J. J. says she'd be OK with it.  Buck says he knows
 that isn't true -- she would be worried.  Is that what he wants?  He
 says he has to find who killed his mom.  Buck asks if he isn't being
 a little selfish -- being the man of the family, they should come
 first.  "My mom _was_ family."  Buck says Heather is his family now,
 and she has to come first.  Sometimes you have to things you don't want
 to do, because they are the right things for the people you love.
* J. J. says Rose can take care of Heather.  Buck asks how he would feel
 if it was him in Florida with no friends and Heather in Corinth.  "She
 will make friends."  J. J. gets upset -- they haven't caught the guy.
 Buck *promises* that the guy will be caught; he loved Stacey as much as
 he did, and he won't stop until he is caught.  J. J. asks to stay one
 more night.  Buck says it will just be that much harder to leave.  Buck
 asks him to go upstairs and get his stuff.  J. J. asks to get one thing
 from Stacey's room -- a silk handkerchief she used to use on Heather.
 "I miss her."  "I know, partner.  So do I.  More than you know."  J. J.
 is frustrated that he isn't acting like a man.  Buck says he is a very
 big man.  They hug.

STORYLINE: AN INVESTIGATION AND AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
 (location: Wilder ad agency)
* Stephanie enters and asks Bree if Tess is in.  Yes, but some people
 are in with her.  Clients?  No, police.  Richard enters: "Police?!"
 Stephanie says he seems to be everywhere.  Just where she is, he says.
 He says he'll just go right on in.  Bree steps in his way and says she
 isn't about to lose her job for the likes of him.  He says she'll want
 to see him -- this is a condolence call and she has a lot to be sorry
 about.
[In Tess' office.]
Tess is playing the tape she made for Alex and Tony.  "Heard enough?"
 Alex asks where she got the tape.  She asks why it matters -- it proves
 that Curtis was involved in Clay's death.
* "No.  What it proves is that he was at the mansion that night."
 Richard bursts in, over Bree's objections, and reminds Tess that she
 promised him an interview.  Tony tells him to leave, he is interrupting
 a police investigation.  He says that makes for a better interview.
 So, he asks Tess, does she want him to tell these hard-working officers
 everything he knows about her?  "We'll discuss this later."  Bree
 apologizes for allowing him in; Tess says that's OK and Bree leaves,
 as Stephy walks in.  Alex and Tony both ask Richard to leave.  Richard
 threatens to make public the fact that she was "in the sack" with Clay
 the night he died.  Tess snaps to attention.  Alex asks how he came
 across that tidbit of information.  He says that a reporter never
 reveals his sources.  Stephy calls him a slime and Tess agrees.  Tony
 starts to push Richard out, but Alex stops him, saying that he can take
 care of Mr. Wilkins, and asks him to escort Stephanie out.  Stephy says
 she can escort herself out, and she and Tony leave.
[Outside.]
Tony reminds her that he told her before that Richard was a sleazebag.
 "Yeah, he is, but he's not a bigger one than you are."
* He protests, saying that is pretty bad company.  She says he shouldn't
 talk, considering he knew who the stalker was and didn't tell her.  He
 says he was wrong; he should have told her right away.  She accuses him
 of letting Tess get away with murder, probably in more ways than one.
 Tony says that Tess is a friend.  He did what he thought was right, and
 he made a mistake.  Bottom line: he cares about her and the baby.  She
 says it's too late.  She has to take care of herself for a change.  She
 came there to tell Tess that she quit, but now she has a better idea.
[In Tess' office.]
"Good bye, Mr. Wilkins."  No, he says, you aren't going to pull that on
 me.  As a journalist, I have my rights.  Alex says he doesn't call that
 "swill" he puts out journalism.  Richard says he doesn't care if he
 calls it chicken soup, millions of people watch me every week.  Alex
 says he is terribly afraid for the world.  In any case, does he get a
 scoop, or does he reveal his tidbit to the world.  Tess suggests to
 Alex that he throw him in a nice cell.
Bree enters, saying there is an urgent call for Alex.  He asks to use
 Tess' phone.  OK.  [What happened to his cellular phone?]  "Masters.
 [Pause.]  I'll be right there."  Tess protests, saying he can't leave
 her with this "vicious little koala bear."  Alex says she can handle
 him just fine.  He reaches for the mini cassette player.  Nope, says
 Tess, not until he tells her where she stands with Corinth's finest.
 Alex says, softly, "We'll talk about that later."  Alex leaves.
 "Mr. Wilkins."  "Detective."  Richard eyes the cassette player.
* [Outside.]
Alex is walking out, and Stephanie and Tony are fighting.  He tells Tony
 to come on.  No reaction.  OK, you know where I'll be...be nice!  Alex
 leaves.
Stephanie tries to walk in.  Tony tries to stop her.  She blasts by him,
 saying something about "taking back for once."  Just inside, she feels
 a pain in her midsection.  "Is it the baby?"  "I don't know."  Tony
 asks her what he should do.
[In Tess' office.]
Richard suggests that the two of them let their hair down: he'll tell
 her everything he knows about her, and she can tell him everything
 about Clay's last night alive.  "You have more gall than brains."  He
 says he has them in equal proportion.  "What were the cops doing here?"
 "Selling tickets to the policeman's ball.  Now, get out!"  "Make me."
 He mentions the stalker being bad for her business.  She tells him not
 to push her.  Bree enters, saying the people are there for the air
 conditioning.  Tess tells them to wait.  Bree says they won't stay
 unless she pays them.  Tess leaves, telling Richard she doesn't want
 him to be there when she returns.  He takes the tape from the mini
 cassette player.
[At the police station.]
Jill is looking at one of the fragments of the photo.  Alex walks in and
 asks if the lab report on the photo fragments are in.  Just now: they
 were right, the two fragments are from the same picture.  They also
 found out that the photo is not from a negative; it is an enlargement
 of a print.  He isn't too excited about that information, but she says
 it is too early to tell anything.  One more thing: the enlargement is
 at least 20 years old.  "20 years?  Whoa.  I've gotta get Charles in
 here and let him know we've got a killer that has a very long memory.
 And, unless I miss my guess, Stacey and Clay aren't the only two people
 on this killer's mind."

STORYLINE: BRUSH WITH A KILLER
 (location: Psychiatrist's office)
* Curtis enters the office.  The receptionist says it is good to see him
 again.  He says he can't say the same -- but nothing personal.  She
 asks how things are going.  Not too good.  She says a woman called for
 him earlier.  He asks what she wanted.  The receptionist says she just
 wanted to know if he had gotten there.  She leaves.
* The doctor walks in.  "Long time, no see."  A month?  Well, we all
 have setbacks.  The doctor says he's sorry to hear about Clay.  Curtis
 lays down on the couch, saying that he assumes he said that just to see
 how he reacted.  No, it's just chit-chat, and you never know where
 chit-chat will lead.  "To the 'heart of darkness?'"  The doctor notes
 that Curtis is a bit defensive today.  No, just bored -- if you want
 to know how I feel about my father's death, just ask.  He asks.  Curtis
 says he is supposed to be broken-up about it.  The doc says he isn't
 "supposed" to feel any certain way.  Curtis asks what he would say if
 he wished Clay was dead.  He says he'd fall off the chair and froth at
 the mouth.  He says that everyone has, at one time or another, wished
 their father dead.  Curtis accuses him of asking the question because
 he is "in this" with the police...or does that sound paranoid?  The
 doc asks if there is anyone he can really trust.  Trisha.  Yes, but
 she isn't here.  The doc says they are at an impasse and asks him to
 stand up.  "Let's go."  "Where are we going?"  The doctor says the man
 who left there a month ago was confident and had a sense of humor.
 Curtis says it is a cruel world out there.  In my business, says the
 doc, we have ways of easing the pain.  They both leave.
* They walk up to what appears to be a shower, with some water in the
 bottom.  It is an immersion tank -- to calm the patient down and make
 him think about things a little.  It was invented in California.
 "California," asks Curtis.  Name two good things that ever came out of
 California.  The doc says he'll have to think about that.  Curtis asks
 what if he doesn't want to do this: does the doctor go to the police?
 The doctor just says it is all Curtis' choice.  Curtis says it beats
 the padded cell he thought he was being taken to and starts to undress.
 The doctor says that after a dip, maybe he'll be more in the mood to
 talk about what happened to Stacey and Clay.
* Curtis is lying on his back in the tank, murmuring "California, Here
 We Come..."  A woman [or, I should say, someone with long blonde hair]
 walks up to the (frosted glass) door.  Curtis snaps up.  "Trisha?  Is
 that you?!"  The woman hustles away.  [In black-and-white.]  We hear
 the pen clicking again.  Someone walks down a hallway, changes their
 mind, and goes toward what appears to be a patio door.

Today's clue (during the promo before the final segment of the show):
Black-and-white shots of a powder puff and a brandy glass.
"The little luxuries can be the death of us."
Black-and-white shot of a faucet labeled "gas" and a color (!) shot
 of a match lighting.
"Knowing that is seeing the light."
"That's your next clue to the _Loving_ murders.  Figure it out."

-----
|  "Bring in Wapner -- that dude can handle two whole  |  Bob Willers  |
|  cases in a half an hour!" -- #5 of the Top Ten ways |  Phoenix, AZ  |
|  to speed up the O.J. trial (_Late Show_, 06/23/95)  | MY opinions!! |
+------------ willers@trombone.sps.mot.com ------------+---------------+

