From: Signifying Nothing <SDL3966@OCVAXA.CC.OBERLIN.EDU>

Hi! I'm D.Joan Leib, aka joan the english chick, aka your friendly new 
every-other-Monday updater. This is my first time in a while, so be 
gentle with me :)  Also, please let me know if this goes through...I 
am pretty sure I have the right address.

Today's Word for the people of Springfield is STRAIGHTFORWARD. Look it up, 
folks! 



DINER: Recap Friday's cliffhanger. Bridget tells Frank that Brent 
might have forced Lucy, although Lucy says not. But she has bruises. A 
grim-faced Frank declares, "I'm gonna kill him." Exit Frank.

SPAULDING OFFICES: Brent on the phone discovers that Lucy can't come 
to the phone. He leaves a message, hoping she gets better.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Michelle enters Lucy's room. "I told him you weren't 
taking any calls, that's right, isn't it?" Lucy is still distracted. 
She rips her skirt and Michelle moves to help her: Lucy snaps "No!"

SPAULDING: Mindums exits elevator, clad in fire-engine red. She and 
Brent engage in major flirting. Seems Mindums has an appointment with 
A-M, who isn't in yet. "Are you as good at planning business 
strategies as you are at dancing the two-step?" Brent grins smugly. 
"I'm your man."

JOURNAL: Nick is playing the boss. He assigns Tangie to cover Buzz's 
arrest, and Stu to get quotes from 5th St. residents. The meeting 
starts to break up, but Nick calls everyone back for a pep talk, 
apparently planning to tell them Fletch won't be in today. Unbeknownst 
to the Nickster, Fletch has arrived and is making faces behind his 
back while the staff giggles. Nick finally clues in and Fletch wonders 
why everyone's staring at him, then pretends to have an inspiration. 
He gestures dramatically to the door: enter Holly, complete with 
cat-ate-canary grin. The staff's applause is disrupted by the entrance 
of Buzz, who rushes to Tangie. "I need your help."

JESSUP FARM: Dinah frantically stuffs the money back into the bag as 
Roger's and Cutter's voices greet each other. [Folks, no way is there 
$50,000 in that bag, not even if all the bills are $1000s.] Dinah 
scoots back into her skirt and slides under the bed with the cash. 

Roll lighthouse. In quick succession we can have clean dishes, clean 
armpits, clean hair and clean clothing. Oh, and clean babies. Life is 
good. Unless, of course, you're ATWT's Lily.

FARM: Dinah nabs the last bill just before Cutter and Rog enter. Rog 
seems almost as surprised as Cutter that the bedroom is empty. Cutter, 
quick study that he is, has a warrant to search the place. He 
makes small-talk with Roger about the robbery while Rog plays 
innocent. No, he hasn't noticed any forced entry. Yes, he's alone. He 
likes it that way. Cutter hadn't pegged Rog as the loner type. Rog 
points out that last night wasn't exactly fun for him. "You saw my 
wife publically humiliate me -- my ex-wife." Dinah, under the bed, 
clutches a $50 and listens in. Rog suddenly "remembers" a door that 
was slightly open when he arrived. They begin to leave -- Cutter 
pauses. "Are you sure you're alone here, Mr. Thorpe?" "I would swear 
to it." Cutter picks up a piece of black lace. "Nice garter belt." Rog 
just grins, stumped for a witty comeback :)  They leave, and Dinah 
grins triumphantly.

JOURNAL: Tangie tells Buzz to hang on a moment as Fletch begins to 
speechify. "I am no longer going to be practicing my thespian craft." 
Applause. "No more will I be speaking, declaiming from balconies." 
Applause. He thanks them for their support, and Nick compliments him 
on his defeat of the evil Rog. Buzz rolls his eyes. Nick wants to know 
if Holly will be rejoining their merry band? Fletch and Holly play "You 
tell them," "No, you tell them" for a bit. Finally they announce that 
Holly will return to her post, and Fletch to his. More applause. Fletch 
announces that everything will run smoothly from now on. Tangie smiles. 
Fletch orders everyone back to work. Tangie turns to Buzz, who exclaims 
"About time!"

DINER: Bridget stops Frank from storming out. He plays macho stud ("If 
he laid a hand on her...") and Bridget warns that beating up Brent 
won't solve anything. They don't have any real proof. Bridget thinks 
Lucy is in shock. "Where is she?" Frank demands. 

Cue spooky music.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Michelle watches as a shaky-handed Lucy sews up her 
torn skirt. Bridget's voiceover tells Frank how weirdly Lucy's been 
acting.

DINER: Frank declares that if Lucy needs help, "we" will have to help 
her. And he vows that if Brent did rape Lucy, he's dead. Exit Frank 
again, in high dudgeon. Bridget runs after him.

Commercial: Whose bright idea was it that a hummingbird will make me 
want to buy a perfume?

SPAULDING: Brent compliments Mindy on her ability to look great in 
business clothing or in jeans. She asks if he knows anything about a 
joint venture between Spaulding and Lewis Oil. He claims to be 
practically the head of Spaulding. Enter A-M, who immediately notices 
Lucy's absence. Brent reports that Lucy is sick. A-M looks daggers at 
him and retreats into his office. Mindy observes that A-M doesn't have 
as high an opinion of Brent as Brent has of himself. Brent confesses 
that he and his boss are at odds lately. Then he wonders if he might 
see Mindy at the Roadhouse tonight. "That wouldn't be too way out," 
she says. A-M sips coffee and glowers. Enter Mindy. "That Brent is a 
real go-getter. Pretty cute, too." A-M engages his Superman heat-stare.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Michelle picks some lint off Lucy's clothing, and Lucy 
jumps a foot. Lucy then apologizes for snapping at Michelle. "You've 
hardly said anything since I got here," Michelle points out, making 
Lucy's bed. Michelle got permission to skip PE. "I guess we're both 
doing the same thing. Hiding." Lucy denies she is hiding, very 
vehemently. Michelle says that Bridget, David and Buzz are worried. 
Practically hysterical, Lucy shouts that there's nothing to worry 
about. She just has to put things behind her. Michelle watches her 
leave.

FARM: Rog re-enters the bedroom to find Dinah displaying her legs on 
the bed. She delightedly compliments his skill in handling Cutter. He 
points out that he's now an accessory-after-the-fact, and makes her 
promise to keep her mouth shut about their newfound relationship. She 
promises, but thinks since they're now "partners," they should get 
better acquainted. "What will I ever do to repay you?" (Smooch) "Will 
this do?" "It's a start." Smooch. The incautious Miss Marler invokes 
the unholy name of Holly, and the Dodger looks melancholy.

JOURNAL: Fletch and Holly survey the mess he's made of her office. He 
vows it'll only take a moment to clean up. H: "Well, we know how to 
clear a desk." Zing! Fletch looks momentarily stunned. H offers to 
take the outside desk, so he won't have to move. Nonsense, says Mr. 
Reade. His tirade on her need for private office space trails off: 
"You are...an island of sanity...You are my serene beautiful love 
machine." (huh?) Smooch. She stops him before it gets too intense (the 
door's open).

Buzz tries to get Tangie to help him find the real thief, and finally 
clues in to the fact that she's staring blankly at him. "Well, the 
police are working on it." Buzz is skeptical of the cops' dedication. 
The assistant DA wants Buzz nailed. Tangie defends Cutter, rather 
mechanically, pointing out that she's his friend. "Well, I'd like to 
be your friend," Buzz says clumsily. Enter Nick, saying he would love 
to help. Tangie tells Nick to butt out of her interview. Buzz begs her 
to use all the Journal's clout and storm City Hall and find the money. 
Tangie wants to know what "we're" going to do with it when "we" find it. 
Buzz is dumbfounded. Find the cash, find the thief, he thinks. He 
wants her to write a series of pieces that will fire up the citizens 
so they'll find the culprit. She tells him he's just the smooth 
operator she's heard he is. She apparently buys Cutter's theory, that 
Buzz engineered the whole thing so he could make off with the cash. 
Buzz is stunned. "You think I took it?" "Did you?"

Commercial: Fabio manages to stumble through "I can't believe it's not 
butter." They should have given him all single-syllable words.

JOURNAL: Buzz and Tangie argue. She reveals that she's seen his rap 
sheet. He insists his conning days are over. She claims he's trying to 
use public opinion to get him off the hook. He claims she's jaded. She 
states that she won't be his accomplice. "Go to hell, Miss Hill!" 
Exit Buzz.

Holly and Fletch continue to be naughty in the office. He compliments 
her figure. She admonishes, "Remember what you said out there, the 
Journal has to be a well-oiled machine." "I was talking about you." 
Giggle, smooch. They vow not to let their relationship interfere with 
work. Back to the desk/office issue: F refuses again to take the 
office. 

FARM: Dinah realizes her error. "I mentioned that name, that name that 
should only be spoken in hushed tones." Rog is unamused. She vows to 
make him forget Holly, and tries to kiss him again, but he pushes her 
away. "Curses, foiled again." Rog enquires as to the whereabouts of 
the bag. "The bag?" Dinah plays innocent. The breeze from her rapidly 
batting eyelashes ruffles Roger's hair. "Oh, THE bag." She wants to 
"play" a bit before giving it to him. Rog continues to be aloof and 
checks out the cash. Dinah is less than thrilled at the prospect of 
seeing Viktor again. Rog promises to take care of it. Dinah looks 
suspicious. Why does she think this has to do with Holly? Rog calls 
her a charming girl, and tells her she's going to get his help. More 
eyelash-batting and ego-stroking. Exit Roger's self-control. Engage 
liplock. He picks her up and carries her to the bed, smooching all the 
way. (How many men Rog's age do you know who could pick up a full- 
grown woman so effortlessly? My hero!)

COPSHOP: Enter Cutter, who isn't having the greatest day. He and Levy 
discuss the case, not that there's much to discuss. Cutter enters an 
office to find Frank and Bridget there. Cutter thinks they want to 
discuss Buzz, but Franks says "I need the guy who hurt my kid sister."
(Irony alert: The last cop to inhabit that office ended up marrying 
Frank's other kid sister.)

Commercials keep going....and going...and going...and......

SPAULDING: A-M ruminates while Mindums chatters on about family, 
business, and family business. Mindy gets a clue and calls A-M back to 
this plane. He apologizes for being distracted. She returns to 
business, and loses him again. She gives up, and moves on to personal 
questions. Is he OK? Rumors are flying in the business community that 
he's spending more time on personal matters than business lately. A-M 
insists that he has no personal life, and he's on top of the business. 
He's just worried about a friend. Mindy offers a sympathetic ear and 
leaves. Re-enter pensive expression.

A-M exits his office and discovers Lucy at her desk. Not looking at 
him, she declares that she's simply fine. Does he need anything? A-M 
looks confused.

COPSHOP: Bridget and Frank explain about Lucy's bruises and odd 
behavior. Cutter can't do anything if Lucy won't file a complaint. 
Frank wants Cutter to interrogate Brent, which of course won't happen. 
Cutter questions Bridget's ability to know what's going on with Lucy, 
since nothing has been said. Frank storms out, Cutter in hot pursuit.

JOURNAL: Tangie and Nick discuss the robbery, but no one can 
concentrate with Holly and Fletch's noise. They exit the office 
bearing his possessions: Fletch is wearing Groucho glasses. They 
continue smooching in front of everyone. "Their first fight, good. Now 
maybe we can get some work done," Nick hopes. A hush falls over the 
crowd as Rog enters and beholds the happy couple.

Commercial: Moral of the story: Never go house-hunting on an empty 
stomach.

JOURNAL: Grinning like a pair of caught-out teenagers, Holly and Fletch 
retreat into the office. Nick tells Rog not to look for trouble. Rog 
makes his way to Tangie, who is decidedly more friendly. She wonders 
whether it's wise for him to hang around where Holly is. Rog claims 
something happened last night to end his obsession with Holly. He feels 
really "relaxed." ;)  He wants to place a personal ad.

SPAULDING: Lucy apologizes for calling in sick so many days recently. 
A-M stops her. He's glad she's back; he was worried. She still won't 
look at him. He stutters and stammers, and finally lets her get back 
to work. 

Elevator doors open as Lucy watches. Cue spooky music and rape 
flashbacks. An exec (not Brent) enters and greets a relieved Lucy. Her 
hands continue to tremble as she opens mail.

COPSHOP: Frank rants and raves about police procedure. Cutter 
warns that they can't do anything with more concrete proof -- but also 
advises against going outside the law. Deafened by the roar of 
testosterone, Frank ignores him.

Commercial: Does anyone really bring their own salad dressing into 
restaurants?

JOURNAL: Holly and Fletch watch Rog and Tangie talk, then try to 
discuss business, gazing into each other's eyes. Finally they discuss 
what they're really thinking about, Roger. Fletch suggests ignoring 
him. Both agree it's a great idea.

Rog wants to rent out his house. Tangie points out he could have phoned 
this in. The Dodger leans in for the kill. "You know that money that 
was stolen? Aren't you a little curious to know where it wound up?" He 
advises her to turn over the scrap of paper he's just handed her. She 
does, and looks stunned. Rog refuses to reveal his sources, though. Exit 
Roger, wearing smug look. Tangie jumps up and grabs her purse. Exit 
Tangie Hill, Girl Detective.

COPSHOP: Levy sympathizes with Frank. Cutter relates his experience 
with Lucy at the pool hall. Exit Cutter. Levy looks worried.

SPAULDING: Lucy types on her computer. A-M watches, then tells her 
everyone has gone home. She has some catching up to do. He leaves, 
still looking worried. Lucy's hands continue to shake. She constantly 
has to press the delete key. 

Cue spooky music....

In the computer monitor screen, we see someone walk up behind Lucy. A 
hand reaches toward her shoulder. She gasps. Close-up on her alarmed 
face. Fade to black.


That's all, folks! See you in two weeks!
-joan
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<D. Joan Leib.......................sdl3966@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu>
>Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak................<
<Whispers the o'erfraught heart and bids it break................>
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