From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>


GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, NOV. 16, 1995

                      DAY OF ALMOST-RECKONING
                               -or-
                      BUILD-UP TO REALFRIDAY

Written by Betsy Tooker-Transom and directed by Bruce S. Barry

Highlights:
* Everyone thinks Marcus is guilty except for Fletch & Dinah.
* Fletch tries to help; Rog tries to hinder.
* Abigail has her surgery; Charlotte fumes over Dancing Dr. Rick.
* Alex pumps Buzz for info on Rebecca & pokes around the hospital.
* Reva is drawn to her children; Buzz is drawn to Reva.
* Shayne recognizes the Penguin (no, Pilgrim) Lady.

POLICE HEADQUARTERS: A photo of Cutter in uniform reminds us that 
everyone's in mourning. Levy tells Marcus he has the right to a lawyer, 
but Marcus has no money & no interest in a Legal Aid loser. Levy has no 
patience for Marcus, who quietly but steadfastly insists that he neither 
stabbed Cutter nor stole the money from the Towers. Levy, disgusted, 
takes a break. Frank advises Marcus to cooperate, like his friends have 
been doing & says that Dinah told them where to find him.

DINER: Buzz decorates for Thanksgiving as Dinah & Rog enter for a power 
breakfast. Rog plans to teach Dinah all about running a TV station. He 
gives her a lot of BS about how happy he is about working with her. She 
reminds him that she hasn't made her mind up yet... it's a lot of money. 
Rog assures her it's a great investment. He starts each day by scanning 
the newspapers to see what's new. Buzz brings coffee & flips over Rog's 
paper, much to Rog's annoyance. Dinah is immediately caught by Marcus's 
photo & the huge headline: COP KILLER ARRESTED. With horror, she reads 
of Marcus's arrest in Cutter's death. Rog is also stunned.

CEDARS: Annie reads the same paper while Rick tells her to go home & get 
some rest. Annie's got wedding planning to do, but Rick asks her to stop 
in & see Abigail first, because her surgery is this morning & she could 
use a friendly face first. Annie promises to bring Abby to surgery her-
self. "You're the best," says Rick. "That's what I keep telling Josh," 
she replies, then apologizes. "I'm sure he knows that," says Rick.

Alan & Reva arrive. As usual, Alan is worried about Reva being seen, 
while she is only concerned about Abigail, who must be scared silly. 
They enter Abigail's room, where Abby is telling her shocked mother that 
Dr. Bauer took her dancing last night.

MALL: Mara finds a crystal carousel horse ornament that she wants to buy 
for Annie. Josh needs to hit a cash machine & takes out his wallet, 
dropping a bunch of papers from it. The kids help him gather the items, 
and Shayne sees a photo of the lady in the park who knew his name. Josh 
stares at the photo of Reva holding newborn Shayne. 

Marah calls Shayne a dummy & says the photo is Mama, not the lady in the 
park. Josh thinks Shayne is just a little confused. Shayne insists that 
the lady in the penguin (pilgrim, corrects Marah) suit is the lady in 
the picture. Josh gives the picture to Shayne so he can always carry it 
& always remember his Mama. Shayne stares at the photo.

CEDARS: Charlotte is very disturbed that Rick took Abigail out of the 
hospital unchaperoned. Reva thinks if it took her mind off the surgery, 
it's a good thing. Charlotte admits that Abigail has spoken of nothing 
else, but she thinks it's shameful. Rick arrives & Abigail looks quite 
pleased. Charlotte zips her lip & Reva turns toward the window. Abigail 
wants Rick to meet Rebecca. Annie enters & wants to meet her too. Reva 
looks anxious.

POLICE DEPT: Marcus sits with his head in his hands. Levy says they're 
waiting for the arraignment to be scheduled & that's when they'll set 
bail, if any. Marcus says unless it's $100 or less, he's not meeting it.

Fletcher recognizes a uniformed cop & chats him up, but the cop's not 
giving anything away. Fletch makes his way to Marcus & tries to ask him 
some questions, but Frank pulls Fletch away. Holly arrives & Fletch asks 
why she didn't stay home. Holly accuses Fletch of inviting her mom as a 
way of keeping her under lock & key, but it didn't work because Barbara 
fell asleep watching a talk show. Holly assures her overprotective hubby 
that she's in healthy & can continue with business as usual. She refuses 
to spend her pregnancy at home, climbing the walls. Fletch worries about 
"the risks," which Holly interprets as her age, & threatens a hormonal 
surge like he's never seen, if he continues to pursue this track. 

Holly found out who the arraigning judge is & thinks Marcus's case will 
be on today's docket. Fletch senses something off about this case. Holly 
says the cops saw Marcus do it. Fletch says they didn't see the stabbing 
itself, just Marcus holding the bloody knife. Fletch thinks he knows 
Marcus fairly well from the time they spent in the hospital together & 
he's an all-right guy, since he hates Rog as much as Fletch. "That 
doesn't make him innocent," Holly says. Fletch is willing to bet Baby 
Red's first tooth that something isn't right. Levy takes Marcus away. 

DINER: Dinah thinks it must be a bad joke, but Rog points out the facts: 
Marcus found with bloody knife in hand. Dinah knows Marcus isn't a 
killer. He sets spiders free rather than squooshing them. Dinah now 
realizes why the police were looking for Marcus last night & blames 
herself for giving him away. She gets up to go to the police station, 
but Rog tells her to sit down & think it through. She shouldn't barge 
into the middle of a murder investigation because she could be charged 
as an accessory, having bought the plane ticket. Dinah doesn't care. Rog 
suggests that the reason Marcus was in such a hurry to leave town was 
because he was in trouble. This ticks Dinah off & she leaves. 

POLICE DEPT: Dinah pushes her way to Levy's desk & insists on seeing her 
friend. Levy says she's welcome to, especially if she can get him to 
talk & start cooperating. Dinah is allowed into a private office, where 
Marcus is under guard. "Haven't you shafted me enough for one lifetime?" 
asks Marcus. He thinks what she did was really low. She insists that she 
didn't know & begs for his forgiveness. Marcus isn't ready to forgive & 
tells Dinah to go back to Rog. "I can't risk having friends like you." A 
cop comes to take Marcus away. Rog sees Dinah through the blinds.

DINER: Alex sweeps in & finds Buzz struggling to secure a paper turkey 
to the top of a security camera. He reminds her that they were almost 
robbed a few months ago. Alex helps Buzz with the decorations. He asks 
why she's there & she says she heard about his to-do with Alan. Buzz 
says Alan was being a macho jerk & for some reason didn't want his 
friend to know what kind of person he is. Alex asks about the blonde 
from Goshen. She tells Buzz that Alan had been living with her for some 
time. She wonders if it's a romance. Buzz can't imagine what a woman 
like her would be doing with Alan. She's too good for him. Alex asks if 
Buzz could introduce her to this woman. Buzz looks at her suspiciously.

CEDARS: Alan distracts attention from Reva by asking Rick how long the 
surgery will take. Reva takes this moment to run out of the room & Alan 
attributes it to nerves. Reva listens from the other side of the door. 
Annie wheels the stretcher in & they move Abigail from her bed & cover 
her with a blanket. Annie promises to stay with her until she's under. 
They wheel her out. Rick holds Abigail's hand & smiles at her before 
Annie wheels her away. Rick goes back into the room & calls to Rebecca, 
asking if she's OK.

>From behind the door, Reva says she's OK, but she wants to be alone. 
Rick talks to Charlotte, explaining that they expect a speedy recovery 
following surgery. Charlotte wants to take Abigail straight home as soon 
as she's well. Rick says it would be helpful for Abigail to stay in 
Springfield for awhile, because they have a school for the hearing- 
impaired. "Dr. Bauer, do you have designs on my daughter?" asks 
Charlotte bluntly. "Of course not," says Rick. Charlotte thinks he 
abused her trust by taking Abigail out unchaperoned. Abigail doesn't 
need to see the outside world. Rick notes that Abby's of age & can do 
what she wants. Charlotte says she's too young to know what's good for 
her. Rick says if she learned how to communicate better, she could do 
more for herself. Charlotte thinks Abby communicates just fine. Rick 
explains about standard sign language & says their "made-up hand 
signals" just aren't enough. Charlotte doesn't want to discuss it & Alan 
suggests that Rick leave. He goes.

Reva emerges & says Rick means well. She's known him since he was a boy 
& he's a good person. Charlotte doesn't like the way Abigail looks at 
him & is upset that Reva would take his side. "Why should I trust him or 
you? Why are you hiding from these people if you trust them so much?"

MALL: Annie finds the Lewises. Shayne wants to see Santa. Josh wants to 
get their shopping done first, but the kids plead & win. Shayne looks at 
his photo & says to himself, "It is too her."

POLICE DEPT: Seeing how upset Dinah is, Rog berates himself for letting 
her come down there. Dinah doesn't blame Marcus for being mad at her, 
but Rog thinks he ought to be grateful that she tried to help him. Dinah 
is determined to do anything Marcus needs, including posting bail for 
him. Rog advises against tying up her money. Dinah doesn't care if it 
costs every penny of her trust fund. From what Rog hears, it doesn't 
look good for Marcus. Dinah says people say that about Rog all the time 
& she never believes them. Rog thinks this is different, but Dinah 
disagrees. "When you love someone, you do whatever you can to help 
them." She vows not to lose her closest friend.

Rog approaches Levy for an off-the-record conversation about Marcus. 
Fletch convinces Frank to give him 5 minutes with Marcus. Fletch reminds 
Marcus of their past association & asks what really happened. He doesn't 
think what he's heard rings true. Fletch says Marcus should be thinking 
about getting a good lawyer, because he's facing 25-to-life. Marcus is 
silent; Fletch urges him to talk because things are so bad, he can only 
help himself by doing so. Marcus says he was in the wrong place at the 
wrong time. Fletch says Marcus is only making things worse for himself 
by not getting a lawyer. Marcus is consumed by his memories. "He begged 
me to pull the knife out. He begged me to pull it out." Fletch perks up.

CEDARS: Charlotte asks why Reva doesn't want to be seen. Reva doesn't 
want to accidentally scare her kids. Charlotte apologizes. Reva assures 
her that Abigail will be fine. Reva leaves & Alan follows her, telling 
her not to torture herself by going to see her kdis again. It's clear 
she can't take care of herself. Why should she go looking for hurt? She 
wants to find a sign that will tell her whether to stay or go. "I didn't 
leave all my faith in Goshen. God will show me the way, and how."

DINER: Buzz doesn't know where to find Rebecca, but he's not sure he'd 
tell Alex anyway. "She's honest. She doesn't have the tools to deal with 
somebody like you. No offense." Alex just wants to make sure R isn't 
taking advantage of Alan. Buzz says she doesn't know how to use people. 
She's honest, kind, beautiful, down-to-earth. Alex senses that Buzz is 
as enamored with her as Alan. Buzz doesn't even know if he'll ever see 
her again. He advises Alex to stay out of her brother's business because 
it inevitably brings her trouble. She appreciates his concern, but isn't 
about to turn away from a relative in trouble. She says good-bye.

POLICE DEPT: Rog shares that Dinah has a soft spot for Marcus, but he 
knows Marcus has a record. Levy says nothing showed up on the computer. 
Rog says it was stuff in Europe. Rog is glad that he's in custody--
Marcus has a very hot temper & tends to fly off the handle without 
provocation. "He even came after me one time." Not the first, notes 
Levy. Rog thinks Marcus is "really nuts" & that must be what happened 
with Cutter. He expresses his sympathy & gives Levy some phone numbers 
to check up on Marcus's activities in Europe. "But you didn't get them 
from me." Levy sits down to dial. Fletch observes with interest.

MALL: Reva watchs her kids & Josh & annie get their pictures taken with 
Santa. Marah tells Santa she already has everything she wants. Big 
family hugs & kisses. Reva pulls her hood over her head.

Reva mutters that it's *her* family. Buzz sees her. He's surprised to 
see her in the mall. He explains that he's in search of decorations. He 
gets all excited & she asks him to quiet down. He sees that she's upset 
& asks if she believes in fate. "Because I think I'm beginning to."

CEDARS: Rick calls for a status report on Abigail's surgery & the news 
is good. Alex arrives & listens as Rick arranges to let Alan know as 
soon as Abigail gets out of recovery, so her mother can be there. Alex 
comments that it sounds like good news & is glad Abigail will be able to 
hear again. Rick says that she's still deaf, but her headaches should be 
gone. Alex is sure Rebecca will be very relieved & asks if R is there. 
Rick gets suspicious. Alex explains that since Alan's spoken so highly 
of R, she wants to meet the woman. Rick warns her that R is shy. A nurse 
asks Rick to help her with a patient & Rick is grateful for the inter-
ruption. Alex walks to the door & makes a signal through the window.

POLICE DEPT: Fletch asks Marcus what he meant about Patrick begging him 
to take the knife out. Marcus was just talking to himself. Frank tells 
Fletch his time is up & Fletch tells Marcus to call him if he wants to 
talk. Frank takes Marcus away.

Holly wants to know what's happening. Fletch is excited & wants to call 
the paper. He's sure Marcus didn't do it. No one saw the stabbing. It's 
all circumstantial. Holly says there's even worse evidence. Cutter wrote 
the letters MAR on the ground. Fletch still doesn't believe that Marcus 
did it. He calls the paper & gets Griffin Williams' phone number, then 
calls Williams. He leaves a message. "Tell him it's about his son." 

Frank takes Marcus through the crowded room and everyone watches in 
silence.

Holly & Fletch continue to debate Marcus's innocence. Fletch doesn't 
want to be confused by the facts. Holly asks whether he has anything 
solid to go on. Fletch thinks Rog is trying to bury Marcus. Holly can't 
imagine why he would care. Fletch intends to find out. 

Dinah is despondent because Marcus wouldn't even look at her. Rog thinks 
he's not acting like he's innocent. Dinah knows he is. She asks if Rog 
found out about the arraignment & when he says no, she's upset because 
it was the one thing she asked him to do. She says she'll find out for 
herself, & is going to beg her dad to defend Marcus. Rog urges against 
this, saying Ross will only hurt Dinah again, but she is determined.

CEDARS: Alex slinks over to Abigail's room & walks right in. She opens 
the closet, but it's pretty empty. All she finds in the bedside drawer 
is a bible. Alan grabs her shoulder & asks what she's doing there.

MALL: Reva wants to leave. Buzz starts to take her one way, but she 
insists upon going the other. Shayne spots her & tells Josh he sees the 
lady who scared him. Josh asks if he's sure & Shayne says yes. Josh runs 
after the woman in black, shouting, "Lady, wait up!" [Like that's going 
to stop anyone in a crowded mall!] Reva pushes her way through the crowd 
with Buzz right behind her. Annoying freeze frame on Reva's worried face 
as the screen fades to black.



--Marni (marni@panix.com)




