A Snowy Night

Part 11

By Kellie

Ross and Michelle were seated at a table in the back corner of Towers Restaurant discussing the trial over lunch. Michelle was seated so that she could see Carmen from behind during lunch. Danny was managing to keep a lid on his anger. It appeared that they were having a pleasant meal. Rick and Abby were seated across the room. Holly had joined them for lunch. Many Springfield residents were also having lunch at Towers today. Bill had joined his father and Uncle Josh for a business lunch with Olivia. Alan was dining with Phillip, Harley , and India. 

"Mother, please excuse me for a moment," Danny said as his cell phone began to ring. He left the table and walked over to the bar to answer the call. Danny turned to face the elevators as he said, "I'm glad you've finally arrived. Let the show begin."

You could hear a pin drop when the elevator door opened and a familiar face entered the room. Everyone was speechless upon seeing an old foe enter the room. "Oh my God! I can't believe he's back," Holly whispered as she looked across the room. 

Roger Thorpe walked straight over to Carmen's table and took Danny's seat. He picked up Carmen's hand and kissed it. "It's been a long time, Carmen. I heard your daughter-in-law is up for murder. Sounds like the Santos family is still the center of attention in Springfield."

"Well, it's certainly been a long time, Roger. I assume your obsession with your mental case ex-wife is what brought you back," retorted Carmen.

"I see you still have your sharp wit, my dear. Actually I'm in Springfield to see my new granddaughter," Roger replied.

"Ah, yes. I heard about your daughter's latest addition to her family. Quite a tale about her hiding out and keeping the child a secret for so long, and that romance novel business. Too bad all her little schemes seem to blow up in her face. She definitely didn't pick up any of your little tricks along the way."

"My daughter chose her own path, one I didn't approve of - but she seems to be happy. I don't really understand why or how, but despite her miscalculations, Chrissy has ended up with what she wanted," Roger replied. "Now fill me in on your family. Maybe I can get a few ideas from you about how to get Ross Marler out of her life for good the next time they hit a difficult patch in their marriage."

As Carmen and Roger continued talking, Michelle looked over at Danny. He looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. "Ross, I don't know how Carmen and Roger are connected, but I believe he must be the old friend Danny thinks she would reveal everything to."

"Michelle, I hope you're right and I hope that the price of getting tangled up with Roger isn't too high for Danny," Ross replied as he pulled out his cell phone. "I need to call Blake and tell her that her father's here."

"Of course," Michelle replied as she studied the reactions of everyone in the room.
Billy Lewis was shaking with quiet fury at the sight of Roger. Considering everything Roger had done to Mindy, Michelle knew it was all Bill and Josh could do to keep Billy from going across the room and knocking the daylights out of Roger. Holly seemed to be in a state of silent shock. Rick and Abby were trying to get her to leave with them. Michelle thought about how fragile Holly had been since her release from the psych ward and hoped this didn't push her over the edge again. Poor Harley was trying her best to keep Phillip and Alan from causing a scene. Roger had definitely entered the lion's den when he returned to Springfield, and Michelle knew he never did anything unless there was something in it for him. "Danny, I wonder what you had to promise Roger to get him to help me."


Chapter 12

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