EP 169 - A Hughes Family Member Dies

AS THE WORLD TURNS ~ EPISODE 169

CREATED BY: IRNA PHILLIPS

WRITTEN BY: CASEY HUTCHISON

STORY CONSULTANT: DAWN GREGORY

SAME DAY. AFTERNOON.

DUSTY & ROSANNA’S HOME - LIVING ROOM

Dusty enters the living room. He is holding a beer and drinking from the bottle. Then, there is a knock at the door. He walks to the door.

DUSTY: (opening the door) Oh. It’s you.

JOHNNY: Hello to you too, dad.

Johnny enters. Dusty shuts the door and turns around. He and Johnny walk over to the couch. Dusty sets his beer down on the table in front of the couch.

JOHNNY: Um...were you expecting someone else?

DUSTY: Yeah. I was. Sorry I caught you off guard though.

JOHNNY: It’s fine. Who were you expecting?

DUSTY: Rosanna.

JOHNNY: Is she still at work?

DUSTY: No. In fact, she’s at a hotel. Rosanna and I had a falling out. And, she decided that it is best if she stays at the LakeView for a few days. I was hoping she reconsidered.

OAKDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT - FORENSICS LAB

Danielle is sitting behind her desk. She is looking over a file of a recent test she just ran. Then, Vanessa enters the lab.

VANESSA: Good morning.

DANIELLE: Morning, Special Agent Russell.

VANESSA: Are those my results you’re looking at?

DANIELLE: Yes, yes they are. I was able to examine the cloth you gave me from that back alley twice. And, you won’t believe who’s prints are on this bloody cloth along with Julian Stenbeck’s.

FAIRWINDS - LIVING ROOM

Emily is curled up on the couch. She is crying and wiping her tears with a tissue. Then, she hears footsteps getting closer. She straightens herself up and stands. Tom enters.

TOM: Hope you don’t mind, the maid let me in.

EMILY: (sniffles) No. No. I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all.

TOM: (going to her) So, why did you call me over here? Is everything okay with you, Emily? You don’t look so good right now.

EMILY: Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that. And, pretty soon, I have a feeling that you won’t look so good either. So, maybe you should sit down.

TOM: Or, maybe you can tell me who this concerns.

EMILY: It’s Daniel, Tom. This is about our son.

OAKDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT - JACK’S OFFICE

Jack is sitting behind his desk. He is looking over a suspect board of the Julian Stenbeck case. Pictures on the board include: Barbara, Lucinda, Katie, Henry, and Dusty. Then, there is a knock at the door.

JACK: Come in!

A couple of seconds later, Alison enters.

JACK: (standing) Alison, hello.

ALISON: Hi, Jack.

Alison closes the door and goes to Jack.

JACK: How’s Casey?

ALISON: Oh, he’s good.

JACK: And, you?

ALISON: I’m holding up.

JACK: Good. So, what brings you by?

ALISON: I actually need to talk to you about Casey.

JACK: Okay. What is it?

ALISON: Look, I know the department is dealing with a lot right now concerning the whole who-shot-Julian-thing. But, I need to know that you won’t let this big case cloud the case of who shot my husband. Because, if you don’t, I just may need to investigate on my own.

BRO - BARBARA’S OFFICE

Barbara is pacing around her office. She is deep in thought. She is questioning all of her decisions since Julian was shot. Then, Paul enters and slams the door. Barbara turns around.

BARBARA: If you slam that door like that again, I’ll need a new one. And, what has you so riled up? What’s going on with you?

PAUL: We need to have a talk! Right now!

BARBARA: Paul…, about what?

PAUL: This!

Paul pulls out a pair of bloody gloves in a ziplock bag from his pocket. He then throws the bag down on the desk. Barbara is shocked.

BARBARA: Are those…?

PAUL: Your gloves? And, Julian’s blood on them? Yeah.

BARBARA: How the hell do you have them?

PAUL: We’ll get to that later. For now, just thank me for saving your ass!

Back at Dusty and Rosanna’s Home, in the Living Room, Dusty takes a sip of his beer. He then puts the bottle back on the table.

JOHNNY: So, I assume Rosanna leaving you is the reason for your day drinking? You know, you don’t have to numb the pain this way, dad. Go get her back. Don’t waste your time drinking a beer. Okay? Not a good idea.

DUSTY: Johnny, it isn’t going to be easy to get her back.

JOHNNY: Why not?

DUSTY: Because, it requires me to tell the truth. And, when it comes to what I need to tell the truth about, I can’t. I just can’t.

JOHNNY: What are you lying to Rosanna about?

DUSTY: See, I can’t even tell you.

JOHNNY: Why not? I don’t get any of this.

DUSTY: Look, all you need to know is that I can’t tell the truth to anyone right now. Because, if I do, I might go to prison. And, I know Rosanna might protect me...but I’m not ready to take any chances.

JOHNNY: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Jail? You can’t tell Rosanna the truth? Dad, tell me the truth. Does this have anything to do with what happened to Julian?

Dusty lets out a deep breath.

JOHNNY: I see. Listen, even if Rosanna doesn’t protect you, I will. Since Craig went to prison again all those years ago, you have been there for me. You have been my dad. You have been the man I look up to. And, when it comes down to hard times, a son protects his dad.

DUSTY: You don’t have to do that.

JOHNNY: Yes, I do. But, I cannot protect you if you don’t tell me the truth.

DUSTY: Fine. I’ll tell you the truth. But, if I do, you can’t tell anyone.

JOHNNY: I won’t. I promise.

DUSTY: Okay. I tampered with evidence...big time.

Back at the Oakdale Police Department, in Jack’s Office, Alison puts her coat and purse on top of a chair across from Jack’s desk.

JACK: First of all, don’t take matters into your own hands. That never works. Especially from someone in this town. Alison, you’re right. This department is overstocked at the moment. However, I will not rest till I find out who shot Casey.

ALISON: You promise?

JACK: Of course I do.

ALISON: Thank you. I don’t know why I came over here and badgered you. I just want this whole thing solved. And, I just want Casey to wake up.

JACK: I know. I get it. I’ve been where you are. Are you sleeping enough? Are you eating enough? Are you keeping up your strength?

ALISON: I sleep by Casey’s bedside, I wake up and do my shift, and then I grab something at the vending machine. That’s the vicious cycle right now.

JACK: Well, I won’t stand for that. I’m taking you to Ruffles for a good burger and some of their house-made fries. How does that sound?

ALISON: I can’t ask you to do that.

JACK: My treat. Come on…?

ALISON: Okay. We have a deal.

JACK: Good. Because, I wouldn’t have taken ‘no’ for an answer.

A small smile comes across Alison’s face.

Back at BRO, in Barbara’s Office, Barbara walks up closer to Paul.

BARBARA: (sighs) Please, tell me, where’d you get these gloves?

PAUL: I followed you to the alley where you dumped them.

BARBARA: Why?

PAUL: Because, I knew something was up. You didn’t come into work for almost a week. And, one day, I decided to go to your home and visit you. I saw the cops there. And, a couple of minutes later, I saw you driving away with a nervous look on your face. So, I followed you. I watched as you dumped the evidence into that dumpster. Then, I thought to myself, “the police may be watching my mother. So, I should help her.”

BARBARA: You really do want to save me.

PAUL: Of course I do. But, before I make anymore moves, I just need to know what I’m saving you from. But, in order to do that, I need to know if you shot him. No more dodging the question. It is time you answer it.

BARBARA: I didn’t shoot him. But, I’ll tell you what happened that night. I’ll tell you the whole story. I’ll tell you what I saw.

Back at FairWinds, in the Living Room, Emily rolls up her tissue and then throws it away in a small waste basket. She then goes back over to Tom.

TOM: What about Daniel, Emily?

EMILY: I...uh...I really don’t know how to tell you this. In fact, I’m still trying to digest the news myself. I’ve taken it pretty hard. But, I am his mother...so…

TOM: Yeah. I get that. Look, I just spoke to Daniel last weekend. And, he was fine. What has happened since then? What’s going on with him?

EMILY: He was in an accident.

TOM: (becoming pale) What?

EMILY: He was on his way home on his private jet. He was going to spend some time with me. We were going to reconnect. (sobbing) But, the pilot of his jet encountered a storm…(crying) and...and…

TOM: (voice breaking) Emily! What happened?

EMILY: His plane went down! Okay? (sobbing) His plane went down. And, a couple of hours ago, I got a call from a search and rescue team. They found him.

TOM: Alive? Right. He’s alive?

Emily shakes her head no. The camera zooms in on Tom. He begins to fall apart. It is apparent his whole world has come crashing down.

Back at the Oakdale Police Department, in the Forensics Lab, Vanessa takes a sip from her to-go coffee cup. She then sets it on the table next to her.

VANESSA: So, tell me, who’s prints are on the cloth?

DANIELLE: Well, I don’t think you’re gonna believe this.

VANESSA: You ran the test. I’ll believe it.

DANIELLE: I just think you’ll be in shock.

VANESSA: Why is that?

DANIELLE: Because, the prints don’t belong to Barbara Coleman.

VANESSA: Really? Are you sure.

DANIELLE: 100 percent sure.

VANESSA: Okay. So, if they don’t belong to Barbara, who do they belong to? I can’t wait to hear the answer to this.

DANIELLE: They belong to a new suspect. D.A. Tom Hughes.

Vanessa’s eyes widened. She’s in shock. The camera zooms in on her.

***FADE OUT***
***END OF EP. 169***