"Hello?" "Yes." "Oh, I see." "Good." "Thank you very much." "Our flight has been pushed back a half hour tomorrow morning, which means we'll be leaving the house about 9:00." "Blake, why does Billy Waite live in South America?" "Because he has oil wells there." "Because he raises thoroughbred horses there." "And obviously, because he likes it there." "And because the United States government can't look over his shoulder there." "You seem to know a little about him." "Well, more than a little." "I looked through the Denver-Carrington file on him today." "He's a shark." "Yes, he's a killer shark." "Why are we going to see him?" "Because I need help." "And I need help from wherever I can get it." "I thought you understood that." "Oh, I just have this strange feeling about him." "I'm concerned about you." "Well, don't be, darling." "Because no one is gonna get hurt, especially not me." "I've handled tougher cases than Billy Waite all my life." "I can handle this one too." "What is it?" "I was just thinking about Fallon." "Oh, darling." "Jeff knows where we'll be." "And if he has anything to report, he'll get in touch with us." "Steven, I was just at the house visiting Little Blake and his nurse told me that Blake and Krystle have gone away." "And?" "Well, don't you think it's a little odd, them leaving town when his circumstances are so precarious?" "If you're trying to get any information from me, Mother, forget it." "Where Blake is and why is his business." "Not mine." "Not yours." "Thank you, Steven." "That's blunt and honest enough." "Now let's get down to our business." " Why are you ignoring my advice?" " What advice?" "You're going under my recommended bid on those offshore Louisiana leases by $50,000." "Because I thought that you came in too high." "I didn't just pull that figure out of midair." "It took me weeks to work on those numbers." "I thought you wanted those leases." "I do." "It's a potentially viable field, but not at that price." " Somebody could grab it like that." " I know that." "You're taking a damned big chance." "Do you know that?" "Steven, you don't get rich if you don't take chances." "When are you going to grow up and become somebody in this business?" "Mother, my definition of being somebody was never yours." "Being rich is not as important to me as it is to you." "The best things in life are free." "Or some other such misguided phrase designed to placate those who are not rich." "Steven, there is nothing in my life more important than my children." "Money, position, power, nothing." "I'd give anything to have Fallon back with us and to have little Danny back safe again." "But I do value money, because money can help protect the people that I love." "I value it just as much as I resent this trial that's coming up." "This nightmare." "I didn't kill anybody, Steven." "And I just wanna get back and put my energies where they should be." "With the people that I love." "With you and with Fallon and with Danny." " You say her name's Fallon?" " Yes, that's right." "That's an unusual name." "Look, all I wanna know is if you've seen her." "I was told since she didn't have any money, the hostel would give her a place to stay." "I don't" "You don't what?" "No, I've never seen her." "Are you sure about that?" "I'm very sure." "Now do you mind if I get back to what I was doing-?" "Look, I'm gonna ask you one more time." "Are you sure you've never seen her or are you lying to me?" "Look, I resent that." "Now, are you gonna get off my back?" "Here's my number." "Please, if you do remember something or if she should come here..." "I'll get in touch with you." "Earl, why didn't you tell him the truth?" "You see the state he's in." "Look, I gave her my word, Em." "I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody where she'd gone." "I promised." " You're just gonna have to wait." "I'm sorry." "Darling, you've hardly touched your lunch." "Lunch." "Ever since Sammy Jo took off with Danny," "Fallon vanished, days and nights just seem to blend into each other." "I can't sleep, I can't eat." "I know, the waiting is unbearable." "But sweetheart, Jeff is doing everything he can about Fallon." "And you know the minute Sammy Jo needs money, we're gonna hear from her." "I mean, you telephoned every one of her friends that you knew of." "Sooner or later, someone's gonna turn up with something." "And everything's going to be just fine." "Yes." "God, Claudia, how can you of all people assure me of that?" "We went through a jungle trying to find your daughter." "Things don't always turn out fine." "That's true." "They don't." "But we can't dwell on pain." "I did that twice and I wound up in the hospital twice." "I don't wanna see that happen to you." " Who is it?" " It's Claudia." "Just a minute." " Hello." " Hi." "I just wanted you to see this ad." "Supposed to run in the Chronicle later this week." "Oh, I like it, I like it." "It's very low-key." "Except I prefer using the lower case D's on my name." "That's my signature in Europe." "No?" "Okay." "Lower case it is." "Also, I'd like to do a bio on you." "Where you were born, where you went to school, who taught you to sing." "How you met Brady." "The usual kind of stuff." "The nosey stuff, huh?" "Well, the kind of stuff people are curious about." "Including you, Claudia?" "Yeah." "I'll be very honest with you." "I don't share my private life with anyone." "Not even with people I like." "Boring, boring details." "Old photographs." "Like, see the happy kid in the canoe?" "Isn't she adorable?" "Ugh." "Please." "One might call it the scrapbook syndrome." "It's not for me, Claudia." "I'm sorry." " All right, we'll lose the bio." " Thank you." "One other thing." "If you have a closing date in mind," "I think I should include it in the ad." "I would agree, except I haven't made my plans yet." "The club is doing great business." "La Mirage is marvellous for my health." "I adore it here." "So why don't we just put that on hold?" " All right?" " Sure." " Okay." " Thanks." "Thank you." "Bye-bye." "Hello, J.J., please." "Would you tell him that I phoned?" "This is Dominique Deveraux." "I want to know how much longer he expects me to sit in this place?" "Yes, and tell him to make it fast." "No more excuses." "Blake, you son of a gun." " Hello, Billy." " Been a long time." "Welcome." "And thank you for bringing along this beautiful, very beautiful wife of yours." " Krystle, isn't it?" " Yes." "An exquisite woman with an exquisite name." "Thank you." " Billy." " Billy." "Well, let me show you to your quarters." "You'll be staying in the same wing, Blake, where you once stayed with Alexis, shortly after you were married, I believe." "Yes." "Yes, that's right." "Oh, Krystle." "I mean, sharing the same room with Blake which was, well..." " I don't mind at all." " Good." "And so buying back those South China Sea leases fortunately didn't cost me that much." "Who'd you pay off?" "No one." "And the cost of opening up that whole area for drilling?" "I figure it'll be about a billion dollars." "That covers lobbying in Washington, the negotiating and the drilling." "Only a billion?" "I know that's steep, very steep." "But the return could be phenomenal." "Who else have you talked to about this?" "Oh, a couple of people." "And all of them are interested, but have yet to come up with any cash." "That's right." "You're down and out, Blake." "Aren't you?" "Broke." "Not exactly." "I did manage to scrape up enough money to take the trip down here." "Billy, I'm here for one reason." "If you are anything, you're a risk taker." "I don't always appreciate the way you operate." "As a matter of fact, I rarely do." "But you've got guts." "And you've got what I've got, instinct." "Good instinct." "My instinct tells me there's a fortune to be made out of that sea." "And..." "What would my share of this fortune cost me?" "Fifty million to start." "With that, I can put together a consortium and get the ball rolling." "What do you say?" "Give me a couple of days to think it over." "All right, I'll give you until the end of the week." "If you're so certain that that man at the hostel was lying to you about Fallon, why didn't you offer him some money to get him to talk?" "Because if the prospect of a $200,000 reward couldn't get him to talk, how much would?" "What are you going to do now?" "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to have breakfast with my son." "Then I'm going to fly back and keep looking." "Oh, God, Jeff." "I feel so useless in all of this." "Well, there nothing much we can do, Alexis, except wait and pray." "Oh, I do." "I do." "Does Blake know?" "The circuits to Caracas are busy." "I've been trying to reach him there." "Guess I'll have to try later." "Look, I have to be going." " Take care." " Bye." "Caracas?" "Blake, I know that Waite has spared no expense with this house, but even with those antiques and the artwork and all of this, there's something about it that just makes my skin crawl." "Yeah." "Well, we'll be home tomorrow, darling." "And maybe when we get home" "Maybe Jeff will have some good news about Fallon." "Yes." "The phone call was encouraging, anyway." "Blake, why can't we leave today?" "I've got a feeling, a positive one, that our friend Waite is going to say yes to our loan before the end of the week." "I wanna keep talking to him and talking to him about that loan, every chance I get." "Manipulate him, the way he manipulates." "That's not a terrible word, you know." "Not in the world of business." "Do you really wanna do business with him?" "Darling, I have got to do business with him." "I have got to do business with anyone at this point." " Don't you understand that?" " I'm trying to." "Blake, there's nothing more important to me than for us to be happy and for our children to be healthy and safe." "Well, you'll have that." "And more." "Because I'm gonna get it back for all of us." "That's the only reason why we're here." "Steven?" "Hello." "Don't look at me like that." "I am fine." "I think it's a little drunk outside." "Come on." "Okay." "Thank you, Steven." "I know you have your own problems." "I don't mean to draw you into mine." "One of which seems to be a rather unsteady hand at the moment." " Where the hell have you been?" " Mm." "I have been to Denver proper and a very proper party given by Warren Ballard for some of our more prominent citizenry." " That is very hot." " Drink it black." "Yes, little brother." "Brother." "Family." "I'm finally back with my family." "Steven, it was a terrible party." "I mean, I had a lousy time." "Who can make social small talk when everything here is such a mess?" "Why'd you bother to go?" "Ho-ho." "It's rather difficult to say no to a man like Ballard." "Especially when he's handling Mother's defence." "So I went." "And I drank too much to get myself through that mess." "I only hope I didn't make a complete fool of myself." "Oh, I doubt it." "Even drunk, you're too smart to jeopardise your standing with a man like Ballard." "Your eyes are too focused on your brilliant future for you to risk it." "That was not very kind of you, Steven." "Just as Kirby has not been kind." "What about Kirby?" "Ever since she left, I've tried to phone her in Paris every day." "And she just hangs up on me." "I write." "And she never answers." "Steven, she's the one woman I ever really truly loved." "And somehow you managed to foul it up, didn't you?" "That seems to be a talent of yours." "Kirby." "Letting Sammy Jo take off with my son." "Fouling up other people's lives." "Steven, wait." "What is it?" "There's something I forgot to tell you." "There was a young man, a very pretty young man, at the party tonight." "Even drunker than I was." "Timothy something-or-other." "He said you and he had been roommates for a year at prep school." "He asked me to send you his love." "Was that the word he-?" "Yes, love." "And for you to give him a call sometime." "He's anxious to reminisce with you." "Unless, of course, your being suddenly married would cast a pall on sharing sweet memories, as he put it." "Rather prettily, I thought." " I'd like to speak to Mr. Dexter, please." "Mr. Dex Dexter." "Still not there?" "Thank you." "KRYSTLE Does Blake know?" "Circuits to Caracas are busy." "I've been trying to reach him, but I guess I'll have to try later." "Caracas." "Operator, I'd like to make a call to Caracas, venezuela, please." "Person-to-person." "The party's name is Waite." "Billy Waite." "You've read the latest article" " in this morning's Chronicle, I trust." " No, I haven't." " Adam?" " Yes, Mr. Ballard, I have." "Well, would one of you mind telling me about it or should I send out for a copy myself?" "I don't particularly like this picture." "I look a bit pale." "You look very, very wealthy, Mrs. Colby, which is the problem." "The continuing, I should say, mounting problem." "What problem?" "There's a syndicated reporter called Philip Spalding." "His personal crusade is equal justice for the rich." "The rest of the press, including the Chronicle, have seized on his war cry, and now they're painting you as a millionairess who's trying to buy her way out of a murder conviction." "So, what am I supposed to do?" "Fire you as my attorney?" "I don't think you need go that far." "Perhaps we can think of something less drastic," "like hiring a public relations firm." "Fight fire with fire." "Oh, that's a wonderful solution." "I mean, that's going to cost me even more money." "Adam." "Would you explain to your mother that she has some rather bad press in the past to live down?" "Adam?" "There was an incident in Portofino with a film star." "That was not an incident." "It was an affair." "Some people do have them occasionally." "Adam, anything else?" "Singapore, a party that made headlines." "Other stories, all of which can be counterpointed by mother's involvement in different charities." "Ever since Blake Carrington banished me from Denver and from my children, my main charity, unfortunately, has been Alexis Carrington Colby." "So I don't think that we're gonna get very far with your brilliant strategy of hiring me a press agent." "I don't appreciate the sarcasms, madam." "And I don't appreciate the fact that all through this whole thing" "I have not had one single piece of concrete help." "My whole life is at stake here, Mr. Ballard." "I am innocent." "And I am very, very frightened." "And if at times I appear not to be taking this miscarriage of so-called justice seriously, it is because I cannot believe that it is actually happening to me." "So let me offer my suggestions about all of this." "Which are?" "That you keep a lower profile in all the pre-trial and trial matters." "Go on." "That you take a back seat during the trial and let Adam appear to be defending me." "A son defending his own mother." "Well, that should bring tears to a jury's eyes, don't you think?" "Take a back seat." "Let me tell you something, Mrs. Colby." "I not only find that insulting, but very, very foolish." "And believe me, the Denver public is not so easily fooled." "So you don't agree." "No, I do not." "Well, since you haven't come up with anything better, you are fired." " Mother, you can't mean that." " Oh, yes, I can." "I have fired chauffeurs and secretaries in my time." "I have fired vice presidents and heads of corporations." "And I am now firing you, Mr. Ballard." "My business affairs people will messenger you your cheque." "Good day." "Good luck, Mrs. Colby." " Mr. Ballard." " I'm well out of it, boy." "I don't envy you." "I just hope you're not in over your head." "Mother." "Mother." "Do you realise what you've just done?" "Yes." "I've just fired the most famous criminal attorney in America." "But Adam, I've got to try and handle my defence the way that I feel best." "But I need your help." "And with your help, I know I'm going to win." "Welcome back, Mrs. Carrington, Mr. Carrington." "Thank you, Gerard." "Have I had any long-distance phone calls from Jeff?" " No, you haven't." " Any word from Sammy Jo?" "Nothing at all, I'm afraid." "A Mr. McGraw from your Legal Department did call." "Nothing urgent, he said, but he would like to talk," " if you have a few minutes." " Thank you." "I'll phone him from the library, darling, and I'll see you upstairs." "Good afternoon, Krystle." "What are you doing here, Alexis?" "Since Fallon is still missing and you obviously can't be bothered," "I've been spending as much time as I can with Little Blake." "I've also noticed that this house is in a very shabby condition these days, definitely run-down, in case no one's had the nerve to tell you." "What happened to it?" "Happened to what?" "The Degas that used to hang there." "And the Louis xvi escritoire in the guest bedroom, the north guest bedroom." "No one gave you permission to come into this house." "Oh." "I don't need permission, Krystle." "I'm at the top of his appraisal." "I'm looking, I'm probing, I'm examining." "And so far I don't like what I've seen." "Well, what you've seen is all you're going to see." "I don't ever want you to come into this house again unless you're invited." "Is that understood?" "Careful, Krystle." "You're beginning to sound the tiniest bit jealous." "Don't worry." "You can have Blake." "I just want the mansion." "Alexis, I wouldn't count on Blake or the mansion if I were you." "Your wrap, Mrs. Colby." "Thank you, Gerard." "Please, tell the staff, heh, what's left of it, that I want this house kept in tiptop condition." "Lots of spit, polish and elbow grease." "Like the great old days when I used to live here." "And just what do you think you're doing here?" "I'm surprising you." " Going somewhere?" " Yes." "I am going to my office in the morning." "You've got a hell of a nerve, Dex." "Okay, next time I'll have the doorman let you know I'm on my way up." "You show up here after disappearing for weeks at a time, you don't phone me, you don't even bother to return my phone calls and then you just appear." "Without an invitation?" "Yes." "My, we are getting very formal." "I mean, for two people who have known some rather informal moments together." "Alexis, look, I'm sorry about all that." "But things back home aren't going exactly great these days." "In fact, they're real bad." "Oh, really?" "What happened?" "Did you get turned down by a few Wyoming cowgirls?" "Don't tell me you're losing your devastating sex appeal, darling?" "I wasn't turned down by anybody, because I didn't ask anybody." "Ugh." "You must think I'm really dumb." "My social life was restricted to the Dexter family." "It wasn't much fun, Alexis." " Get you a drink?" " No." "May I help myself to one?" "Make it a short one. very short." "It's late, Dex." "I've got to get up early in the morning." "I've got a lot of important business to do." "Ah." "Business." "I spent most of my time trying to talk business to my father." "Well, Sam Dexter may have had a stroke, but that doesn't make him any less stubborn than he always has been." "It wasn't easy trying to convince him not to buy a string of refineries at this particular time in oil history." "History always bored me at school." "It bores me now." "If trying to save Dexter lnternational from ruin is boring you, it was even more so for my sister, Marin." "In fact, she decided to liven things by smashing up another car," " into a trailer park this time." " Hmm." "The family of one of the accident victims didn't waste a minute in filing a lawsuit against us." " They're asking for a fortune." " Mm." "Just like I" "Just like you what?" "Only ask for a chance to be with you again tonight." "Oh, ho-ho, no, Dex." "Oh, no." "Not after what you've put me through in the last few weeks." "I told you, I was very busy." "Busy?" "Out until all hours of the night, working?" "Doing what, drilling?" "You're jealous." "Good." "Well, if you're really going to interpret a few casual remarks on my part as being jealous, you have a lot to learn about me." " A lot." " I know." "In fact, I never wanna stop learning about you." " Hmm." "Hmm?" " All about you." " Your brilliant mind." " Yes." "Your fantastic body." " Those lips." " Oh, yes." "Those incredible lips." "Steven, you haven't really spoken to me in days." "What's happening?" "Why are you shutting me out of your life like this?" "I'm not." "Why?" "What have I done?" "Claudia." "Sometimes I just feel that you're so involved at La Mirage." "What?" "That I don't have any time for you and Danny?" " Is that it?" " Yes." "In other words, my trying to keep busy, my trying to act cheerful, my trying to maintain some sanity in the midst of this emotional upheaval, that's not caring in your book." "Well, damn it, I can accuse you of the same thing, you know." "You go to the office every day, religiously." "Your work there with your mother." "I'm sure you talk to her." "I'm sure you do." "But when you come home here, you have nothing to say to me." "Darling, look." "Danny is a part of you." "That makes him a part of me too." "I want him back as much as you do." "I know." "Hello?" "What?" "Let's just talk this out a little more, okay?" "First of all, how's Danny?" "I need to kn" "Sammy Jo, don't hang up on me." "What did she want?" "She wants to meet me next Friday in Los Angeles." "Why?" "To talk about custody of Danny." "Real serious talk, she said." " You're Jeffrey Colby." " Yes." "I'm Emily." "I phoned you about Fallon Colby." "What do you know about her?" "I know where you can find her." "To old times." "And to your being more beautiful than ever." "Thank you, Billy." "But I didn't invite myself here all the way from Denver just to talk about old times." "Oh, not all business." "Spare me that, Alexis." "You of all people." "Yes, Billy, all business." "Tsk." "Ah." "Well, how is it that you haven't touched on a certain subject as yet?" "The trial?" "That ridiculous charge." "I'm thousands of miles away from that now." "I just want to forget it." "No, I was talking about Blake." "It isn't just a coincidence that you show up here knowing that he's been here for the last couple of days." "Your relationship with Blake has always been passionate, possessive and vindictive." "Yes, you apparently can't live with him or without him." "I have managed to live very nicely without being involved with Blake Carrington, thank you." "However, I will be honest with you." "Part of the reason for this trip does concern him." "Aha." "Now if that aha means that you think I'm being vindictive, you're wrong." "You see, Billy, I'm really worried about him." "No, I mean his financial plight is so abysmal right now that it's seriously affecting him and not only him, but our children too." "Now, as a good mother, I can't just sit back and watch them all being ruined, can l?" "I still don't know what you're doing here." "I imagine that when Blake was here, he was asking for some money from you to finance some project or other, right?" " Mm-hm." " I'd like you to help him with it." "You want me to help Blake?" "Yes." "I know him so well." "He's not really defeated." "Not yet." "Heh." "You just said that things were abysmal." "Well, they are, they are, but not over." "So if you'll take this risk, if you give him what he wants," "I'm sure you won't lose your money." "At least not all of it." "I'm famished." "Is lunch ready?" "Just about." "Good." "Then I'll go and freshen up." "And then maybe after lunch, a siesta in one of the cool recesses of my hot hacienda, as you used to call it." "Oh, Billy, we tried that once and it wasn't such a good idea then." "I'd much rather ride one of your gorgeous stallions, if you don't mind." " Come in, J.J." " Dominique." "Well, it certainly has taken you long enough." "I was beginning to wonder whether New York was on the same planet as Denver." "Funny lady." "Hey, come on, I was in court on a case, a heavy one." "And besides, what's a few days after what my people have dug up, huh?" " You're looking great." " Yes, I know." "What do you have for me?" "Okay." "Blake Carrington." "On his $100-million loan for the South China Sea leases, he has lost total corporate assets worth close to a billion dollars." "I'd like a cup of coffee." "When you have finished, J.J., not before." "Please, go on." "All right, so he's been all over the place trying to raise money to restart, but he's been getting mostly the very cold shoulder." "The only bit of luck he's had is to pick up some money on his mansion which hasn't exactly made him ecstatic, since it turns out his first wife is holding the papers and she's threatening to foreclose." "Dominique, why are you so interested in this guy?" "I mean, you're not actually thinking of helping him out, are you?" "Well, help isn't exactly what I had in mind." "But this information will help me to form a plan." "Now, what I want you to do next- And don't want you to tell Brady." "I want my husband kept completely out of this." "And lunch was divine." "Sorry you couldn't stay longer." " Well, maybe next time." "But right now my plane is waiting." "Senora Colby?" " Yes?" " Lieutenant Lopez." "I will escort you to your plane and on your flight." "Why?" "I don't need an escort." "Your country's Federal Bureau of lnvestigation seems to think otherwise." " What?" " They issued a warrant for your arrest." "Unlawful flight from the United States to avoid prosecution for murder." "Oh." "Lieutenant Lopez, this must be a mistake." "I was here on business." "I have not finished." " Billy, what is this all about?" " This is serious, Alexis." "If I were you, I'd pay attention." "Upon your arrival in Miami, you will be met by federal officials and taken to the county jail." "Then you will be served with extradition papers from the State of Colorado and taken to Denver in custody." "This is outrageous." "I'm on my way to Miami right now and I'll explain everything when I get there alone." "Senora, you are not on the plane yet." "And there is always a chance that alone, you might decide to change direction and go perhaps to Rio de Janeiro." "So I will be with you and try to keep you entertained." "Oh, my God." "Billy?" "Billy." "Senora, we will ride to the airport in Mr. Waite's car." "I believe it will be more comfortable for the two of us." "Senora?" "Yes, this is the young woman that came here for a while, but" " Fallon Colby, did you say?" " Yes." "No, that's not the name she gave to us." "Instead she called herself, um" "Brother Leo, no disrespect." "I don't care what name she's using." "I just want to see her now." "But she's gone, Mr. Colby." "She's gone?" "Gone where?" "Young man, what I have to say to you now is very painful indeed." "If you want corroboration, you may talk to the police, but..." "Police?" "About what?" "What?" "Jeff, I heard you were back." "Any luck about Fallon?" "Did you hear anything, Jeff?" "She is all right, isn't she?" "Jeff." "Jeff, I asked you something." "What is it?" "She's dead." "She's dead, Blake." "She's gone." "No." "Dear God, no." "No."