Tea sits at her desk listening to her messages. Her mind is elsewhere...back in Chicago...thinking about what she has found out. It's strange, she feels like she has made progress, but still doesn't feel any closer to the solution. Todd wants her to find something, and despite everything she really wants to solve his mystery.
Hank Gannon's entrance into her office snaps Tea from her thoughts.
"Good morning Tea. How was your weekend?"
"Okay, Hank. Interesting."
Hank wonders what is going on with Tea, she seems so distracted lately. He likes Tea, and is a little worried. He had a hunch that the person behind Tea's distraction was Todd Manning. He had seen how badly she had been hurt by Todd, and thought that Todd leaving Llanview was the best thing that could have happened to Tea. But Hank had a feeling Tea felt differently.
"Is everything okay?" he asks in a concerned tone.
"Yeah, fine Hank. So what's up with the Graham case?"
"Well, the deals have been offered and I would be shocked if they weren't accepted."
"Good," Tea says, a little distracted. An officer came in to inform Hank that he had a phone call, and he left. A few moments later, Tea's phone rang.
"Tea Delgado."
Silence.
"Hello?"
After another moments pause, Tea hangs up the phone. A strange feeling washes over her...could it have been?
Todd holds the receiver in his hand, the dial tone ringing in his ears. Her voice...it had sounded so sweet. It was so calming to him. It had been hard for him to keep silent...he wanted to tell her where he was...but she had to find him...
And knowing Delgado, she would.
Todd is still holding the receiver in his hand. "I love you," he whispers into the phone.
That afternoon...Carlotta's diner
Tea is sitting at the counter finishing up her lunch. Carlotta had said that there hadn't been any more packages delivered. Tea was oddly disappointed, she had almost been looking forward to another clue. Of course, she still had to check with Roseanne. Almost as if on cue, Roseanne enters the diner. She walks over to Tea and sits down.
"Hey."
"Roseanne, just the person I was looking for."
"What's up?"
"Have I gotten any more packages from Todd?"
Roseanne looks at her and quickly looks away. "How would I know?"
"Look, Roseanne, I know that you threw out a package from him...why?"
"He's wacko, you don't need his grief."
Tea sighs, "Maybe not. But Roseanne, it's my decision to make. Look, I appreciate what you were trying to do...but if get any more packages, I would like you to give them to me."
"I don't understand it , the guy hurt you, humiliated you, and you still want to hear from him?"
Tea's eyes fill with tears. "You're right, you don't understand. There's a lot of things about Todd that you don't know about...that nobody knows about. I can't explain it either. Just please make sure I get any packages that come here, okay?" Tea gets ups and gathers her things to leave, "I'll see you later, tell Carlotta I said goodbye."
Roseanne watches her leave. A guilty feeling washes over her. She opens her bag and looks at the package that had been delivered for Tea this morning. She had planned to get rid of it...but now she didn't know what to do.
Viki's office at the Banner....
Viki is listening to the information Tea has found out in Chicago. With every word out of Tea's mouth, Viki's concern for Todd grows.
"So from what you learned from Michelle, you believe the sexual abuse is real?"
"Yes, Viki, I think so. Which means that there is a very strong possibility that the DID is real, too."
Viki sighs. She had suspected it, but somehow it became even more real to her when Tea said it out loud.
"Have you heard from Todd again?"
"No, not yet," Tea pulls the pink tape out of her bag, "Viki, I think you should listen to this."
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah, Todd's confession, as it were. I suspect that it is very possible that it is actually Pete on this tape, and I'm not sure Todd was aware of that at the time. In fact, I have a feeling that when Todd heard this tape on....on our wedding night, it might have made him realize there was something wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, listen to the tape. Pete is the "angry one", right? So wouldn't he come out if Todd got angry or threatened?"
"Possibly."
"On this tape, Blair is threatening to take Starr away unless Todd admits he is faking. Blair might have gotten him agitated to the point where Pete came out and told her what she wanted to hear. Also, Todd says, "to hell with Starr". You and I both know that Todd would never say that."
Viki takes the tape, "It sounds like you're onto something."
"Viki, I think his clues were to lead me to Chicago. The picture was taken in the house he grew up in, the high school newspaper article...he wanted me to go and find out about his childhood. But what now?"
"I don't know Tea. Look he knows that the DID being real would be hard for you to swallow now, maybe he thought you would believe the truth if you found it out yourself rather than hearing it from him."
"I guess, but there's more...the key...I still don't know what it's for."
"Tea my hunch is he wants you to find him....and I also believe he isn't too far away...from what you told me he seems pretty aware of what's going on here. I just pray he's getting help."
"Me too,Viki, me too."
That night...Tea's suite at the Palace
Tea is finishing her unpacking when she hears a knock on the door. Tea answers it and finds Roseanne standing there.
"Hey, come on in."
Roseanne walks in wordlessly, opens her bag and hands a package to Tea. Tea looks questioningly at her.
"Look, I think you should steer clear of that psycho, but its obvious you don't want to. So here, it arrived this morning." With that, Roseanne walks out, leaving a stunned Tea.
Tea sits and looks at the package.
"Okay, Todd. What are you up to now?"
Todd's room
All day long, Todd had been hearing her voice. She had only said a few words, but it was enough.
"The hardest thing I ever had to do was leave you and Shorty," he says as he stares out his window, "but I couldn't let you be hurt..."
He wonders if she has gotten his latest clue. As he stands there thinking of her, he recalls something he said to Moose a long time ago....
"We need Delgado, she's like medicine."
To be continued..........