The Murder of Edward Quartermaine
Chapter 8: A Tangled Web

2003
If it wasn’t for the fact that he had been locked into this
small cell for almost seven hours now, Sonny Corinthos would
consider his current predicament to be something conjured up by
a night drinking too many Tequila shooters. Only a dark and
twisted mind could invent this kind of scenario. Or a sane mind
strung out on alcohol or drugs might be capable of it.

It defied any rational thought or logic.

Robin Scorpio had thrown him in jail for the attempted
murder of Emily Quartermaine. Not to mention the two innocent
bystanders who had been killed at the Outback.

The Robin Scorpio he remembered would not have done
this.

This was obviously not the Robin he remembered.

Three years. It had been three years since he had turned
his back on her. He ran a hand through his dark hair. He had been
so angry at her for her betrayal of Jason. He had turned that anger
on the one person he had sworn to always protect. The one
person who had never judged him. He had acted as judge, jury,
and executioner that day.

He always figured that she would come back to Port
Charles. He pictured her returning and begging his forgiveness.
He would be generous and take her back under his wing,
especially since the news that Jason had married Carly six months
after she left Port Charles would be devastating to her. He would
keep his promise to both Stone and Brenda to watch out for
Robin.

But she hadn’t returned. And as the months dragged into
years guilt had turned into resentment and stubborn pride.

Now she was back. And she wanted something all right.
But it wasn’t his forgiveness. It was his head on a platter.

It was ironic really. All the times Taggert had hauled him
in here for something he did do and he had been able to get out of
it thanks to high priced lawyer. Now he was in jail for something
he didn’t do and the best lawyer in the country couldn’t do a
thing about it.

He pounded his pillow in frustration. God he wanted out
of here. Emily had to be scared to death. Someone had tried to
kill her tonight. He couldn’t trust the WSB to keep Emily safe.
For the last few months, Emily Quartermaine had been his
concern. His main concern. If she needed safe keeping, he would
provide it. Not some G-man wannabe, even if he was the son of a
close friend.

He could still remember the day he had started to see
Emily as something other than the kid sister of his former partner.

It had been difficult, but he had cut all ties with the mob
about a year earlier. He and Jason had never been able to connect
like they had before the whole thing with Robin went down.
Sonny had never been able to trust Carly, even after Jason had
gone through a marriage ceremony in the hopes of giving them a
stronger case to keep custody of Michael. Jason had drifted
deeper into the organization and Sonny had started to realize that
there had to be more to life than what he had. Then there had
been the whole Hannah fiasco which had been the catalyst for
Sonny’s departure from the mob. Once you stopped trusting the
people you worked with, staying in the mob could prove to be a
fatal mistake that Sonny didn’t intend to make.

So building on his legitimate businesses, Sonny had
decided to open an Italian restaurant near GH and, since EL
owned a majority share of the hospital, had gone to ELQ to
propose a joint venture.

He had been blown away when he had realized that it was
Emily Quartermaine bargaining across the desk from him.

His emotions had run the gamete from shock, to
puzzlement, to admiration, to intrigue, and to desire. She was as
tough in her negotiations as Edward had ever been. Her
knowledge of the market and the potential pitfalls and profits had
exceeded his own. Her confidence, grace, and air of authority had
all belied her youth. And she had also been incredibly beautiful.

It started with an innovation to celebrate the deal they had
hammered out over dinner. The evening had ended sometime past
midnight with a kiss that had scorched them both.

That had been four months ago. Since then they had been
dating, seeing each other at least twice a week. They weren’t
lovers yet, but Sonny had hopes that would soon change. With
Emily he had to be careful, it hadn’t taken him a while to realize
that, although it was carefully buried, that insecure teenager was
still there. He didn’t want to rush her. Plus, he had to admit that
the age difference bothered him sometimes. But God help him
when she didn’t act like the normal nineteen year old how was he
supposed to be able to see her as such.

A loud metal clanging breaks into his thought as the cell
door is swung open.


Interrogation Room 2

Robin sits calmly, ignoring Taggert’s pacing. She takes
another glance over the pile of preliminary lab reports. There
was nothing in the forensic report to connect Corinthos physically
to the crime scene, but the WSB agents have turned up some
evidence, not much individually but string it together and she
could make it a case.

“Taggert if you are going to keep pacing you’ll have to go
watch behind the mirrored glass with all the other boys in blue.”
Robin indicates the mirrored wall.

“And miss the chance to watch Corinthos squirm? I’m
calming down,” Taggert sat down in a chair and put his feet up
on the table. “See how calm I am? All I need is a glass of warm
milk to complete the picture.”

“No need to go overboard,” Robin said dryly.

The door opened and Sonny entered, accompanied by a
uniformed officer and in handcuffs. Robin frowned and motioned
for the guard to take off the handcuffs.

“I take it this isn’t a social call,” Sonny quipped as he sat
down. “Here I thought you just wanted to kick back and discuss
old times.”

Robin looked at him. “I don’t have the time or the
inclination to play games with you Sonny. If you don’t want to
cooperate, we can do this later. Maybe 12 hours in isolation will
make you see how serious the WSB takes acts of domestic
terrorism that result in innocent people getting killed. A woman
was shot to death in front of her family tonight. In front of her
small children. I don’t consider that something to joke about.”

“So what makes you think I had anything to do with this?
Come on Robin, you know me better than this. This isn’t my
style.”

“Correction- I knew you. Or I thought I did,” Robin’s
eyes darken momentarily before she shakes her head. “I have no
clue what is or isn’t your style. What I do know is that only two
people knew where Emily was going to be tonight. You are one
of those two.”

“You think I would do something to hurt someone I care
about?”

“I know you would.” Robin says evenly. “If it meant
getting what you wanted I don’t think you would hesitate.”

“And how would hurting Emily get me what I want?”

“There is no shortage of bad blood between you and
ELQ, despite your recent business dealings with the company.
Working to sabotage the company’s efforts in South America
could be the perfect way for you to seek revenge on the old man.
Not to mention create a tidy profit for yourself through the
continued destabilization of the area politically. We know that
your organization continues to sell weapons and supplies to both
sides of that bloody conflict.”

“It’s not my organization,” Sonny clips the words out.
“And why would I have been at the Outback if I had ordered
someone to shoot the place up.”

“A cover,” suggested Taggert coolly. “Maybe the perfect
cover. The devastated grief stricken boyfriend. The last person
anyone would have suspected.” Taggert turned to Robin. “How
long has Edward been receiving those threats against him and his
granddaughter?”

“A few months.”

He turns to Sonny. “And how long have you been dating
Miss. Quartermaine? Oh, that’s right a few months.” He
emphasizes each word carefully. “What better way to gain access
to someone’s schedule or routine than to date them? Does Miss.
Quartermaine discuss her work with you? Is that why you
decided to act against her tonight? Because you were afraid that
ELQ will get that plant in Bolivia built?”

Sonny pushed his chair back and stood up angrily. “I keep
telling you that I have no interest in the organization, the only
thing I know about what’s going on in Bolivia is what I read in
the newspaper, and that I had nothing to do with what went
down.”

“Sit down” Robin said curtly. “Now. I told you I’m not
playing games and I’m not putting up with your lies. Not when I
have cold hard evidence that contradicts you sitting in my hand.
Not when the peace of a nation and perhaps the future of the
world is at stake. If allowed to continue, the conflict in Bolivia
could spark a flame in a region of the world that is already a
tinderbox of the civil unrest. What today is a bloody civil war
that is fairly self-contained in one country tomorrow could be a
war that engulfs an entire region of South America and spreads
from there. “

“So you Corinthos will sit down and shut up and listen to
what I have to say. No more tantrums. No more “I don’t know
anything” speeches. Just my questions and your answers. Nod
your head in agreement Corinthos because its the best offer you
are going to get. Because if you haven’t got the message yet, you
are in a lot of trouble.” Sonny nods and sits in the chair again,
subdued and quiet.

“When did you find out that Emily was going to be at the
Outback tonight?

“She called me from work and we made arrangements for
dinner. It was some time this afternoon. I wasn’t paying careful
attention.”

“And what did you do after you made dinner plans?”


“It was working from my home office updating some
investments and going over some marketing plans for the
restaurant and some of my other business concerns.”

“Did anyone see you or call you from the time you hung
up on Emily to the time Emily showed up for your date?”

“No, but I wasn’t expecting anyone either.”

“No bodyguards?”

“I told you I’m out of the organization.”

“Did you make any phone calls?”

“I spent most of my time on the internet or on my
computer.”

“Are you sure?”

Sonny nodded.

“Then we have a problem.” Robin pulled out a pile of
papers from the folder in front of her. “I had your phone records
for the last four months pulled. There is a pattern of almost
weekly calls to Bolivia over the last four months. Three or four
different numbers, but they are all in Bolivia. A country that you
profess to know nothing about.”

Sonny looked stunned, he begins to speak but Robin cuts
him off. “It gets worse. You see, the last one was made earlier
this evening. After Emily told you where she was going to be
tonight.” Robin shrugged, almost casually but there is a cold light
in her eyes as she looks at Sonny. “Who did you call after you
talked to Emily? And was ordering the hit on Emily their idea? Or
yours?”

Complete and total silence reigns in the interrogation
room.


On the other side of the mirrored wall

Frisco grins, a look of triumphant pride in his eyes. She’s
got Corinthos exactly where she wants him, no backing down, no
sentiment, no hint that she’s insecure about anything.

Frisco almost, almost, feels sorry for Corinthos.

He catches Garcia’s eye as the detective approaches.


“She’s got him cornered and is ready to go in for the kill.”
Garcia shakes his head. “It’s still hard for me to imagine
that little Robin is a WSB agent. I practically watched that little
girl grow up. No wonder Mac is blown away.”

“It’s not just Robin’s choice of a career that has Scorpio
blown away,” Frisco murmurs and shrugs at Garcia’s confused
expression. “Forget it. How did the interrogation of Lark
Madison go.”

“So far a zero. She was a work late today, lots of
witnesses. We’re pulling ELQ’s phone records but with all the
legitimate calls coming out of that division it will be hard to
separate any made for nonlegitimate reasons.”

Frisco nodded. “I’ll have Junior pull bank records. He
should be checking in another thirty minutes or so. Where is
Mac?”

“Locked in his office and dealing with the mayor and the
media. The shooting will be heavily plastered across all the
newspapers in the morning. Which reminds me, you want the
official statements coming from the WSB or the PCPD.”

“WSB operates behind the scenes. We’ll let your boys
take the heat or the credit from the media. What kind of mood is
Scorpio in?”
“Not good to understate it. You need to see him?”

Frisco pondered. Should he try to talk to Mac? Assure
him that his feelings for Robin were genuine? Only if he wanted a
black eye Frisco figured. Give the guy a chance to calm down. It
was what- four in the morning. Emotions were running high after
the earlier confrontation. It was probably smart to stay clear of
Mac until he calmed down. Ten or twenty years would just about
be long enough.

“Detective Garcia?” A uniformed police officer
interrupted them. “Jason Morgan is here. Apparently he heard
about the shooting and is demanding to know what happened to
his sister and why we are holding Sonny.”

“Lovely.” Garcia scowled. “I suppose I should ..”

“Oh no,” Frisco grinned. “Please. Allow me to handle
this.”

“No problem.” Garcia said evenly. “Just don’t due
anything Morgan can sue over.”

“Don’t have to worry about,” Frisco smiled. “I won’t
leave any visible scars. Or at least not too many.”



“Lucky.” Emily’s voice, stressed and shaky, penetrated
Lucky’s dreamless sleep. Almost before he opened his eyes, he
reached for the automatic pistol he kept with him at
all times.

It wasn’t there.

“You looking for this Cowboy?” Came the mocking voice
as a light was turned on in the motel room.

“Dad?” Lucky voice was short and emotionless. “What
are you doing here?”

“Maybe you should ask him how he got past your little
alarm system?” Emily inquires sarcastically. “Hi Mr. Spencer.”

“Nice to see you again angel. You still giving them hell at
ELQ.”

“When I’m not being kidnapped by your son.”

“Still have a way with the ladies. hey Cowboy?”

“Shut up both of you.” Lucky glares at his father. “What
are you doing here? Did Sonny send you to finish what you
started earlier?”

“Lucky!” Emily’s voice is shocked. “You don’t think
your father was part of what happened earlier...he couldn’t
have...he wouldn’t....” Emily’s voice trails off and a look of
wariness enters her eyes as she realizes that maybe he could.
What did she really know about Luke these last few years?

“Finally connected the dots did you?” Lucky eyes the gun
his father is holding. His back up pistol is on the floor, how fast
could he grab it and why was Luke here.

Luke is appalled. “My god Cowboy do you really
think....”

“Anything is possible. That’s what they drill into you at
the WSB. Anything. And I’ve seen enough to know that they are
right. You are so deep into Morgan’s organization that you
would do just about anything Morgan says. Morgan has a vested
interest in
getting ELQ to back out of Bolivia. He sends his lackey to finish
what he started earlier.”

“Jason wouldn’t.....” Emily’s voice trails off again. She
hadn’t spoken to Jason since that day at the mansion when she
had overheard Carly and Jason plotting to get AJ drunk. Jason
had no trouble exploiting AJ’s weaknesses to get at Michael.
Since that failed, would Jason want revenge against Edward and
AJ. Yes. Would he use Emily to get that revenge? Emily closed
her eyes. God she hoped not. But it was no secret that she and
Edward were closer than ever. Losing her would destroy her
grandfather. Who can I trust?

“Me.” Lucky’s answer startled Emily, she hadn’t been
aware that she had spoken the question out loud. “I will keep you
safe.”

“Now that’s ridiculous statement to make with a gun
aimed in your direction. Especially if I’ve become the cold
blooded killer you seem to think I am.”

“You won’t shoot me,” Lucky looks at his father. “If you
were going to shoot either one of us you would have done it by
now. So tell us why you are here and cut the dramatics.”

“My son the psychic.” Luke drawled. “You seem to have
all the answers. Why don’t you tell me?”

“I gave up trying to figure you out years ago. Any man
who would chose the mob over their family..”

“Shut up. You have no idea what I went through when we
thought you were dead.”

“Yeah I keep hearing how my “death” devastated
everybody.” He stole a look at Emily. “It wasn’t a walk in the
park for me either. Then when I do make it home its to find that
my father has entered the organization we spent the first ten years
of my life running from. You had become Frank Smith. Mom was
married to Stefan. Lulu was living on Spoon Island and on her
way to becoming a Cassadine.”

“I put a stop to that.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have. Maybe Lu would be
happier a Cassadine than a Spencer. Spencers don’t seem able to
live happily ever after.”

“Lucky....”

Lucky shakes his head. “No. I’m not doing this. Not with
you. Not now. You don’t get a second chance. I could
understand you walking out on mom. I could even understand the
affair with Tammy. But I will never accept the way you turned
your back on Lulu when she needed you. Disappearing for
months at a time like that.”

“I was tracking down the men responsible for the fire that
I thought had killed you. I wanted revenge. Revenge for what
they had done to you. Revenge for what they had taken from
me.”

Lucky shakes his head sadly. “For me? You did it for me?
You abandoned my mother and my sister for me? For some
outdated notion of revenge? If it had been Moreno who was
responsible for my “death”, would taking him down have brought
me back to life? Given Lu back her brother? If you wanted to
honor my memory you should have been the kind of father I
idolized to the little sister I adored. Don’t blame me for your
mistakes and I won’t blame you for mine.”

“You don’t understand what it is like to hate someone so
much that all you can think of is getting even.”

Lucky laughed, a short and humorless laugh. “You have
to be kidding. Does the name Nikolas Cassadine ring a bell? You
don’t think I don’t fantasize about getting even with him for
stealing Liz. I know a dozen ways to get on that island without
anyone knowing that I was ever there. I know even more ways to
kill a man without letting them make a sound. I’ve learned a lot
working for the WSB. I’ve also grown up enough to realize that
sometimes you can’t seek revenge. Sometimes for the sake of the
people you love you have to let things go and move on.”

There is silence and Emily finds to her shock that silent
tears are running down her cheek. She is almost afraid to breath,
to interrupt this confrontation between father and son.

“I’m not here to hurt you.” Luke says heavily after a
moment. “As far as I know Jason is not behind whatever is going
on. That doesn’t say much because Jason has become awfully
close mouthed this last year.”

“Then why are you here? How did you know we were
going to be here?”

Luke shrugs. “Actually I didn’t. I was up here on personal
business when I spotted you. I heard from my own sources in
Port Charles that you and Robin and Frisco were handling the
threats against ELQ.”

“You know? About my being WSB?”

Luke half smiled. “I still have my ways. And my sources.
You’re still my kid, even if you do hate my guts. They say you are
fast becoming one of the WSB’s top agents. Still have trouble
wrapping my mind around the idea that Robin is WSB too, but I
guess with parents like Robert and Anna she was destined for that
line of work.”

Luke handed the gun back to Lucky. “You ought to keep
a better hold on this.”

“Thanks,” Lucky said dryly.

Luke reached into his coat pocket, a movement that
brings Lucky’s gun up defensively. “Nice level of trust.” Lucky
doesn’t lower the gun. “I guess I deserve that. I just wanted you
to have this. I was going to deliver it to Frisco and Robin myself,
but you can have that honor. This should help them do what they
need to do to keep this lovely lady safe.” Luke handed Lucky a
manila envelope and smiled at Emily, who smiled shakily back.

Luke turns to leave but Lucky stops them. “Why are you
doing this? Helping us? You have to know that if we bring
Morgan down we’ll bring his whole organization crashing down
also.”

Luke turned. “I owe Frisco and Robin a huge debt. I’ll
probably never be able to repay them. Consider this a down
payment.”

“What did Frisco and Robin do for you?”

Luke smiled, smile that reminded Lucky of the father he
had once known. “They rescued you and brought you home.”

Lucky wants to say something, but the moment passes
and Luke quietly leaves the motel room.

Lucky stands motionless in the center of the room, his
eyes fixed on the door.

“Lucky?” Emily’s voice is soft and hesitant. When he
makes no response, she quietly moves to embrace him, forgetting
for a moment all that has happened between the them and
remembering instead the friend who had seen her through her
mother’s death all those years ago.

Lucky is silent and stoic as he holds Emily in an embrace.

And Emily tries not to think of the fact that even though
the world has suddenly become this dangerous place she feels
somehow safe and secure at this moment.