Daily Updates

From: rika1@mindspring.com (Rika)
Subject: PC: Update, Thursday, 8/13/98
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 19:08:32 GMT
X-Server-Date: 18 Aug 1998 19:09:15 GMT

                           PORT CHARLES UPDATE
                         Thursday, August 13, 1998

THE SINKABLE ELLEN BURGESS AND THE UNSINKABLE LUCY COE
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Ellen is still in the well, and hypothermia is starting to take a
serious toll.  Lucy has tied together the sheets from the cabin; she
lowers them into the well, but it won't reach Ellen.  The water has
risen to Ellen's shoulders, and either because of the additional
weight of her clothes, or because she doesn't float, this is a bad
thing.  Ellen begs Lucy not to let her die.

At the hospital, Kevin is standing at the nurses' station looking
through a notebook.  Matt approaches him and asks if he's heard from
Lucy.  Kevin hasn't.  Matt wonders if there is anyone else Lucy might
contact; he's worried about Ellen and Lucy being stranded up at
Pleasure Point, given all the flooding going on.  Kevin is surprised
to hear that Lucy is up there.  Matt explains why Lucy went there -
she thought Kevin and Eve were going up, so she rigged the door with
the bucket of fish guts, and Ellen got doused instead.  Kevin buries
his face in his hands, remarking, "She'll never change."  Kevin
apologizes to Matt for what Lucy did; Matt feels more sympathy for
Lucy, tangling with Ellen this way, because Ellen doesn't play games.

Matt explains that Ellen's cell phone doesn't seem to be working.  He
would like to try to call Lucy's cell phone to make sure they're okay.
Kevin pulls out his phone and dials Lucy's number; he gets a recording
indicating that Lucy's phone is out of service.  He's surprised -
"Lucy's phone is grafted to her head; it would never be out of
service."  (Well, unless a bear tried to eat it).  Matt thinks it's a
bad sign that both of their cell phones are dead.

Back by the well, Lucy has found something to lengthen the string of
sheets.  Ellen is afraid she'll lose consciousness.  Lucy sends it
down; now it's long enough.  Lucy asks her to tie it around her waist.
Ellen notices that Lucy has attached her expensive scarf to the sheets
to make it long enough.  She remarks, "Someone once told me you care
more about clothes than people.  Remind me to pop them once we're out
of here."  Lucy starts to heave on the "rope" of sheets.

Kevin thinks it's strange for Lucy to be out of touch.  The guys agree
that it's possible that the transmitter for the cell phones may have
been knocked out by the storm.  But Kevin is still worried; Lucy may
have gotten into something she wasn't counting on.  But the good news
is that Lucy doesn't give up when she's in trouble.  He pulls out his
phone to call the state police.

Meanwhile, Lucy has lifted Ellen up a foot or so, but she isn't strong
enough to get her all the way out alone.  Ellen can't brace herself on
anything because the walls of the well are too muddy.  They try to
think of a solution.  Lucy remembers that to get water out of a well
via a bucket, you need a "hanging thingie."  Ellen recalls her
grandfather's well, which did indeed have a "hangy thingie" (it's fun
to hear Ellen say that phrase).  She tells Lucy to look for a crank.
Lucy looks behind her and finds a tall wood structure with a crank
attached buried in the brush.

Lucy can't hold Ellen's weight and tie the end of the sheets to the
crank, so she's going to have to let Ellen back down into the water.
She asks if Ellen is ready - she doesn't want her to be hurt any more.
Ellen tells her to go ahead.  Lucy starts lowering her.  She needs a
bit more slack and has to lower Ellen a bit more.  Ellen insists that
the water is too cold and too high, but Lucy fiercely orders Ellen to
hang on.  She attaches the sheets (which are surprisingly long now -
Lucy's wrap must have been about twenty feet long.....) to a short
rope on the crank.  At first she can't get it to move - it is rusted.
Ellen suggests that she hit it with a large stick or a pipe.  Lucy
finds a piece of fallen tree branch and whacks the crank, freeing it.
She starts to turn it, lifting Ellen out of the well.

When Ellen is most of the way out, Lucy grabs Ellen and drags her out
the last short distance.  They fall on the ground in a heap.  Lucy
wraps Ellen in a sheet, begging her not to pass out.  Ellen thanks
Lucy; Lucy tells her it's nothing - "What, a ripped dress, a $600
little wrap thingy - all in a day's work!"  Ellen thinks Lucy looks
terrible; Lucy answers, "So do you - wait till we see each other in
the light."  Ellen figures she owes Lucy a manicure.  Lucy thinks it
ought to be a whole day at the spa; they'll both go.  Ellen thinks
that sounds good, except for one thing - no mud baths.  Lucy pulls
Ellen to her feet and helps her back to the cabin.

Kevin gets off the phone with the police.  The rain has stopped.
There was flooding, but the cabins seem okay.  Matt doesn't like being
unable to reach the women; he wants to drive up and see if they're
okay.  He invites Kevin along.  Kevin doesn't see how they'd get
there, since the main road is washed out.  Matt figures there's some
other way to get up there, and he wants to make sure that both Ellen
*and* Lucy are okay.  Kevin thinks for a moment and then, not very
happy about it but decisive nonetheless, tells Matt he's going too.

Back at the cabin, Lucy has a fire going and has wrapped Ellen in a
sleeping bag.  Ellen is starting to lose consciousness; Lucy tries to
keep her awake and gives her hot tea to drink.  Lucy tells her to
think about the spa - steam rooms, hot tubs, etc.  She thinks she
needs to go get help.  Ellen tells her it's too dangerous, but Lucy
insists.  Ellen's job is to stay awake; Lucy's is to "bring the
cavalry."  Lucy grabs the bag of marshmallows, begs Ellen to stay
awake, and promises to be back before Ellen can say "hot toddy."

WHOSE VOICE BOX IS IT?
----------------------
At the hospital, Frank approaches Lark.  He shows her the receipt for
the voice activator box.  Lark claims to know nothing about it; Frank
tells her he found it in her locker.  Lark asks what Frank was doing
going through her locker; he explains that Julie asked him to do it.
Lark is angry - Julie has turned Frank against her.  Frank denies that
- he just wants to know why the receipt was in her locker.  Lark
suggests that Julie set Lark up.  Besides, does Frank really believe
that Lark murdered all those people?  Considering the evidence he
found, Frank isn't so sure.  He wants the truth, not "sarcastic
put-downs."  (Then you've come to the wrong place, bucko).  He asks
where she was when the killer called Kevin, and where she was when
Jake was killed.

Instead of answering, Lark reminds him of the day Dr. May died - he
was so concerned about her that he rushed her away so she wouldn't see
the body.  Where did all that concern go?  She thought, when Frank
agreed to adopt her, that she could find someone she could trust.  She
could be asking *him* where he was when the murders happened, but
she's not because she trusts him.  Even when he was hooked on DL56,
she trusted him (well, now, she might be forgetting that night he
trashed the house and had her cowering on the floor, fearing for her
life).  She is hurt that he can't trust her the same way.  Frank lets
slip that he has told Garcia about the receipt; Lark can't believe
that he didn't approach her about it privately first.  After all, she
kept his secret when he was taking DL56.  Frank reminds her that Julie
was arrested because the voice activator box was found.  He needs her
to go to the police with him to clear things up.  Lark asks what will
happen if she refuses to go; Frank points out that if she's innocent,
she has nothing to fear (yeah, tell that to Julie).

Speaking of Julie, she's at police HQ in the interrogation room.  She
tells Garcia she won't say anything without her attorney present.  He
is looking over Dr. May's autopsy report.  Dr. May ingested the
cyanide between 2:00 and 4:00 pm; during that time, she had one
appointment - with Julie.  Julie refuses to comment.  Garcia tries the
feigned-sympathy approach, but Julie isn't taken in by it.  She's
impressed that he can do "good cop/bad cop" all by himself.  Garcia
encourages Julie to confess - she might get just a life sentence, not
the death penalty, if she did.  Julie denies being the murderer.

Down at the PCPD, Lark is denying buying the voice activator, and
suggesting the Julie is trying to frame her.  Frank thinks someone is
trying to frame both Lark *and* Julie.  Garcia is upset that the
evidence is tainted because Frank's fingerprints will be all over the
receipt.  He agrees to call the store and check it out, and he warns
Lark that he wants to know how the receipt wound up in her locker, but
he's still unconvinced that he arrested the wrong person.  Lark
angrily stomps off, insisting that Julie is guilty.

Frank goes into the interrogation room to see Julie.  She is having a
hard time dealing with being in jail.  (Sorry, sweetie, it's a
required element of every soap character's life.  Deal with it.)  He
tells her he has found some evidence that might clear her.

Later, the owner of the electronics store is at the PCPD.  They show
him a photo of Lark; he doesn't recognize her.  Then they show him a
photo of Julie; he does recognize her, but it turns out to be from
newspaper photos dealing with her arrest.  Frank asks if he remembers
who bought the voice activator.  He does - a bag lady came in and
bought it.  He thought it was strange - what would a bag lady want
with a voice activator?  He describes her - "medium height, not too
big, her face was dirty, her hair was a mess...... a tattered red
shawl."  The woman gave the name "Lark Madison" when she bought it.

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by Rika, Thursday updater