Winthrop Prep -- Episode #6 -- Mind Games

While all hell broke loose at the Dalton House, Rebecca Turner made her way down to the boathouse. There, she found Noel, who stood before the fire pit as if in a daze, staring at the flames and the ashes scorched within.

Rebecca: There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

Noel: Is Carr looking for me yet?

Rebecca: Carr just made an arrest. Franklin. And, did you know Jasper and Bianca are hooking up?

Noel: Yes. I saw them together.

Rebecca: What? When?

Noel: Saturday night. I could hear them from the tunnels.

Rebecca’s heart sank as she searched Noel’s eyes for some hint of denial. There was nothing, just cold honesty glittering against the blacks of his eyes.

Rebecca: You knew about the tunnels?

Noel: I found them last year. I’d been doing a project on the Winthrop Prep architecture, how it compared to that of the old school, the one that burned down twenty years ago. I checked out the blueprints, compared both and noticed a considerable overlap. So, I started exploring the structure, came across an entrance to the tunnels in the library.

Rebecca: Did you know where Cynthia’s body was?

Noel: Yes. I found it last week.

Rebecca: Why didn’t you tell anyone?

Noel: I wanted the bitch to rot. She caused enough grief in her life, didn’t make sense for her death to cause even more. But, Bianca and Jasper found her.  

Rebecca: What did she do to you?

Noel: I can’t talk about it.

Rebecca: Were you sleeping with her, too?

Noel: No. Wait, too?

Rebecca: Franklin. That’s why Carr arrested him. Apparently she blackmailed him into it.

Noel: Oh. I thought it was just me she was blackmailing.

Rebecca: You weren’t. She was blackmailing Bianca, too. And, me.

Noel: You? What could you have possibly done?

Rebecca wanted to tell him, to clear the air once and for all, but she couldn’t. This was the first time she and Noel had really talked since the breakup, and though she didn’t want to read too much into it, knowing her own secrets and that he did have a thing for Alison, she didn’t want to lose it, not just yet. Instead, she told him she couldn’t talk about it either and drew him to her as dawn broke over the lake and the nearby boathouse.

They say a true best friend is hard to come by – a Bianca, Franklin was finding, was even harder to come by. But, as he sat in that cold, damp interrogation room, in itchy, orange clothes, he was happy to have his.

Bianca: I brought coffee.

Franklin: Thanks. Did you manage to get in touch with my parents?

Bianca: Your parents are in transit to Germany right now, something about a world leaders summit. But, you have legal counsel on the way.

Franklin: You know I love you, right?

Bianca: Yeah?

Franklin: Then, know I say this with love – you look like hell. Have you slept?

Bianca: Not in thirty-six hours.

Franklin: Have you at least eaten?

Bianca: Does coffee count? I can't eat in this place. I'm afraid a convict might abduct me and turn me into a baby machine. I may look like hell, but I’m pretty sure I’m still hot enough for convicts.

Franklin: Never change, Bianca. So, how is Jasper?

Bianca: I’ve called like a dozen times and I still haven’t heard from him, which worries me. What if they took him on to rehab? What if I don’t see him for a year?

Franklin: They wouldn’t do that unless his drug test came back positive.

Bianca: It didn’t. He says he’s clean, I have to believe him. I do believe him.

Franklin: Thank you for coming with me. I know it’s not easy on you, both of us being in bad places right now. Truth be told, I’m glad you’re here. When you’re in here, Carr isn’t harassing me to sign a statement about the affair.

Bianca: He’s been harassing you? You invoked.

Franklin: I know. Part of me just wants to tell him everything and let the chips fall where they may.

Bianca: He wouldn’t even have anything to hold you on if he couldn’t use the affair. Unless…

Franklin: See, I don’t like that face. That’s your, “I have a plan” face and it’s never good when you have a plan.

Bianca: I have a plan.

Franklin: I’m dead.

Bianca: Tell him everything.

Franklin: Huh?

Bianca: When he comes back in here, sign the statement, tell him everything you did with Cynthia and that night.

Franklin: Why?

Bianca: Just trust me. And, whatever you do, do not mention your lawyer.

 

Across town, at Sunset Valley Inpatient Rehab, Jasper Mancini was getting settled in. They gave him freshly-laundered linen pants and a t-shirt to wear, and a computer with no internet access. For journaling, Dr. Sharp had said. He’d kept a journal last time, to help him with his recovery. It hadn’t helped, as he’d relapsed within weeks of his release. The only thing that had helped was this summer, going cold turkey. He’d never told Sam, but that day in Topeka, when Jasper was so sick he thought he was about to die, had been the worst day of the detox. He’d laid on the grimy floor of that motel bathroom, hugging the toilet and telling himself it was worth it. He was going to get clean, so Cynthia would have nothing to hold over his head and maybe, just maybe, when he got home … Bianca might see something in him other than a womanizing druggie.

He’d been right.

Yet, there he was, looking out on the valley. His father sat behind him in a chair, as disappointed as Jasper was, but for different reasons.

Jasper: You know I don’t belong in here.

Headmaster Mancini: Your test came back positive, Jasper.

Jasper: I’m being set up. Sam is setting me up.

Headmaster Mancini: He’s your best friend. Why would he do that?

Jasper: Because Bianca chose me. Dad, I wouldn’t go back to the drugs, not now, not when I finally have something to live for. Please? I’m begging you, don’t lock me away in here. I can’t go twelve months in this place, twelve months without her.

Headmaster Mancini: I’m sorry. This is necessary. If the girl cares for you as much as you think, she’ll wait.

Jasper: Can I at least call her? I’m sure she’s left a dozen messages.

Headmaster Mancini: Actually, she hasn’t. They gave me your phone with the rest of your things. She hasn’t called even once.

Jasper’s heart sank. Was this true? He decided to chalk it up to how worried she was about Franklin and refused to believe there was anything else wrong. Unless, of course, his father was lying, but Jasper couldn’t conceive of a reason he would do that. Jasper was the liar in their relationship – and that was why he decided to let the argument go for now. Who was he to ask for mercy, to be with the woman he loved when he’d been with Cynthia and made a fool of his father behind his back?

Bianca: Working hard, Detective Carr?

Detective Carr: I told you that you could stay with the caveat you sit down and be quiet.

Bianca: Do you guys really use these things? Because, I always thought that was a cliché. Oh, what’re you working on?

Detective Carr: I’m typing up my report on your friend’s confession.

Detective Carr stood and made his way over to the filing cabinet. At least, that’d been his plan before Bianca cut him off.

Bianca: Confession? What did he confess to?

Detective Carr: The affair. He’s officially gone on the record about it. That justifies the arrest and the District Attorney’s office will be moving ahead with the charges. His arraignment is in an hour.

Bianca: Oh. How’s that work again? Because, I thought if a suspect invokes the right to counsel, you guys are supposed to back off and let him be until said counsel arrives?

Detective Carr: He waived his right to counsel.

Bianca: Oh, hey, indoor voice, dude. Did he say that? Or, did he just cave to your harassment? Because, when I talk to the judge, I’m going to say that, while I was trying to hunt down a lawyer for my dear, frazzled, legal minor B.F.F., you were in there bullying him until he said what you wanted to hear. And, do you know what the judge is going to say? He’s going to say that you broke the rules. He’s going to say that whatever information you gleaned illegally, your district attorney cannot present in Sunset Valley’s case against Franklin. And, without the affair, you have nothing going to motive. Don’t they test you people before they give you a badge and a gun? 

 

While Bianca toyed with her dimwitted adversary, her other adversary found herself standing outside an assisted living apartment on the outskirts of the valley. She knocked once and waited for a soft voice to invite her inside.

Lauren sat on the couch – where she always was when Alison visited – watching television. Or, rather staring blankly at the dead screen. Alison sat down beside her.

Alison: Hey, Mama. How are you doing today? Oh, watching the television again, huh? Is this show good?

Laura: It’s my favorite.

Alison: That’s nice. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten a chance to come visit you, now that I’m going to school here. Did I tell you about my new school? I met a gorgeous boy named Sam who goes there, so I applied for a scholarship. Sam and I are in love now. And, guess who goes there?

Laura: Who?

Alison: Bianca Bishop.

Laura: Awful girl.

Alison: Yes, she is. But, Mama, don’t you see? This is fate. This summer, her boyfriend came into Aunt Greta’s diner, back in Petunia Plains. The fates used him to lead me to her, so I can punish her for you, Mama. And, for Daddy. You should see her. She’s losing everything, just like we lost everything. 

Her boyfriend, her lover, her best friend… I’ve taken it all away. But, I’m not done with her yet. She’s going to know the pain we felt when she killed Daddy. She’s going to watch someone she loves die just like she watched someone we love die. Oh, Mama. Say something, please?

Laura: Who are you again?

Alison’s heart ached. How she wished that her mother were better. Bianca had taken her father and now, she’d taken her mother, too. Laura had a breakdown when news of Pete's death made its way back to her and now she never knew who Alison was, but always knew who Bianca was. If Alison didn’t hate her already, she would hate her for that alone. And, she couldn’t wait until she saw the tears streaming down Bianca’s face as she watched someone she loved slip away.

And, Alison knew just which one she was going to take. 

Bianca was only human, and when she fell asleep on the bench in the police station, no one bothered her. A quick nap was all it was supposed to be, but soon a dream overwhelmed her, a dream she’d had far too often, one that lived just beyond the limits of her conscious memory.

She was there again, that night Pete died. Awake, there was only blackness between the struggle in her bedroom and the struggle out on the landing, when he fell over the railing. Adrenaline, she always assured herself, fuzzy memories of a traumatic night. In therapy at the Reynolds Center, she’d never been able to recover her memories of what occurred between … not until she slept.

That’s when she remembered … she remembered how he threw her against the wall, how she kicked and screamed and clawed at his face and how ….

In the distance, she heard someone ask, “Princess?”

Bianca bolted awake on the bench, the dream evaporating behind her eyes, as elusive as it always was. Groggy eyes surveyed her surroundings, recalled where she was and why – and who the voice belonged to. Then, she sprung up and ran into his arms.

Bianca: Daddy!

Ted: Hello, princess. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner –

Bianca: It’s fine. You’re a little overdressed for an arraignment, though, aren’t you?

Ted: Beth and I were taking in the opera.

Bianca: At this time of day?

Ted: In Venice. Our plane just touched down a while ago. I came as soon as I got your message.

Bianca: Oh, don’t worry. I’ve fixed everything.

Ted: It’s never good when you say that. What did you do?

Bianca: Well, that cop is a complete dick –

Ted: Bianca.

Bianca: What? It’s what they call detectives! Anyway, he kept harassing Franklin, even though Franklin requested a lawyer, so I told Franklin to confess everything about the affair with Cynthia because then they couldn’t use it.

It was a tactic Ted himself had used from time to time, back when he was doing criminal law. That she was so much like him surprised him sometimes, as she was equally her mother’s daughter. And, in moments like these, he regretted her mother’s custody award in their divorce, given everything that occurred since.

Ted: You know, I’ve warned my fellow members of the Sunset Valley University Alumni Board to expect your application next year for their undergrad legal program.

Bianca: I’ll make a good lawyer. People fear me.

Ted: What would you say about coming to school in Bridgeport? They’ve got a really nice prep school there, you could go during the day and come home with me.

Bianca: And, Beth? Because, if Beth is more than a friend, that’s a good thing. Mom’s had like ten husbands since you. You haven’t had any wives. Besides, I like Beth. She has ugly hair and fat knees and won’t be prettier than me in family Christmas cards.

Ted: And, Beth. What do you say?

Bianca: I say thank you, but I belong here. I have a lot going for me here. Friends … well, a friend. And, my boyfriend.

Ted: Sam? I never liked him.

Bianca: Sam and I aren’t together anymore. I’m actually involved with Jasper Mancini now.

Ted: I’ve heard stories about that boy, mostly from the fathers of freshmen.

Bianca: Most of them true. But, Jasper’s … he’s very good to me. I think you’ll like him when you get to know him. Except, he's in rehab right now. That's not helping at all, is it?

Ted: We’ll see. At least he’s got a weird face and greasy hair, so he won’t be prettier than me in family Christmas cards.

Bianca: That’s the spirit! Now, let’s go save my best friend and I’ll spring for lunch. That credit card you gave me this summer still has credit left, right?

Ted: Never change, Bianca.

But, while Bianca had a lot of clever schemes in her arsenal, nothing could prepare her for what happened when Ted and she joined Franklin and Detective Carr inside the interrogation room.

Ted: This should be pretty quick. You questioned my client without counsel present after he invoked.

Detective Carr: That’s his word against mine.

Bianca: And, mine. I’ll say under oath I heard him invoke to you.

Detective Carr: That’s perjury.

Bianca: Please. Have you seen my record? A perjury charge against me is as significant as a traffic infraction.  

Ted: Fact stands, the judge won’t allow you to use anything he said to you while awaiting his counsel. Without that, you have nothing to hold him on.

Detective Carr: You’re right. I can’t use his confession about the affair, but I don’t need it. Coroner’s preliminary report just came back on Cynthia. There was a DNA sample left inside the body, semen that, as soon as we get a sample from Franklin, we’re sure will match. And, before you ask, Mr. Bishop, yes, we do have a warrant for that sample. Someone will be up from the Medical Examiner’s office soon to take a cheek swab.

Bianca felt all the air squeeze out of her lungs, as if someone had just kicked her in the gut. No! The DNA sample would prove Franklin was sleeping with her. She could manipulate the detective into screwing up the statement, but she couldn’t manipulate this. Unless … a coldness pooled in her stomach. Unless the DNA sample wasn’t Franklin’s and was Jasper’s.

 

At nightfall, Jasper went to the showers. He removed his clothing and stepped under the scalding hot stream of water, hoping to feel something – anything – except the ache he felt being so far from Bianca. If he closed his eyes, the water became her hands on him, the steam her breath against his ear.

 

Bianca paced the length of the squad room. She dialed Jasper’s number. His phone was still going straight to voice mail.

You’ve reached Jasper. Wait for the beep, you know what to do.

Bianca: When you get your phone, you’re going to find like eight hundred messages from me. I’m sorry. I just have had a really, really crappy day and I needed to hear the sound of your voice. I thought I could fix things for Franklin, but I couldn’t. And, I talked to Rebecca, she said they’re keeping you, that your test came back positive. I don’t know what to do, Jasper and I just needed you … to hear you if I can’t feel your arms around me –

The server cut her off.

When Jasper returned to his room, he was shocked to find Bianca there, waiting for him.

Jasper: Oh my God, Binx! What are you doing here?

Bianca: I had to see you. I’m thinking about you, Jasper. I don’t know if you’ve gotten any of my messages, but no matter what happens, know you’re in my heart, Jasper Mancini, and I’m with you.

Jasper: You’re not really here, are you?

Bianca: No. You’re still in the shower. The mind plays games with us.

Jasper: I miss you, and I’m doing everything I can to get out of here and come home to you.

Bianca: I know. I’m waiting for you. No matter what anybody says, I’m waiting and I believe in you. Your water’s getting cold.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the shower. Tomorrow would be another day, and they would not be apart for long. He didn’t care how or when or why, but he was getting out of here. Fantasies of Bianca in his arms would not sustain him long … and she needed him just as much as he needed her. But, for tonight, he decided, he would return to his room, crawl under the covers and leave a light on, just in case his fantasies of Bianca decided to visit again.