Episode: 10,241
Directed by: Phil Sogard
Tape Date: 1/12/06

Friends and family gather at the courthouse (better picture will be posted tomorrow) for Billie's arraignment while Patrick and Frankie win the Early Edition Award for sharing the Salem Brain today.

THE SALEM COURTHOUSE is HUGE ..as our Salemites gather to lend their support to Bo & Hope/Billie at the arraignment. Sami, Carrie and Lucas arrive together. Sami hopes they throw away the key on Billie and Carrie suggests a little more discretion be used being Lucas is Billie’s brother. Sami doesn’t cave, but says if the same thing were to happen to Will she knows that’s the way she’d feel. Carrie goes to offer Bo and Hope her sympathies as Lucas and Sami discuss the takeover and Carrie and Austin’s break up. He warns her that she has a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting Austin back as Austin’s in love with Carrie and won’t be looking for anyone else. He’ll never love her (Sami) as much as he loves Carrie. Carrie suggests Sami offer her condolences to Bo and Hope, but Sami tells her that too much has happened while Carrie was gone and they wouldn’t want anything from her. Carrie tells Sami that she and Austin are two different people now and asks if it’s really over with her and Lucas. Carrie knows her sister well and despite Sami saying she is, Carrie can tell by Sami’s facial reaction (tensing her lips) that she’s not. Sami admits still wanting Lucas, but knows he left her at the altar and doesn’t want anything to do with her…just like Carrie would never want Austin back either. Carrie admits Austin has been a disappointment and after what she and her employees lost, she can’t look at him in the same way again. Sami suggests Carrie move on with her life. Sami mentions how supportive Austin has been and asks Carrie if she’d be okay if a future with Austin was still a possibility for her.

CAROLINE JOINS CHELSEA in the courtroom. Caroline tells Chelsea that Max talked to her, which puts Chelsea on guard. We find he only told her how much Chelsea loved Zack. Caroline clues Chelsea in that Billie’s past might be used against her and she might go to prison. Chelsea knew Billie’s past wasn’t perfect, but didn’t know there was anything that could be held against her. Caroline puts the fear in her Billie might even receive the maximum sentence, but doesn’t want her to worry about it. Chelsea tells Caroline she’s upset because she’s worried about her mom and Caroline hugs her granddaughter and goes to comfort Bo and Hope.

HOPE TELLS BO that she hopes Chelsea learns from this and will watch her speed when she drives again. Carrie arrives and hugs Bo and asks what she can do for them. They both are happy to see her back in Salem. Hope just wants to see Billie go to jail for killing their son. She thanks Carrie for being there and lets her know they’re there for her too. Carrie regrets not getting to know her little cousin. Later Bo comforts Hope and suggests getting them some coffee before the arraignment (just what they need to keep those nerves calm..how about some Salem Tea instead?) Hope’s cell phone goes off with Zack’s voice programmed into it to pick him up from school. Bo takes it, silences it and hugs her. Caroline joins them and they tell him about hearing Zack’s voice and Hope didn’t even know he had recorded it. Hope excuses herself and Bo pulls his ma into a private room and tells her the truth about Chelsea driving and his giving his permission for her to drive. He takes the blame for Zack’s death.

KATE AND AUSTIN talk with Billie in the visitors room at the courthouse. She feels confident her confession will take care of it, but Frankie walks in saying that’s not necessarily true. Billie stands firm she doesn’t want a lawyer and insists on doing things her way. Kate firmly tells her daughter she won’t say anything, but insists that Frankie represent her. She leaves and Frankie puts his crutches down wanting to talk before they go in to the arraignment. Later Austin asks Billie to listen to Frankie and leaves. Frankie asks why she’s lying and she tells him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Frankie corrects her saying HE did his homework and with one phone call learned she was on a Titan jet arriving at Salem International Airport when Zack was hit…(AHA..I KNEW IT…check back to January 17th EE and I predicted that!!) He knows the car picked her up and dropped her off at the Lockharts. He asks what’s going on. He prepares to go tell the judge what he knows, but she begs him not to and accidentally blurts out that no one can find out that Chelsea was driving the car…oops. She remembers (flashback time) about the discussion with Chelsea and Bo at the hospital when she learns that Chelsea was driving and that Max knows what happened. She tells Frankie she’s doing this for both Chelsea AND Bo. He’s surprised to learn Bo knows and letting her do this, but she tells him Bo has begged her not to. She tells Frankie how she knows what would happen if the truth came out.

KATE AND LUCAS chat outside and he tells her that he’s there for both Billie AND his cousin Hope. He agrees it doesn’t make sense that Billie would drive away from the scene. She tells him that Austin is there and in with Billie now. Lucas fills her in about Austin buying up Carrie’s company. Kate’s surprised and he says Nicole was trigger happy and didn’t do her homework. Lucas tells Kate how devastated Carrie is about this. He reports that Carrie now only thinks Austin is a cold blooded heartless bastard. Kate wants to go talk with Carrie, but Lucas tells her to stay the hell out of it. . She blurts out of course she wants to protect Billie just like she protected Philip. He asks what she means and she changes the subject to Carrie. She’s on to Lucas having some involvement in Austin and Carrie’s dilemma. She asks if he’s going to be conveniently nearby to pick up the pieces of Carrie’s broken heart, but before Lucas can answer, Austin walks up and says…”over my dead body”..a popular Salem saying. The brothers are both sure they’ll get Carrie and Lucas warns Austin that Titan will take over his company just like he took over Carrie’s and he will get Carrie. After Lucas goes back inside, Austin warns Kate that if he finds out that Lucas had anything to do with keeping Carrie and him apart, he’s a dead man..even if he is his brother. (maybe Austin Reed, Inc. should invest in a mortuary the way he keeps promising dead people! and I’m not sure how Kate finds time for Basic Black with all the problems her kids and grandkids have-for now she has another problem to control.

CHELSEA CALLS ABBY and worries she’s going to jail (ya think?). Caroline tells Bo that this has gone to far and the truth needs to come out. Bo agrees that Hope needs to know the truth and Hope walks in hearing that, asking what he means.

AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE, PATRICK remembers (cue the replay tape) Billie asking him to let her handle things her own way at the cop shop and tells himself he can’t let that happen. He’s doing his own investigation (all those CSI shows do come in handy, ha!) with who was really driving the car. He spots a security camera near the accident scene (in a residential neighborhood..big brother IS watching, LOL) Later he goes into a convenience store and the male clerk is obviously smitten with Patrick. Patrick asks about seeing the tape from the camera (they keep the tape for that long?) as the clerk asks if he’s a cop or private dick, citing his favorite characters like Mike Hammer, Marlowe, etc.. that were..with Shaft being his favorite, LOL. He asks “handsome” what’s in it for him if he lets him see the tapes (being Salem’s finest lurked around the hospital until Billie confessed, I guess they didn’t need to investigate any further). Patrick whips out his wallet (just how is he filling it with green stuff nowadays?) and offers to make it worth the clerks while, but the clerk only wants Patrick’s number and a martini with him at Alice’s later. Patrick agrees, writes down his number and the clerk informs him he’s off in a couple hours. He goes off to get the tape for Patrick. He pops the tape into the vcr and flirts some more with him, but has to leave to help penny man, a customer who always brings pennies and who had dropped them on the floor. He hands the remote to Patrick to look on his own. At the end of the show Patrick has a close up picture of Chelsea behind the wheel and the clerk joins him, recognizing her saying she comes in all the time to buy sodas and Teen People magazine. She’s got an attitude, but not a criminal type. The door bell beckons another customer and disappointed, he dashes off. Patrick looks at the freeze frame of Chelsea driving (with date of 1/1/06 and time of 1:03 A.M. on the tape as well) and says…”so that’s why Billie’s doing it. To protect Chelsea.” with both his face and Billie’s on the screen…As the previews roll…

ALEX TO LOIS: “We are both going to get exactly what we want.”
Lois takes a deep breath.
JOHN walks in and asks Alex just “what the hell are you doing in here”?

MARLENA TO BELLE: “that’s the person with whom I belong..not your dad.”

MIMI AND BONNIE are arguing and BONNIE says: “this is not about fortune telling, it’s about Claire .”MIMI: “Claire?”
BONNIE: “She’s Shawn’s daughter, Mimi.”
Cue shocked expression on Mimi’s face.

PATRICK TO BILLIE in the courtroom: “I know what’s going on Billie.”
HOPE walks in and says “Damn it, is someone going to tell me what’s going on here?”

PS: If anyone recognizes the building used for the courthouse, please e-mail me. Thanks.

And the credits roll….
Linda