Soap Opera Ch. 03

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 13 - Leads

Wednesday, May 9th. I was sharing deep kisses with Maria Del Fuentes, our tongues swirling together, sometimes open-mouthed, sometimes with our faces mashed tightly together. As my hands fondled Maria's succulent breasts, my wife Laura was face-deep in the Latina beauty's pussy, eating my cum out of Maria's sodden, well-fucked cunt.

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*

"Commander Troy, are you in there?" I heard a voice say. It was Cindy.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked as I got off the bed and went for my clothes.

"We've got something!" Cindy said.

A moment later, I came out of the trailer, alone. Cindy walked with me as we headed to the TCPD tent.

"So..." she asked, unable to hide a forming grin,"... is she worth a Jag?"

I laughed out loud. "To the right man... yes she is." I said. "To the right man..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the TCPD tent, Cindy showed me the tapes she reviewed. "That's gotta be it." she said.

"I agree." I said. "And I will add these things, as well..." I began relating some other, related things...

"Shall we go get him, sir?" asked Joanne Warner.

"No, not yet." I said. "We don't have a provable case yet. Go get... Kevin the producer, and Kayla the intern. Bring them to I-A and I-B at Headquarters. And I need not mention to have our suspect under surveillance at all times..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Thank you for coming in, Kevin." I said as we settled into our chairs in Interrogation-B. I read him his rights from the card, and he acknowledged them with a nod. "Do you want a lawyer?" I asked.

"I don't think I need one, at least not yet." said Kevin. "What do you want?"

"Did you and Ken and Seiko have any arguments over the cast?" I asked.

"I don't know if I'd call them arguments." Kevin said. "We constantly discussed the cast and roles, and how we could improve, what we could weed out and what we could expand."

"Yes, but I'm talking about significant changes." I said. "Such as dropping Victor from the show."

"Oh geez, no way." said Kevin. "Victor and Marlena are the institutions on that show. Take them away, and we don't have a lot left."

"Except young, exciting actors and actresses," I said, "that create steamy love scenes and aren't afraid to go where the Old-School types like Victor would never consider."

"Well, the answer is 'no'." said Kevin. "We were not, and are not, getting rid of Victor, nor Marlena."

"Anyone else?" I asked. "Any other big changes coming? Carolyn's pregnant, guys are literally fighting over her, and over Maria. And maybe polling of your viewers suggested that some of the cast was not as popular as others?"

"Okay, okay." said Kevin. "We were talking about cast changes, maybe some massive ones." said Kevin. "But I don't want to cast aspersions."

"We have two dead bodies on your sets." I replied. "Cast away."

Kevin nodded. "Okay." he said. "The 'Suits', my bosses, said that Victor and Marlena were 'no touch', so I couldn't fire them if I wanted to. I'm not saying I would have fired them if I had the power to do so, but I'd have thought about it. It's hard to cast Victor trudging around right after Maria has just had a sex scene with Danny or Benny."

"So who did you and Ken and Seiko argue over?" I asked, well aware of the presumption underlying the form of my sentence. Kevin fell for it.

"There's been a couple." he said. "One guy left, and is now on another network's soap. Maria really liked him; they had real sex under the covers. Victor was pushing me to get rid of him, and Ken and Seiko wanted to keep him. Victor and I won that one. The other, was Thomas Cromwell."

"I liked Thomas," continued Kevin, "and I liked the role we'd created for him. Victor liked his role, too; they were developing a good story arc with a seemingly adversarial relationship. But Ken and Seiko hated Thomas. Ken really hated his guts, though I'm not sure why. And a lot of the cast and crew thought Thomas was arrogant as hell."

"So they won." I said. "You were writing Thomas out of the show, from what I saw of the scripts."

"Yes." said Kevin. "Slowly but surely. Ken was cutting Thomas's lines, giving him fewer scenes, and Ken stood up to me like he never had before when I said something about it. He was dead set on getting Thomas out, and Seiko told me that Ken was actively seeking another directing job because of Thomas's continued presence. Ken had gone over my head to the 'Suits', as well. So... I let things play out..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Why did you bring me here?" Kayla wailed, looking scared, starting to cry.

We'd brought her to Interrogation-A, and also brought the lawyer Peter Arnsparger to be her legal counsel. Cindy and I sat opposite them, with Corporal Inga Gundottar as the Uniformed presence. A goodly number of Detectives were watching through the one-way glass from the anteroom.

"You can stop the act, Kayla." I said. "You're not auditioning for a part on 'Days of Promise', here. However, you are under suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree." Kayla's eyes widened, and she looked even more frightened.

"Kayla," I said, "did you have sexual relations with Ken Moore?"

Kayla's face turned from fear to pain. "Yes." she finally said.

"Were you dating him?" I asked.

"What do you mean by 'dating'?" asked the lawyer Arnsparger.

"Pretty much that the relationship was not purely sexual, was more than sexual." I said. "For example: Kayla, did Ken offer you marriage?"

"We talked about it." said Kayla. "But he didn't really ask."

"How often did you have sex with Ken?" I asked

"Almost every time I saw him." said Kayla. "I'd take him scripts, and he'd put me on the kitchen counter and put his penis inside me, and he'd come in me."

"Was the sex consentual?" I asked.

"Yes. He wasn't a dirty rapist." said Kayla.

"Kayla," I asked, "were you having a sexual relationship with anyone else? Any cast member?"

I think Kayla realized the game was up at this point. "Yes." she whispered.

"And who was it?" I demanded to know.

"I... I need to talk to my lawyer." Kayla said.

"Sure." I said. "But before I go and let you talk, remember that if you take the Fifth, there is nothing on God's green earth that can save you. If you cooperate, and talk, it is very possible that the Assistant District Attorney will be able to work something out with you." With that, Cindy and I left the room.

"Theo," I said, "go call your brother and ask him to come up here. Quietly, but quickly."

"Sir," said Theo, "he's not supposed to be helping on MCD cases."

"It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." I said. "Go make the call."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Franklin Washington came in with me and Cindy. Kayla was pale, but a lot more composed now.

"What will you offer her?" asked Arnsparger.

"One count of lying to Police, reduced from felony to misdemeanor, and asking for a suspended sentence." said Washington. "No guarantee the Judge will give the suspended sentence, but he normally works with us. In exchange, your full, truthful statement, your testimony in his Court case, and cooperating in any other ways we might require."

They signed the deal. Then Kayla spoke: "Yes, I was dating Thomas Cromwell. He also asked me to marry him. I didn't say 'yes' to either, but I was going to marry Ken. He said he would get Thomas fired from the show, and then we could openly be together."

"You began dating Thomas first?" I asked.

"Yes." said Kayla. "Ken started having sex with me after I began dating Thomas. I wasn't stupid; I knew Ken was fucking me because it was behind Thomas's back. But then Ken and I would talk, during sex and after, and we started liking each other more. And then I started spending more time with Ken. I think Thomas found out, and I don't think he was happy about it."

"It won't do, Kayla." I said, surprising everyone. "You have to tell the truth, here. You're in love with Thomas Cromwell. Ken never offered you marriage, but Thomas was head over heels in love with you. You were having sex with Ken to keep him from getting rid of Thomas, but he was going to do that anyway."

"How do you know that?" asked the lawyer Arnsparger. "What makes you think my client's story is not the accurate one?"

"Because, sir," I said, "Kayla kept the rejected scripts. And she was hiding them in the back of her desk drawer. She didn't even need to keep them; they have them saved on the computers, which were backed up. So why keep them? And then why hide them?"

Kayla's face fell. I said "Kayla, you and Thomas both knew that Ken was reducing Thomas's on-screen time, cutting his hours, so to speak. Kevin wasn't keen on firing Thomas, but Ken and Seiko both really wanted him gone. You were keeping the rejected scripts to show Kevin what Ken was doing to Thomas's screen-time. No one else knew those scripts were in your desk drawer; they didn't know to look there."

"And Thomas was hating it that you were giving Ken sex." I continued. "If you'd refused, Ken would've had you fired on the spot, and Thomas needed you in the office to keep him informed of what was going on. But he was full of jealousy and hatred that Ken was fucking you, and bareback, and coming inside you. Carolyn had already all but cut off Thomas, and Thomas knew he wasn't her baby's father... and now you were risking impregnation with Ken."

"Is that right?" asked Franklin Washington, directing his question to Kayla.

"Yes, pretty much." said Kayla, staring at me with disbelief, and some hatred.

"What do you want to do, Commander?" asked Franklin, knowing Kayla had broken the deal by lying.

"Have her put the truth in writing." I said. "And then you can give her the deal..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My Police iPhone rang. It was FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone. "Don," he said, "So far, the United Kingdom is not helping us out with information about Thomas Cromwell. However, our cyber guy Cardigan has found out some stuff about the Facebook fan groups for one of the 'Days of Promise' actors..."

Part 14 - Issues and Answers

Wednesday, May 9th, 2:00pm. The warrant was secured. Cindy, Joanne, and I went over to the Fairgrounds, driving a golf cart that the Police used to move stuff around the outside of Headquarters. Very cool, we looked.

"Hello, Thomas." I said as we came up to Thomas Cromwell outside the Dining Tent.

"Hello." said Thomas. "Any progress on the case?"

"Yes sir, a lot of progress." I said. "What are you doing today?"

"Nothing." said Cromwell. "We're almost shut down. I don't have any scenes at all. They're talking about pulling up stakes and going home tomorrow."

"Oh, too bad." I said. "Well, if you want to see more of what we do, how about a tour of Headquarters."

"Sure." said Thomas. He got into the golf cart with me, Cindy and Joanne in the backseat, and we were off...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"And this is our Interrogation Room for interviewing witnesses, people who come in to report crimes, and such." I said as I led Thomas into Interrogation-B. "Have a seat." I went around and sat down on the other side. At this point, Cromwell got wary.

"O-kayyyy." he said warily, sitting down as Cindy joined me on the other side of the table from him. "So! Here I am. Going to grill me?"

"In a manner of speaking." I said, noticing Sr. Patrolman Culver slipping in as the Uniformed presence. With now-Lieutenant Rudistan at 2nd Precinct, I was giving Culver this opportunity to watch and learn.

"I do want to ask you a question." I said. "I understand why you murdered Ken Moore. But why Seiko, too?"

The room was silent for a full thirty seconds as Cromwell gaped at me. "You have got to be bloody well kidding me. It's not funny, sir, not funny a'tall."

"No, it's not." I said. "Murder in the first degree never is." I took out a piece of paper. "This is a warrant for your arrest, for the murder in the first degree of Ken Moore, a human being, and the murder of Seiko Wazamazu, a human being. You have the right to remain silent..."

After the recitation of the rights, I had Thomas stand up, and I affixed cuffs to his wrists behind his back. Culver then escorted him through booking. We would meet Cromwell again, in Interrogation-1.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The anteroom was full. Tanya was watching on a closed circuit that fed from the videocameras in I-1. More on that later. Patrolman Culver was again the Uniformed presence.

As Cindy and I came in, my cousin and Police partner exhibited her beautiful singing voice:

"God save our graaa-cious Queen, long live our nooo-ble Queen;, God save the Queen; Send her vic-tor-i-ous, hap-py and glor-i-ous, long to reign o-ver us, Go-dd save the Queen!"

"Touching." Thomas Cromwell said sardonically as Cindy took her place next to me, and opposite Thomas and the lawyer Arnsparger. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Commander Ross is just trying to make you feel at home." I said.

"What is this about, Commander?" asked Arnsparger. "Murder is a serious charge."

"Yes, it is." I said. "And it's about the oldest reason for murder of all, the reason Cain murdered Abel: jealousy."

"What are you talking about?" asked Thomas Cromwell.

"I'm talking about young Kayla." I said. "The girl you're deeply in love with, the girl you want to marry. But there was a problem: Ken Moore. He was making love to Kayla. He was having hours of sex with Kayla, while you were playing the good guy that always loses. You killed Ken because he was fucking the girl you love."

"Oh, pl-eeeze." tried Cromwell.

"Every time she went into Ken's trailer," I said, bending over slightly, looking Thomas dead in the eye, my voice hypnotically soft, "Ken was putting Kayla on the kitchen counter and putting his dick into her. She never tried to stop him, she let him put his cock into her... again and again... thrusting and thrusting..."

I was getting to him, seeing the anger in his eyes. "Oh yes, Thomas, the girl you loved... Ken was loving tapping that, just to throw it in your face. And he wasn't using condoms, either... he was banging her bareback... coming inside her again and again... trying to impregnate her... trying to knock up the girl you were in love with---"

"ARRGH!" Thomas roared. He came out of his chair to attack me, but Culver had been ready, and had pushed Cromwell back down into his chair. Cindy had also risen to intercept him. I had not moved.

"Oh yes, you know I know." I said, my voice ever so soft "You know I'm telling the truth." Thomas began breaking down. He began shaking, his whole body trembled. Then his head sank to the table as he began sobbing.

"Maria Del Fuentes rejected you." I said. "Carolyn, she gave you a few mercy fucks, once she was already pregnant, but you knew she was just a worthless slut. But Kayla... ahh, you worshipped her... and she spread her legs for Ken again, and again, and again..."

"What was I supposed to do?" Thomas cried out. "He was blackmailing us, blackmailing me!"

"Yes, he was." I said. "But the truth is that you were going to be fired anyway. Kayla loved you, but when you didn't intervene, when you let Ken have her again and again, she began to see the light. And that's when you got desperate."

"Crime of passion." said Arnsparger. "Manslaughter, maybe Murder-2, or whatever the equivalent is in your State." I had to commend the legal eagle for trying, though it wasn't a very good try.

"Except, sir," I said, "I have proof of premeditation. Thomas put two bottles of Clorox in the bathroom of the empty trailer. We have a record of his purchase of the Clorox. He knew he'd have to use the Clorox on the shirt he was wearing when he slit Ken's throat. Problem is, it's the same shirt brand and size that Thomas always wears, and made in England... as part of the role he was playing for himself."

"What role was that?" asked the lawyer. Cromwell's forehead was on the table again.

"Commander Ross possesses dual American-Canadian citizenship." I said. "By way of contrast, Thomas Cromwell is supposedly only a Subject of the Crown." I held up my iPhone. "Detective Warner noticed an anomaly with your passport, so she had me scan it. Yes, it came up correct in every way... as you hoped it would. But I had the info, and I could dig deeper."

"And then," I said, "you made a few mistakes. You are not as good an actor you aspire to be, and you did not fool us. Commander Ross, she's Canadian, she heard some of your gaffes. I'm an All-American boy, but it's my job as a Detective to notice the little things... and I did."

"So," I said, "when I became suspicious of you, I took this reading of your passport I still had in my iPhone, and I used the tools available to me as an FBI Consultant to do some digging. It turns out, Thomas, that you were indeed born near Manchester, England, but your parents brought you to the United States when you were two years old. You lived in California with them all those years."

"As a teenager and a young man," I said, "you tried out for acting parts, but could never get any work. So, you went to the U.S. State Department, told them you were a DREAMer illegally in the United States, and you were deported; you got a free ticket to England, home and beauty. There, you established your birthright, got a British passport, and indeed did some acting in London. The story you told from that point on is generally true."

"What of it?" snarled Thomas.

"Your first mistake," I said, "was when you pointed out Victor Kuykendall to me, saying he was the man in the gray pants. An American, or someone in America for a long, long time, would indeed say 'pants'... but an Englishman would say 'trousers'. In England, 'pants' means underwear."

"Then you mentioned Carolyn Chastain, and said that someone had 'knocked her up'. In America, that does mean she was impregnated. But in England, that means to knock on someone's door, and that phrase is one of the most well-known differences in the languages across the pond."

"Commander Ross joined the party," I said, "when she heard you speak of Ken's body being placed in a 'casket'. In America, that means 'coffin'; but in England, 'casket' means a jewelry box."

"Last, as Commander Ross noticed on tape at the time I read your passport, you called yourself a 'British citizen'." I said. "Real Britishers proudly call themselves British 'Subjects'... hence Commander Ross's sterling rendition of your National Anthem."

"So, Thomas, several egregious errors from a man who claimed to have spent very little time in the United States." I said. Thomas just stared at the table.

"That proves nothing." said Arnsparger.

"Well, it's a building block in what is going to become an edifice for a conviction for murder." I replied. "Another block is that we have scripts, included rejected scripts, that show your time on-screen was being reduced. Kevin Park has already given us a sworn deposition that he, Ken, and Seiko were debating getting rid of you. Ken and Seiko really disliked you. Ken might've wanted to get rid of you to have Kayla to himself."