Viki makes her way through the tunnel in the secret room and finds herself in the bedroom of her childhood, where she is flooded with memories of Victor's abuse. After returning to the secret room, Viki takes out her rage on Victor's portrait and destroys it. Refusing to believe the box that contained the Badhra diamond is merely full of sand, Viki begins to dig and discovers documents she feels certain will lead to Mitch's undoing.

Antonio admits to Jessica that he promised Viki he would keep her away from Llanfair until Mitch is found and arrested. Antonio shows Jessica a photo of a man named Johnson, whom he suspects is helping Mitch. Jessica confirms that she has seen Johnson at Llanfair. Antonio rejects Jessica's idea of using herself as bait to lure Mitch out. Antonio later has Jessica followed when she tries to give him the slip. Johnson takes Mitch to a house by the lake.

Still wanting to infiltrate R.J.'s gang, Cristian tells Rex he is desperate for money and later stages a fight with Antonio. Rex suggests that Cristian might be the right person for a job he and his associates are planning.

Troy tells Flash that she is very ill and demands she be treated at the hospital. Flash tries to leave in order to keep her singing engagement at Capricorn but Joey arrives and stops her. Meanwhile, R.J. tells Max that the night is a huge disaster because Flash didn't show up and the band refuses to play without her. Max realizes his partnership with R.J. is in jeopardy.

Wanting to help Max, Al takes the CD Flash gave Joey and sets up a makeshift broadcast booth at Capricorn. Al uses the PA system at Capricorn to broadcast Flash's voice as the band plays along and saves the day for Max. Marcie is proud of Al when she sees him throw away a pill he found in his pocket. Marcie realizes that Al is the Voice of the Night and they share a tender kiss. Flash is overcome with emotion when she hears herself singing on the radio.

"Thirty-eight bottles of hair spray. That should last Roxy a whole week," Natalie sarcastically observes. Sopping in a sea of pepto-bismal pink walls, she checks inventory while Cristian puts the finishing touches on the salon's massive mural. Rex stops by to discreetly inquire about coordinating Cristian and the other players involved in the heist, players whose names he's not yet ready to reveal. Natalie accidentally overhears the word "gallery."

Nigel's preoccupation with his ladylove is causing him to neglect his duties. Asa is displeased that he forgot to call Jessica to meet them at the gallery about the early arrival of some pre-Columbian art Asa has procured. The tycoon sternly instructs his butler to do so now. Asa and Nigel enter the hair haven bickering. Because of Nigel's scatterbrain of late and his constant loitering around Roxy's place, Asa threatens to withdraw funding from the establishment and send Nig to Japan after all. Asa storms out with his man servant in tow. Roxy is unraveling at the thought of losing her "good decorator" to the Japanese and the waning potential for Foxy Roxy's to become "better than the Taj Mahal," as in the casino, not the one in "Indiana." Natalie soothes Roxanne's frazzled hair by offering to make a pitch to the big man. The mural is complete and the young lovers get ready to go home. Rex pops back in and insists Cristian attend an immediate meeting at the Palace bar. Lying to Natalie, Cris claims Asa needs his service urgently. Nigel returns under the guise of making bill payments, allowing him to frolic in the bordello-like atmosphere with his fiancé. Roxy offers to go to Japan and become his "gecko" girl, but Nigel makes a plan: they will marry in Atlantic City after the salon's grand opening and Nigel will quit his long-suffering job with Asa. Passing Natalie as he exits, Nig disputes that Asa would have need for his chauffer at that late hour.

Viki relishes her discovery in the secret crypt of Llanfair until she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. She grabs a huge mallet and waits by the sliding door. But there's no need for defense. It's Jessica. They ascend to the first floor where Viki reviews the documents she found. Upstairs, Dorian is disturbed when she cannot find Blair's duffle bag filled with gaslight gadgets. Jess receives Asa's summons and leaves her mom to contend with Dorian, who has discovered them trespassing in the foyer. Fishing, Dorian accuses Viki of stealing the duffle bag from the closet. But her line comes up empty. Viki reveals that she's aware of the plot to drive Mitch crazy and warns her rival, "The net is closing quickly and, if you don't want to be caught in it, this is your last chance." Dorian pretends to take a pass and Viki goes to the cops. The current mistress of Llanfair busily retrieves speakers from behind books and other gaslight paraphernalia and places them in a green plastic trash bag.

Mitch sits stoically on the sofa of his boyhood home in the Amish country of Pennsylvania with the leather duffle bag at his side. He pokes it with his cane as his assistant plays the heavy breathing tape for him. The muscles on his face tighten in anger.

At police headquarters, Antonio and Nora share their frustration over Mitch's teflon skin. Nora innocently inquires about another of Antonio's investigations: unfortunately it involves R.J. Returning to the topic of Mitch, new evidence has surfaced regarding Mitch's whereabouts. And Jessica is once again missing. Antonio pursues her. Viki joyously bounds in and presents Nora with the newfound evidence: documents substantiating the blackmail of the judge and a handwritten note from Victor to Mitch outlining the exchange of the estate for Jessica's heart.

Another of Mitch's henchmen, Johnson, is caught in his tracks at the dark gallery. Jessica shines a flashlight on him and he quickly explains that her father wants to see her. She agrees and goes to meet daddy at his lakefront property. "This is where I grew up and where my father died," Mitch recalls. Jessica asks how he met his maker and Mitch replies, "As he should have, in the fires of righteousness." They wander outside where Mitch describes his dad's boat bursting into flames. Frightened but focused, Jessica schmoozes Mitch with concern for him after his disappearance. But he's skeptical. To gain his trust, she reveals Dorian's scheme. He falls for her false loyalty—hook, line, and sinker. He tenderly strokes her hair, kisses her wincing brow, and asks her to wait for him in the house. Commanding one assistant to drive him somewhere, he calls to the other, "Johnson! Get the weapon ready. It's time my wife learned her final lesson." A short while after they depart, Jessica hears a car pull up. "Police, freeze!" Antonio bursts through the door.

From a payphone in the cold night mist, Mitchell Laurence calls his wife. In the library of Llanfair, Dorian maintains her dutiful concern and is casual about his hallucinations abating. "I don't tolerate betrayal. Goodbye, Dorian." Mitch hangs up the phone while Dorian is still being coy. A gunshot rings out from the bushes outside the terrace doors at exactly the same moment that Nora and Viki ring the front doorbell. Dorian turns toward the bell. Her head jerks back and to the side as she falls to the floor.

NIGHT AND DAY

NIGHT: It's midnight in Llanview, but not many of its prominent residents are sleeping yet. Cristian has a sit down with Cole and Rex at the Palace bar where he convinces his future partners in crime that his brother has no influence on his actions. Natalie listens to The Voice of The Night while Roxy croons into a curling iron. Antonio refuses to leave Jessica's side at Mitch's childhood home. Mitch is still dropping change into the payphone to intimidate people---this time it's Lindsay, who in turn acts angry and crazy to get Jen out of the line of fire. And hearing the gunshot, Nora and Viki rush into Llanfair's library and get help for Dorian.

Roxy attempts a backhanded consolation for a tacky comment about Cristian's true whereabouts. "Maybe you got a good one, but the chances of that are slim and dimmer." She brushes Natalie's silky red hair in a true effort to comfort her.

Troy delivers good news to Nora and Viki: the bullet only grazed Dorian's arm. Refusing to see Nora for questioning, the shooting victim requests to see her old rival. Dorian thanks Viki for ringing the doorbell and saving her life. She also admits that Viki was right, that "Mitch doesn't like to be betrayed." It's the most civil moment between the two women since Dorian hit town again.

DAY: Antonio serves up "the basic #3" breakfast special for Jessica. They realize that Mitch must have known it was unwise to return and Antonio even accuses Jessica of tipping him off. The heiress throws a screaming hissy fit. Antonio apologizes, but Jess admits her high stress level is comprised of guilt. She fears that she has put Dorian in danger by confiding in Mitch. Antonio counters, "If anyone can stand up to Mitch, it's Dorian."

Troy is not ready to release Dorian from the hospital, but Flash is now free from her quarantine. Joey gives up his room at the rectory for her to continue her recovery. Dorian is, as usual, making her own plans for departure: she pulls hundred dollar bills from her bed linens and bribes a technician to get her a series of medical disguises for a smooth exit. Joey, Nora and Viki all walk right past her in a surgeon's mask and scrubs. Troy is shocked that she's gone, but Viki doesn't raise an eyebrow, explaining, "It's just Dorian being Dorian." Returning to the scene of the crime, Nora dons latex gloves to peruse the trash bag filled with the remnants of Mitch's gas lighting. Antonio detects a message on the answering machine. They listen to Lindsay's strained voice begging Dorian to call her. Nora and Antonio leave together for St. Anne's. But Dorian is already there disguised as Dr. Richmond, a conservatively coiffed and bespectacled specialist taking Lindsay from the facility for more tests. She assures her willing patient, "Mitch is finally going to get everything that he deserves."

Mitch receives the news that Dorian "survived the bullet." He extends orders for Johnson to make sure that she's "in the morgue before sundown" with "Lindsay Rappaport right beside her."

It's morning, but Roxy is already icing down the champagne. She has a good reason. It's Foxy Roxy's opening day! And a little hooch would help cut the tension between Cristian and a still suspicious Natalie. Roxy throws the switch to turn on the neon sign and it's official! They're open for business. And they're open. And still open. Roxy forgot to distribute her promotional flyers, chastising herself as a "bonehead." She pops open the bubbly and starts gurgling straight from the bottle. "I've been dreaming of something like this my whole doggone life, except that there were people in it!" She laughs at her folly until her laughter turns to tears. Natalie smudges away her "raccoon eyes." Cristian gets another call to leave on the double. Roxy perceives his errand as abandonment. "Hey, listen kiddo," she warns Natalie. "It's just you and me and you better hold your nose because we're going down with the ship." She tips the champagne bottle to a ninety-degree angle pouring it down her gullet.

At the Palace bar, another gal attempts to start her day with alcohol. Jen uses her fake ID to order a screwdriver, but Hank and Rae counsel her on the ramifications. Trying to boost her self-esteem, Rae tells her that Joey is very fond of her. High on this revelation instead of a morning cocktail, she trots over to the rectory to find Flash sleeping in Joey's bed! She kicks the chanteuse out reprimanding her for not having concern for Joey's reputation. Jen smiles with satisfaction on her way out. Joey comes upstairs from his substitute "bed of nails" and finds a Dear John note from Flash. He kicks off his cowboy boots, takes off his shirt, and crawls into bed to catch some winks. A half hour later, Jennifer tiptoes in and watches him sleep.

Thursday, May 8, 2003

Friday, May 9, 2003

Recaps for the week of May 12, 2003 (Following Week)