It is their first day in the office. Harley has just opened the morning paper as Jenna walks in and greets Harley with a stiff smile. Jenna says, "Harley, this is another one of your enterprises that I don't fully agree with, but I just couldn't stomach another bloody day in  the freezer!" Harley laughs and replies, "Jenna I know your weak spot now and I will  attack it any time I have to." Jenna sits down behind her desk and says, "Well Harley, I  hope you know what you are doing. On the face of it I don't know how we are going to  succeed. An ex jewel thief and an ex police officer as partners in a private investigating firm. It sounds like a failed pilot for a sitcom to me."

    Harley laughs and says, "Don't worry. Everyone laughed at Matt when he built that dream  house and they aren't laughing now. We'll get clients. It just takes a little time. Speaking of  clients I hear someone outside our door right now."

    Slowly the door opens and Buzz walks in with his arms full of Styrofoam containers. "I just thought you hard working young ladies might need some breakfast before you begin your busy day." Jenna rushes over to Buzz and kisses him while helping him unload all the packages.

    Harley's face looks serious as she says, "The Grant house was robbed last night and the only things taken were Vivian's jewelry. Hmmm." Buzz pauses for a moment as he looks at Jenna. Harley continues, "According to the article there were no clues and they quote Frank as saying they have no immediate suspects." Jenna looks at Buzz and Harley and says, "Come on now. That part of my life is behind me. You both know that. I wouldn't even think of doing that sort of thing any more." Buzz smiles and says, "I know Petula, but I do have one thing to say before I leave." "And what is that?" asks Jenna. Buzz continues smiling, "I don't want you to work too hard today so that you are all worn out when you come home." Jenna laughs, "I'm not the one we have to worry about. I just hope you are still up to the challenge." Buzz chuckles as he says, "Don't worry I'll be sitting up for you no matter how late you come home." Harley breaks in with, "Aw come on you two, cut it out. This is a business office and we have work to do."

    "OK, OK," Buzz says. "I have to get back to the diner anyway." He looks at Jenna, "I hope you like those eggs easy over with the English muffin." Jenna who has been eating right along says, "I'm almost done. Buzz they were wonderful. No one makes them better then  you." After a pause Jenna looks at Harley and says, "Harley do you mind if I visit Vanessa this morning at Lake Geneva. I haven't really had a chance to see her since she has  returned and I would like to spend a few hours with her." Harley sighs and says, "Go ahead. We don't exactly have people standing in line here today." Jenna nods. "I'll take my cellular phone and you can ring me if you need anything." Harley smiles her agreement.  Jenna gives Buzz a kiss and leave.

    Buzz starts to go and then stops and says to Harley, "Jenna is always complaining she  never has enough keys to the fire house so I had an extra one made. I'll just put it here in her center drawer."

    Buzz opens the center drawer to Jenna's desk and starts to put the key in, when  suddenly his face takes on a stunned look, for there in the drawer right below him is a  sparkling, shiny diamond necklace!

    As soon as the door opens Vanessa and Jenna embrace each other and laugh and cry all at the same time. "Oh Jenna, it's been such a long time and so much has happened since we've seen each other." Jenna brushes the tears away and says, "I know. It's  almost as if both of us have returned from the dead." Vanessa motions Jenna to sit down and for the next few hours they talk of times past and what has happened to each of them the two and a half years since they last saw each other.

    Jenna finally looks at her watch and says, "My goodness, we've been talking for hours. Where has the time gone. I would love to stay longer, but as I said earlier, I'm now a business woman again and I can't let my partner Harley down. I really do have to get back to our office." Vanessa sighs and says, "Oh I wish you could stay longer. This has been such fun talking about old times and what crazy things we've done." Vanessa pauses and then says, "Here let me give you something before you go as a remembrance of this wonderful reunion we had today." And with that Vanessa gets up and searches through a bureau drawer. She turns back to Jenna and says, "Take this pink silk scarf as a momento of these truly enjoyable hours we have spent together today." Jenna gratefully accepts the scarf as they embrace once again and Jenna makes her way to the door. "You and Buzz must come over for dinner with Matt and me as soon as you can, and I won't take no for an answer." Jenna nods in agreement. "It will be soon Vanessa. I'll call  you."

    Buzz was beside himself with worry. As soon as he saw that diamond necklace in  Jenna's desk drawer, he knew that something was terribly wrong. He did his best to slip the necklace out of the drawer and into his side pocket without Harley seeing it, but he couldn't be sure she didn't see what he was doing.

    "Dad, what's wrong?" she had asked. "Nothing," he had replied. "I just remembered an  appointment I'm late for." She had frowned at this answer and said, "Your face looks as if  something terrible has happened." Buzz had slowly regained his composure and now he  laughed. "It's OK. I'm all right now. Well, I have to get back to the diner. Eleni's there all  alone and she needs help." Buzz edged toward the door. "Dad there is something you're  not telling me." Buzz waved goodbye and sped out of the office. And now he was in the  fire house alone and he was worried, very worried.

    Vanessa starts up from a deep sleep. She has heard a noise. Matt has also heard it as  he is awake too. They look at the bedside clock. It is 2:30 AM. "Vanessa, did you hear what I heard?" Vanessa nods. "Yes it sounds like someone is downstairs." Suddenly they  hear a door slam. Matt whispers, "Well, whoever it was, it sounds like they're gone now."  Matt slides out of bed and Vanessa follows him. Matt says, "No. You stay here." Vanessa  answers quickly, "Like heck I will. If you're going downstairs, so am I." Matt shrugs his  shoulders and the two of them make their way down the stairs.

    As they reach the living room Matt flips on the lights and they both see the room has been  ransacked. Vanessa looks at the wall safe and it's wide open. She rushes to it and sees that all of her jewels have been taken. "Oh Matt we've been robbed and all of my jewels  are gone."  As her eyes fill with tears of anger and remorse, Vanessa looks down at the  floor and there under an end table she sees a pink silk scarf. The same pink silk scarf     that she had given to Jenna that very afternoon.
 

    Harley was alone in the office and she wasn't very happy. She was still wondering about  what she saw her dad do yesterday morning. He thought he was hiding the necklace she saw him palm into his pants pocket. She had also seen the tortured look on Buzz's face.  What was Jenna up to, she thought. What was a diamond necklace doing in Jenna's  center drawer in the first place? Harley could not believe that after all the Cooper family  and Jenna had been through to get rid of Jeffrey, that Jenna would risk it all for some stolen jewels. It just didn't make any sense. But there it was in the papers. Vivian Grant's  jewels had been stolen the night before, and then the day after, a diamond necklace turns  up in Jenna's desk drawer. Well she was going to get some answers this morning when  Jenna came in.

    Harley hears a noise and looks up. There standing in the doorway is Phillip Spaulding. "Hello there. May I come in?" Harley blushes and says, "Of course" She pauses and then says playfully, "You're not looking to use any of our services, are you?" Phillip smiles and says, "As a matter of fact, I am." Harley gets a puzzled look on her face as she asks, "Why on earth would you need us?" Phillip sits down in the chair opposite her and says, "As you know Spaulding Enterprises is a large corporation and we always have security needs to be carried out. Such things as background checks for new employees and then the ongoing problems of thief's and other frauds that are always a possibility in a business as large as ours. Well as president I want a firm to carry out these tasks that I can trust completely and I can't think of any other firm in the country that I trust more completely than yours. After all, look at what you and Jenna and I have been through together. If that doesn't build complete trust I don't know what does."

    Harley nods and as she does she thinks of Jenna and the diamond necklace. She looks at Phillip and says, "That's a very nice thing to say about us." Phillip smiles and says, "I guess what I want is to put your firm on retainer. Then as we need special jobs done we can agree on a rate." Harley nods. Phillip reaches into his side pocket and pulls out a check. He hands it to Harley. "Is that enough to put you on a yearly retainer?" Harley's eyes open wide as she says, "More than enough! Are you sure you want to pay us this  much?" Phillip laughs and says, "Harley that's a bargain price."

    "I don't know how to thank you. This retainer will put us on a good financial foundation. I don't know what to say." Phillip gets a serious look on his face as he says, "You don't have to say anything. I know I'll get my money's worth and more." Harley blushes again and looks down.

    There is an awkward pause and then Phillip says, "There's something else I want to talk to you about of a personal nature." Harley looks up. Phillip continues. "I got a letter from Beth the other day and at the end of it she asks," and as he says this he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled letter and continues, "Let me quote her exact words. She says, 'If you'll have me, I'd like to come home." Phillip looks at Harley and asks, "What do you think I should do?"

    Roger Thorpe sat in his study nursing his nightcap. The last two weeks had been a real revelation to him. There was so much to absorb and so much to do. It had all started as he and Amanda had been going over a pile of Spaulding papers and that damn birth certificate had slipped to the floor. Roger still was chuckling over that one. Amanda's father was now her brother and her aunt was now her sister. What a revelation! But he wasn't chuckling any more. For when the birth certificate had fallen to the floor both Amanda and he had seen a number written on the back. Amanda had been the first one  to notice. "Roger, what does this number mean?" Roger had looked at it and immediately realized that it was a safety deposit box number.

    He had the box traced and it was one that belonged to Amanda's sister, Alix. It had taken a little more doing, but through his connections and with a few discreet payments here and there he had been able to get the key to the box and he and Amanda had been able to open it and view the contents. And there indeed was the shocker. When they had seen what was in that safety deposit box it brought both of them up short and called for a master plan from a pair of master schemers. For what they had found in that safety deposit box was enough to blow the lid off of the entire Spaulding Enterprises fortune!

    Harley was still looking at the desk as Phillip repeated his question. "Well, what do you think I should do?" Harley looks up and says, "Phillip, why are you asking me this? Can't you see I'm confused enough over what's been going on between us since our Jeffrey scam." Phillip reaches out for Harley's hand just as the door to the office flies open and Jenna races in, arms flying, and words spewing out of her mouth with Buzz following, head down.

    "How could you even think such a thing! Don't you know me at all? I can't believe you would even consider the possibility!!" Buzz starts mumbling and Jenna cuts him off. "Buzz I have gone through hell for you and do you honestly think I would jeopardize all that for a diamond necklace or any other piece of jewelry. I love you more than life itself and I am getting tired of telling you that if you don't understand what it means! How could you?  How could you think that I would go back to stealing when I have been willing to give up a very comfortable life as a jewel thief for a life with you? What on earth are you thinking?"

    Buzz tries to speak but Jenna says quite emphatically, "Just be quiet until I regain my composure." Buzz looks helplessly at Harley and Phillip. They both shrug their shoulders. Jenna looks at both of them and says, "So you two are also in the camp that doubts my honesty." Phillip holds up his hand and says, "Jenna I don't even know what's going on  here but let me make it very clear that after our Jeffrey caper I would never doubt your honesty or veracity." Jenna pauses and looks at Phillip gratefully and says, "Why Phillip, thank you. It's nice to know someone in this group has some intelligence."

    A voice from the doorway says, "Make that two of us Jenna."

    Everyone looks at the doorway and standing there alone is Vanessa.

    Jack Blue sat in a back booth at the Company and slowly drank from the glass in front of him. That lady bartender, what was her name, yeah, Nola, had poured him a straight gin and now he was working on his third such glass. He took a peak at Nola and thought to himself, she's not bad. I'll bet if I tried I could get her to go out with me. She looks like she  could use some lovin' and I'm just the man to give it to her. Besides I've got a lot of cash now. Ever since I did those favors for that ritzy guy in the expensive suit. Yeah, he was real generous with his money.

    And what he wanted done was pretty simple for what he was willing to pay. The first job was the easiest. All I had to do was break into an empty office building and then jimmy the lock of an office rented by Bradshaw and Cooper. The guy in the expensive suit had given me a necklace and told me to put it into a desk drawer that had a Jenna Bradshaw nameplate. It was so simple and it paid so well.

    Later the guy had me break into a place called the fire house. This was a little more risky because the place was occupied. There were people living there and you never knew when they might hear you or wake up and surprise you before you were done. All he  wanted was for me to steal a pink, silk scarf. He paid more for this job because of the chance of being caught. I thought it would be hard to find the scarf but it was no problem     at all. It was laying over a chair in the dinning area. It was an in and out job. Easy as eating a piece of pie. And the guy paid really well. I got more cash now than I've had in a  long, long time.

    Jack looked again at Nola. I think I'm going up to that bar and make a move on her. I just know I can get her to go out with me, and I'll bet she won't disappoint.

    With that, Jack Blue arose from his seat and slowly made his way up to the bar.

    Roger Thorpe was still in his study and was just about done with his nightcap. Yes, the papers in that safety deposit box had really shocked both he and Amanda. Alex had had  one more little secret up her sleeve and this one was just about as bad as the birth certificate. Roger had been the first to appreciate the significance of what they had discovered. For there in that box were stock options that if they were exercised would make their rightful owner the largest single stockholder in the company. And combined with the shares of say, Phillip Spaulding, would give complete and total control to Phillip and the option holder. Both Amanda and he could not let this happen. There was too much at stake.

    Roger smiled at the irony of it all. At one point in time he would have been in complete control of these options since his former wife, Jenna Bradshaw, was now the rightful owner of the stock options in that box. It was apparent she was the only legal heir of her  father's estate. As best as he could ascertain, these options were given to Jenna's father  by Brandon Spaulding as a way to avoid paying cash for Bradshaw's inventions. Evidently old man Spaulding had had some plan in mind to void the options at some point in time but as far as Roger could see they had never been voided and now with all the stock splits and capital appreciation of Spaulding stock, these options were the Midas touch for  the person who had the right to exercise them. And that person was Jenna Bradshaw!

    Both Amanda and Roger knew she had to be stopped. They had heard how indebted Jenna was to Phillip for his help in getting rid of that husband of hers. They also knew she would do anything to repay that debt. And both of them could foresee the day when Jenna would exercised her options and vote with Phillip and there would go their plans of controlling Spaulding Enterprises. So Roger had already put into play the plan that was going to eliminate Jenna from the playing field.

    Jenna stared at Vanessa who was standing in the doorway holding up the pink, silk scarf that Vanessa had just given Jenna yesterday afternoon. "Vanessa how did you get that scarf?", asked Jenna. Vanessa entered the room and said, "You and Harley have a nice office here and I think your first order of business should be to find out who is trying to set-up the Bradshaw of Bradshaw and Cooper?". Jenna glared at Buzz as Vanessa said this. Buzz just threw up his hands in disgust and looked at the floor.

    Jenna pulled a chair out for Vanessa and said, "Please sit down and tell us what this is all about." Vanessa sat down and said, "Last night our house at Geneva was broken into and all of my jewels were stolen. I found this scarf under an end table by the safe and I knew right away that someone was trying to cast the blame for the robbery on Jenna. Matt wanted to call the police, but I told him no. I wanted to talk to my friend first and find out if she knew what was going on." Vanessa smiled at Jenna and said, "There is no way I would believe you would rob me Jenna. And even if you did, which I know you wouldn't, you would not be stupid enough to leave a clue like this scarf that would lead right back to you. I know you too well to believe that you would be that careless." Jenna glared at Buzz again. Buzz did not acknowledge the look.

    Harley cleared her throat and said, "Well it sure looks like someone has it in for Jenna.  And you're right Vanessa, this will have to be our first order of business to see who that someone is and why they are doing this to her." Jenna smiled very stiffly in Harley's direction and said, "I'm bloody well glad to see at least one Cooper has some faith in me.  Although I would've thought the progenitor of the family would have been the first to proclaim my innocence."

    At this Buzz jumped up out of his chair and said in a very loud voice, "Aw come on Petula, I never once said you did anything wrong! I just asked you what the necklace was doing in your desk drawer. Come on. I didn't think you had solen it. I just wanted to know what you knew about it." Jenna stared at Buzz with a stone face and said, "And as I told you this morning I know absolutely nothing about it. Nor do I know anything about last night's robbery at Vanessa's."

    The room was silent for a moment and then Vanessa spoke. "You know Springfield is notso big that the people who live here don't notice things out of the ordinary. Maybe if we got a group of our friends together at the Geneva house someone might have something  significant to tell us that might give us some idea as to what is going on. In fact, I know from Meta that Michelle has a new friend who is not exactly from our side of the tracks who might know something about the seedier activities that go on in this town. Then there iis Ross. He's the D.A. and he surely would be aware of any suspicious activity in town."

    Harley nodded her head and said, "That's a great idea Vanessa. I'm sure if we ask the  right questions we may get a lead that could give us some ideas." Buzz added, "Yeah and I'll be glad to provide the food. We could make it like it's a party so no one gets suspicious. Yeah it could be a welcome home party for Vanessa." For the first time Jenna smiled at Buzz and said, "Nice idea, Mr. Cooper."

    Vanessa arose from her chair and said, "Well I'll head home and tell Matt. We'll tentatively set it up for tomorrow night." Everyone nodded their agreement and as Vanessa turned to go the phone rang. Harley picked it up and said, "Cooper and Bradshaw. May I help you."  Jenna shot a dagger look at Harley and muttered, "It's Bradshaw and Cooper, darling. Remember." But the look on Harley's face brought a frown to Jenna's face.

    Harley voice quivered as she asked barely above a whisper, "Mallet?"