BABY MAMA DRAMA

Melissa Mustard was horrified when her newborn baby boy was kidnapped by the child’s father Ryder Turchese. At a rundown apartment, a young woman tended to the child. The young woman, Darcy Puce, was surprised when Catherine Grey arrived, and told her to turn the baby over to her. The women fought over the child, but were stopped when Ryder entered. Ryder ordered Grey to find Melissa and bring her to him, before Melissa had a chance to find out that her uncle, Colonel Michael Mustard was the real culprit behind her child’s kidnapping. Ryder then called Mustard to let him know that Melissa was close to finding out the truth. Later, in a remote aircraft hangar, Darcy Puce boarded a plane with Melissa’s baby and Colonel Mustard, headed for Cancun, Mexico. Ryder and Catherine tracked Melissa to a boarding house, where Ryder explained to Catherine that Colonel Mustard had ordered him to bring Melissa to him. When Dr. Grey expressed concern that the Colonel would sell them out to Melissa, Ryder told her that the Colonel only said to bring Melissa to him, and had not mentioned that Melissa had to be alive when he did. Ryder headed upstairs to Melissa’s room and without hesitation, he took out his knife and plunged it into a sleeping woman’s back. Ryder quickly realized however, that the woman he stabbed was not Melissa and fled the scene. Catherine Grey was apprehended and sent to prison for her part in the kidnapping.

PAYMENT DUE

Always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme, Michael Mustard took up lying, cheating and stealing, even going as far as stealing antique firearms from the Royal House of Angola, Africa. One of these stolen antiques Mustard sold to Alphonse Brunette, who unwittingly tried to resell it to its rightful owner, the Prince of Angola. When Brunette threatened Mustard, Mustard realized he had to keep his newborn great-nephew safe at all costs. So while in Cancun, Colonel Mustard sold the child to a young woman for $500,000. After the young woman left with the baby, Mustard went through a bag she had left behind and discovered an article clipped from the society page of a newspaper. The clipping was an announcement of the upcoming birth of a baby to a wealthy family from California. Mustard recognized a woman from the article as being the same woman he and Hugh Black rivaled over in their college days. Recalling some volatile moments with Hugh and the young woman, Mustard decided to call his lost love to try and reconnect with her. The woman, Kendal Forrest Winters, immediately hung up when she heard Mustard’s voice. Mustard, defeated, left a note and $60,000 for Darcy Puce as payment for her taking care of his great-nephew. Darcy was unaware that he had sold the baby to the daughter-in-law of Kendal Forrest Winters. Michael took the money he received for selling his nephew and left Cancun.

VANITY’S SCARS

After an unsuccessful attempt on her life, an injured Vivienne Scarlet recuperated in a Los Angeles hospital, unaware of the extent of her injuries--Vivienne’s lovely face was severely cut. Her cousin, Prince “Blanket” Onceblack introduced her mother, Elizabeth Peacock-Canary to Dr. Richard Dove, a psychiatrist at the hospital, feeling that it would be helpful to have Dr. Dove with her when she told Vivienne of her injuries. Elizabeth disagreed strongly until she visited with her daughter. Elizabeth reconsidered and decided to have Dr. Dove help her break the news of the lesion to Vivienne. Elizabeth realized that before they were to tell Vivienne the truth of the attack, she had to confess a shocking secret to the psychiatrist. Meanwhile, a nurse, who was checking on Vivienne in her room, made a comment about the lesion on her face, not realizing that Vivienne was awake and heard her. In Dr. Dove’s office, Elizabeth tearfully explained that Vivienne was not a product of an affair she had years before with Dr. Hugh Black, that in reality, Vivienne was purchased as a baby off of the black market. Elizabeth told Dr. Dove that she had passed Vivienne off as her and Hugh’s biological child as a way to keep Hugh in her life. Dr. Dove questioned Elizabeth as to what she believed would be Vivienne’s reaction if she ever discovered the truth. Elizabeth, distraught of the idea of losing Vivienne, fled Dove’s office and went to Vivienne’s room, followed closely by a concerned Dr. Dove and “Blanket”. The three were shocked when, instead of finding Vivienne, they found the bathroom mirror smashed and Vivienne nowhere to be found.

PLANTCORP: PUTTING NATURE’S GIFTS TO GOOD USE

In his last will and testament, Hugh Black had left shares of a company known as PlantCorp to his faithful gardener, Rusty Nayler and his good friend and colleague Dr. Paul Mandarin. PlantCorp, as the largest plant and flower research facility in the world, develops medicines and products from rare herbs designed to help the world’s population—or so they say. Members of PlantCorp’s Board of Directors are spread out all over the world and they have planned a conference to be held in Blackport. On the steps of Town Hall, John Boddy and town officials held a press conference announcing a schedule of events created to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the founding of Blackport. Baron Arthur Bronze, a member of PlantCorp’s Board of Directors, arrived at the Black Towers Hotel to attend the meeting and was reunited with his old friend, Corrine Canary. Corrine invited Bronze to be her escort to the kick-off event of Blackport’s Founder’s Day celebration, a masquerade ball at the Mayor’s Mansion. Meanwhile, Alva Vermillion, the new head of concierge at the hotel, worried because she had not heard from her boyfriend, Officer Jacob Summers. Jake, unbeknownst to Alva, had been in an accident the night before and was rushed to Black Memorial Hospital. Later, in his suite, Baron Bronze and PlantCorp Chairperson, Lady Su Sian Lavender discussed the upcoming board meeting, not realizing Alva had come into the suite to deliver one of Bronze’s bags. Lavender confided in Bronze that she was concerned that the Lavender Lynx diamond would remain in the hands of Alphonse Brunette, thus hindering PlantCorp’s ability to gain new investors. Lavender told Bronze that the Lavender Lynx contained an additive needed to complete a formula that was imperative to a demonstration planned to take place on Blackport’s Founder’s Day. The demonstration, Lavender explained, would bring the town of to its knees and prove how powerful PlantCorp could be. Shocked at hearing Lavender’s plan, Alva’s cell phone rang revealing her presence in the suite and that she had overheard everything Lavender and Bronze had discussed.

LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS

Alva confided in her friend Rhoit Saffron that she had overheard Lavender and Bronze discussing the demonstration and she worried that the plan involved harming citizens of Blackport and that she wanted to alert the police. Rhoit convinced Alva to keep the news to herself until they could gather more information, as not to cause the town to panic. Later, Jessie Sumac and Alva were approached by Madame Lillian Puce, who asked if they would be interested in participating in the Miss Blackport Beauty Contest and Jessie jumped at the chance. At first Alva turned Puce down, but then agreed to participate. As they were leaving to go and get their gowns for the Masquerade Ball, Alva received a call from her mother that Jake was in emergency surgery. Meanwhile, Rhoit went to Baron Bronze’s suite and informed him that Alva had indeed overheard the company’s plan and that she was going to go to the police. Bronze assured Rhoit that Alva would be stopped before she had the chance to warn anyone.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

By the time Alva reached the hospital, Jake had already come out of surgery and was in the recovery room. When Jake’s aunt came from visiting him, Alva was surprised that Jake asked to see his sister Audrey instead of her. In the recovery room, Jake told Audrey that he had lost the expensive engagement ring that he had bought to give to Alva and begged her to go to the police station to find it. To keep Jake calm, Audrey reluctantly agreed to look for the ring. Down the hall, John Boddy kept vigil at Emily Peach's bedside. Emily, who had been shot by her brother, had just made it through a delicate surgery when Emily’s adopted parents, arrived at the hospital to see her. Mr. Ash told John that he was the one who had called the Peach’s and alerted them of Emily’s precarious medical situation. Later, when Mrs. Peach told Emily that she thought it would be best that Emily leave Blackport and return with them to Georgia, Emily began to get upset. The Peach’s explained that they felt that Blackport was not the safest environment for her, but Emily was too weak to argue. As the Peach’s left Emily so she could rest, a mysterious women entered Emily’s room. Meanwhile, contestants of the Miss Blackport Beauty Contest gathered at Madame Puce’s estate to dress for the Founder’s Day Masquerade Ball. Kirby Canary panicked when she realized she had left the ticket for her date at the Black Towers Hotel and quickly left the estate to go and retrieve it. On the way to the hotel, Kirby got a flat tire and when she arrived at the hotel, she asked her mother, Corrine if she could ride to the ball with her and Baron Bronze. When Corrine informed Kirby that Bronze’s car was a two-seat sports car, Kirby didn’t think her night could get any worse. Kirby soon realized her night could and would get worse when Alva Vermillion arrived at the hotel dressed in the exact same ball gown and mask. Alva told Kirby that she had asked Gavin Gold to take her to the ball in Mrs. Peacock-Canary’s limo. To make up for buying the same dress and to avoid potentially embarrassing Kirby, Alva allowed Kirby to take the limo in her place. Little did Alva and Kirby know, that Rhoit Saffron had ambushed Gavin Gold and gotten behind the wheel of the limo, waiting to kidnap Alva and stop her from revealing that she had overheard Baron Bronze and Lady Lavender’s evil plan to kill the citizen’s of Blackport on Founder’s Day. Kirby, rushing to get to the ball on time, did not realize that Rhoit, not Gold, was driving the limo, and in turn, Rhoit was unaware that he had kidnapped Kirby instead of Alva. Rhoit phoned Baron Bronze and told him that he would be in contact as soon as they arrived at the Pine Cone Inn.

MASQUERADE MADNESS

As citizens of Blackport made their way to the Mayor’s Mansion to attend the Founder’s Day Masquerade Ball, Kirby Canary found herself across town at the Pine Cone Inn in the back of a stolen limousine. Kirby’s frustration at being late for the ball quickly turned to fear when she found herself staring at the barrel of a gun. Rhoit dragged the frightened young woman to a room at the run-down motel and tied her up. While outside in the front seat of the limo, a chloroformed Gavin Gold began to stir. At the Mayor’s Mansion, Rachel Peacock was embarrassed that her mother Patricia Peacock had escorted her to the ball and became frustrated when Patricia told her that Rachel’s half-brother, Matthew Steele was also going to be keeping an eye on her throughout the evening. Patricia explained to Rachel that she was only looking out for her best interest, since Ryder Turchese, the man who had brutally stabbed Rachel, was still on the loose. Once Alva Vermillion and her mother arrived at the ball, Alva became concerned when Madame Puce told her that Kirby hadn’t arrived yet. Alva found Kirby’s date, Copper and asked him if he had heard from Kirby. Copper told Alva that he had been trying to reach Kirby on her cell phone but got no answer. With Kirby bound and gagged, Rhoit called Baron Bronze and informed him that the wrong person had been kidnapped. Bronze, realizing how costly Rhoit’s mistake could be, watched from across the room as Copper and Alva informed Corrine that Kirby had yet to arrive. Concerned that something might have happened to her daughter, Corrine rushed to Bronze, who comforted the distraught woman, all the while keeping his eyes focused on Alva. Preparing to leave the ball to find Kirby, Alva was stopped by Madame Puce. Puce forced Alva to take the stage along with the other contestants of the Miss Blackport Beauty Contest. Meanwhile, a concerned Corrine convinced Baron Bronze to leave the party and look for Kirby. Bronze however, did not let Corrine know that he was well aware that Rhoit had kidnapped Kirby. In the motel room, Kirby was shocked when she saw that her kidnapper was Rhoit, her friend. Kirby begged Rhoit to let her go, but he refused. Outside, Gavin Gold awoke and was confused as to why he was at the Pine Cone Inn. Walking around the perimeter of the motel to try and clear his head, Gavin passed by the room where Kirby was being held and Kirby tried to attract Gavin’s attention to no avail. When Rhoit went outside to smoke, Gavin heard Rhoit’s cell phone and listened in as Rhoit spoke to Baron Bronze. Once Rhoit returned to the room, Gavin peered through the window and saw Kirby tied up on the bed. Gavin reassured Kirby that he was going to rescue her and Kirby, trying to get Rhoit out of the room, begged him to go and get her a soda. After a few moments, Rhoit complied and left Kirby alone. As soon as it was safe, Gavin went into the room and untied Kirby, but the rescue attempt was halted with the return of Rhoit. Gavin hid in the closet, while Rhoit helped Kirby take a drink from the soda. Seizing the opportunity, Gavin emerged from the closet and hit Rhoit on the head with a clothes iron and he and Kirby escaped outside to the limo. Just as they were about to leave, Baron Bronze arrived causing Kirby and Gavin to have to hide in the front seat of the limo. As Bronze went into the motel room, Gavin made sure the coast was clear, then tore out of the parking lot. Inside the room, Bronze was stunned to find Rhoit unconscious on the bed. Realizing the mistake Rhoit had made could cost him and his partners everything they had worked for Bronze put a gun to Rhoit’s head and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly. Making the scene look like a suicide, Bronze then called Lady Lavender to let her know that Kirby had escaped and that Rhoit was dead.

JAILHOUSE BLUES

After murdering Albert Canary, Sandra Sumac was arrested and sent to Mountain View Penitentiary, the same prison where Misty Arugula was incarcerated for murdering several people at Tudor Manor a few years before. At the Pine Cone Inn, a devastated Alphonse Brunette tried to cope with the fact that the Lavender Lynx Diamond had been stolen from him and Mindy Mint tried to make him feel better. When Brunette confessed that he was out of funds, Mindy told him that she would try and convince her father to let her have access to her trust fund. Later, Mindy told Brunette that it was not up to her father to let her have the money, that in fact it was Mindy’s mother, Misty Arugula, who held the final decision. Disguised as a lawyer, Alphonse and Mindy went to Mountain View to try and convince Misty to sign Mindy’s trust fund over to them. Mindy was devastated however, when Mrs. Arugula revealed that she had used the money in the trust fund to pay for her defense lawyers. Mindy, heartbroken that her mother would steal from her, confided in Jessie Sumac that she never wanted to see her mother again. Jessie then invited Mindy to come to the Miss Blackport Contest. When Alphonse heard that first prize for winning the contest was ten thousand dollars, Brunette told Mindy she was going to do more than watch the contest, but that she was going to be a contestant and win! Heather Grey arrived at Mountain View to visit with her aunt Dr. Catherine Grey. Heather told Cate that she was pregnant but was not sure whether the child’s father was Prof. Peter Plum or his younger brother, Patrick. Later, Catherine and Sandra Sumac confirmed with Mrs. Arugula that she was still having a sexual relationship with the Warden of the Penitentiary as the first part of an escape plan they had formulated.

HALF TRUTHS

Relieved that her daughter Kirby was safe, Corrine Canary offered Gavin Gold money to help fix the limo that Kirby had told her had broken down, causing Kirby to miss the ball. Gavin, confused as to why Kirby would lie to her mother, told Corrine that what Kirby had told her was not the compete truth, but he was stopped from elaborating when Kirby interrupted them. Unaware that Rhoit had been murdered by Baron Arthur Bronze the night before Alva was shocked when she received a message that Rhoit had quit his job at the hotel. Channing Steele arrived at the hotel with the Lavender Lynx Diamond in tow, and went to Lady Lavender’s suite, where Lady Lavender took the diamond and hurried to get it to the PlantCorp lab. Baron Bronze then informed Steele that their plans for Founder’s Day were jeopardized because Alva had overheard them. Bronze also told Channing that Rhoit had mistakenly kidnapped Kirby Canary instead of Alva and that Rhoit had been eliminated. Steele then told Bronze to let him take care of Alva and Kirby. Across town at the Blackport police station, Audrey Summers tried to find the engagement ring that her brother Jake had lost, but she lost her way in the corridors. Detective Shauna Garnet helped Audrey by telling her where the evidence room was located and Audrey let herself into the room to try and find the ring. Kirby Canary tried to convince Gavin Gold that not telling the police or her mother about her kidnapping was a good idea, but Gavin felt like the information needed to be shared. When he and Kirby learned from Alva that Rhoit had quit his job at the hotel with no notice, Gavin told Alva that Rhoit had kidnapped Kirby and held her hostage, not realizing that Kirby’s mother was standing behind them. Outside Mountain View Penitentiary, Mindy Mint and Alphonse Brunette were walking back to their car when Brunette saw a woman pass by them. The sight of the woman sent Brunette’s thoughts back to the first time he saw the woman. Brunette recalled the young woman as being a maid at the Pine Cone Inn who had inadvertently let herself into Brunette’s room, not realizing he was there. Brunette, taken by the young woman’s looks, seduced her, but their afternoon of passion was cut short by a surprise visit from Brunette’s girlfriend and partner in crime, Amber Amber. Later, when Mindy Mint questioned Brunette on why seeing the young woman outside the prison had such an effect on him, Brunette kept a tight lip. Meanwhile, Hunter Meadow-Brook began suffering dizzy spells and headaches. When Hunter’s co-worker, Carrie Bluebell inadvertently let it slip about the headaches, Hunter’s mother, Jane Meadow-Brook became worried about him. Hunter reassured Jane that the headaches were no doubt brought on by stresses at work and not from a head injury he had suffered sometime before.

MEETING OF THE MINDS

Baron Arthur Bronze and Channing Steele welcomed potential PlantCorp investors to the first of several meetings and apologized for Lady Lavender’s tardiness. Lavender soon arrived and began to tell the group about the history of her company. Later, Bronze and Steele greeted a late-arriving Veronica Sable outside the Black Towers Hotel. Miss Sable apologized for being late but they reassured her that the most exciting part of the meeting was yet to come. Joining Mindy Mint and Alphonse Brunette for a late lunch at Jojo’s Diner, Pearl Ivory got quite an earful when they informed her that Mindy’s mother exhausted Mindy’s trust fund and that Mindy was going to enter as a contestant in the Miss Blackport Contest. Ivory, trying to convince Mindy that being in the contest could be fun, confessed that she herself had been a contestant when she was a teen. Ivory then noticed Brunette’s distraction when the young maid from the Pine Cone Inn entered the diner. When Ivory questioned Brunette as to whom the lovely young woman was, Brunette became angry and left Mindy and Ivory alone. With her curiosity peaked, Ivory took it upon herself to go and question the young woman. When Brunette returned and saw Ivory chatting with the young woman, he snapped at her and stormed out of the diner. Mindy then asked Ivory what she learned from the young woman, and Ivory reported that the young woman told her that her name was Sienna, but that she did not know Alphonse. Ivory told Mindy that she didn’t believe Sienna and later Sienna was a bit shaken up when Brunette stopped her on the street and told her that he had never forgotten their day of love-making. With Gavin Gold revealing to Alva Vermillion the truth of Kirby Canary’s kidnapping by Rhoit Saffron, the three decided that they needed to go back to the Pine Cone Inn and confront Rhoit and try to help him. The trio, however, didn’t realize that Kirby’s mother, Corrine, had overheard Gavin telling Alva about the kidnapping, and later Corrine told someone on the phone that she was upset that Kirby had kept the information from her. Corrine also added that she would continue to play ignorant and not reveal that she had found out about the kidnapping but also reiterated that if anything bad happened to Kirby that she could not be held responsible for her actions. Back at the diner, a delighted Audrey Summers told her Aunt Jojo that she had found the engagement ring at the Blackport Police station and she was going to take the ring to the hospital to give Jake. Jojo told Audrey that she might want to wait on letting Jake know that she found the ring, and reminded her that Jake had not been in the best mental state since the bank robbery that led to the death of Alva’s father, the Chief of Police. Meanwhile, Nurse Ivory and Mindy Mint were stunned when Channing Steele entered the diner. Ivory wondered what kind of business Steele would have in Blackport. Deciding to go back to the Pine Cone Inn and confront Rhoit Saffron turned out to be a bad idea for Alva, Gavin and Kirby. Once Sienna had let them into Rhoit’s room, the three were horrified when they discovered him lying on the bed. Gavin immediately realized that Rhoit hadn’t committed suicide and began searching the room for anything that might tie him and Kirby to having been in the room. As Alva helped a distraught Kirby out of the room, Gavin got Rhoit’s cell phone and checked the recent call list and discovered that Lady Su Sian Lavender was the last incoming call Rhoit had received. At Blackport Memorial, Jake Summers was visited by Inspector Winfield Brown. who inadvertently revealed that two of Jake’s fellow officers had died in the accident and were buried earlier that day. Later, Brown met Audrey in the hall and told him how sorry he was for telling Jake about the officers’ deaths. Concerned that Jake would hold himself responsible for killing the officers, Audrey hurried to see him. Jake was visibly upset at the news so to make him feel better Audrey gave him the engagement ring that had been lost in the accident. In her suite, Lady Lavender met with Mr. Steele, Miss Sable and Baron Bronze. Their meeting was soon interrupted when Lavender received a call on her cell phone from Rhoit Saffron’s cell phone. Concerned that she was getting a call from a dead man, Lavender was somewhat relieved when she answered the call and it was Gavin Gold calling. Lavender’s relief soon turned to concern when Gold told her that she had some explaining to do and that he was on his way up to her suite. Upon hearing that Gavin used Rhoit’s cell phone to call Lady Lavender, Baron Bronze began questioning who exactly Gavin Gold was. Channing Steele, poured Bronze a drink and told him to have a seat as there was some information that Bronze was not privy to. Later, Gavin arrived and confronted Lavender on why he was not made aware that Rhoit was working with PlantCorp. Lady Lavender, along with Baron Bronze and Channing Steele filled a shocked Gavin in on PlantCorp’s main objective of killing the citizens of Blackport on Founder’s Day as a way of winning new investors for the company. Gavin feeling threatened by Lavender and the men reluctantly agreed to go along with their plan. In her suite at the hotel, Kirby Canary and Alva Vermillion discussed what they should do about their discovery of Rhoit’s body at the Pine Cone Inn. Alva confessed to Kirby that she had overheard PlantCorp’s plan for Founder’s Day and the young ladies decided to go to the police.

DECENT PROPOSALS

At the hospital, Jake Summers recalled the time he asked his boss and Alva’s father, Chief Vermillion for permission to marry Alva. Realizing enough time had passed since Chief Vermillion’s death, Jake got out of bed and got dressed and left the hospital, determined to find Alva and propose to her. When Ramona Vermillion arrived at the hospital, she was shocked to find Jake’s hospital room empty. Back at the hotel, Alva and Kirby made their way to the main entrance to go to the police station, but they were stopped when Gavin Gold appeared and told them they needed to rethink their idea of telling the cops what they knew about PlantCorp’s deadly plan. Meanwhile, outside the hotel, a weakened Jake arrived, but he collapsed before he could enter the hotel. Baron Bronze and Channing Steele grew concerned that they could not trust Gavin with the information they had given him. Lady Lavender however was certain she could trust Gold and revealed what she considered her trump card – Mai Le. Alva and Gavin decided that the best way to stop PlantCorp from killing the entire population of Blackport on Founder’s Day was to make an announcement at the Miss Blackport Contest warning the citizens of the evil plan. Once Alva went to sleep, Gavin went to get coffee and was met by Mai Le. Gavin was sad to have to lie to Mai Le that her boyfriend, Rhoit had committed suicide. A distraught Mai Le asked Gavin if he could accompany her back to her apartment, as she was too upset to go alone. At the apartment, Mai Le convinced Gavin to climb into bed with her to help her fall asleep. Gavin was unaware that Mai Le was in cahoots with PlantCorp and that Lady Lavender had ordered her to make sure Gavin had no chance of warning anyone in town about PlantCorp’s deadly plans. Mai Le tied Gavin’s hands to the headboard of her bed and left him.

BEAUTY ON PARADE

As the town prepared for the annual Miss Blackport Contest, John Boddy paid a visit to Madame Lillian Puce, the organizer of the event. Boddy told Puce he would be in attendance at the contest. And later, Boddy received a call from Elizabeth Peacock-Canary. Mrs. Peacock-Canary informed John that his cousin, Vivienne Scarlet had disappeared from her hospital room in Los Angeles. At the Black Towers, Jake was taken to the hotel’s security office, where he refused medical attention. When Matthew Steele told Copper Smith of the man locked in the hotel’s security office, Copper told Matt that the man was Jake Summers and that they needed to notify Alva so that she could convince him to return to the hospital. At the Pine Cone Inn, Mindy Mint stressed out over being a last minute contestant in the Miss Blackport Contest, while Alphonse Brunette watched as police removed Rhoit Saffron’s body from a room. Jojo Summers tried to calm her niece Audrey’s concerns over the fact that Jake had left his room at Blackport Memorial Hospital without doctor’s consent. When Ramona Vermillion and Jojo mentioned that Audrey needed to get to the Black Towers Hotel because the Miss Blackport Contest was to begin in a few hours, Audrey told them that she wasn’t going to participate in the contest unless Jake was found. On the way to the hotel, Ramona, Jojo and Audrey stopped by Alva and Mai Le’s apartment, hoping that Jake would be there. They were unaware however, that Gavin Gold was tied up in Mai Le’s bedroom. Unable to hear Gold’s shouts for help, Audrey and Ramon left the apartment. At the Black Towers Hotel, many of Blackport’s most prominent citizens began to assemble for the Miss Blackport Contest. Copper Smith and Matthew Steele went to Kirby Canary’s suite to get Alva so she could go down to the hotel’s security office where Jake was being held, but when Alva got to the security office, Jake was gone. Meanwhile, Yvette Brunette arrived at the hotel, and saw her mother, Corrine Canary in the lobby. Corrine asked Yvette if she would be willing to help her in a mysterious plan. The plan, much to Yvette’s confusion, involved Yvette getting a job as a waitress at the Blackport Performing Arts Center on Founder’s Day. Later, Corrine received word from Veronica Sable that Channing Steele was planning on murdering Kirby and Alva. Veronica and Corrine were oblivious to the fact that Jake was listening to their conversation. As the Miss Blackport Contest was beginning in the Grand Ballroom of the Black Towers Hotel, the contestant’s nervously put the finishing touches on their hair and make-up. Mindy Mint, doubting her chances of winning the contest, imagined that the event’s coordinator, Madame Puce, mocked her and told her she had no chance of winning. Upstairs, Lady Lavender adjourned a meeting of potential PlantCorp investors and Miss Veronica Sable expressed her concern with the fact that Channing Steele would attempt to murder Kirby Canary and Alva Vermillion in front of the many people that were gathered in the hotel. Lavender, unaware that Mai Le was listening to them, told Sable that Steele would do anything to make sure PlantCorp’s plans for Founder’s Day went off as planned, much like Baron Bronze did when he murdered Rhoit. When Mai Le heard that it was Bronze that had murdered Rhoit, she set out to find him. Alva realizing that Mai Le was not backstage with the rest of the contestants went out to the lobby to find her. As Lady Lavender and Miss Sable came out of an elevator, they saw Bronze in the lobby, and so did Mai Le. But before Mai Le had a chance to confront Bronze, Alva found her and told her that the contest was about to start. Jake Summers was relieved that Alva was still safe and that Channing Steele had not accomplished his goal in murdering her. Jake swore to do whatever it took to keep Alva safe. A few moments later, Matthew Steele and Copper Smith came into the lobby. Ducking out of site, Jake listened as Matt explained that a mysterious figure was seen in a balcony at the rear of the ballroom, but before they could go and investigate, the Miss Blackport Contestants took to the stage and they went back in to watch. Jake, thinking that the person on the balcony must be Channing Steele, went to the balcony stairs. Up in the balcony, Channing Steele watched the contest with a gun at his side. Channing was so focused on his goal of killing Kirby and Alva, that he didn’t realize that he was not alone on the balcony. Once the talent portion of the Miss Blackport Contest was over, Alva asked Mai Le if she had seen or heard from Gavin Gold. Mai Le lied to Alva, knowing good and well that she had left Gavin tied up in her bedroom at her apartment. Mai Le was unaware that Gavin had freed himself from the ropes and was now in the hotel. When the judge’s decision was handed in, the contestants were narrowed down to three with Alva, Kirby and Mindy taking to the stage. Gavin entered the ballroom and Kirby let Alva know that he was there. Gavin told Alva not to warn the citizens about the planned attack on Founder’s Day as they had originally decided, but Madame Puce made Alva return to the line-up before he had the chance to explain why he wanted her not to. Up in the balcony, Channing Steele took the opportunity and positioned himself to murder Alva and Kirby. Gavin, turning from the stage, caught a glimpse of Steele up in the balcony and ran towards the back of the room, attracting the attention of some of the audience members. As the winner of the Miss Blackport Contest was about to be announced, Gavin ran into Mai Le, who was shocked to see him. Gavin took Mai Le out to the Lobby, while in the Ballroom, a shot rang out and Alva collapsed to the stage. The audience began to scream as Alva’s mother ran to the stage. Another shot rang out, sending the audience diving for cover. Realizing the shots came from the rear balcony Matthew Steele drew his weapon and made his way to the back of the Ballroom and up the stairs. Once up in the balcony, Matt saw a shadowy figure hunched over the railing and yelled for the person to surrender. When the person did not respond, Matt carefully went to the railing and pulled the person back, revealing the person’s identity as his father, Channing Steele. Matt was joined on the balcony by Gavin Gold and Matt told Gavin that Channing was dead. Gavin rushed to the railing to see what was happening on the stage and saw that Copper was helping an injured Alva. Moving away from the railing, Gavin kicked Channing’s gun and crouched down to get a better look at it. While down on the floor, Gavin noticed an object shining from underneath a chair and reached to get it. When Matt questioned Gavin on what he had found under the chair, Gavin held out a diamond ring.

FOUNDER’S DAY NIGHTMARE

Founder’s Day found the citizens of Blackport in a state of shock over the shooting of Alva Vermillion and the mysterious death of Channing Steele. Mayor Aubergine announced that even with those tragic events the Founder’s Day celebration would go on. At the Performing Arts Center, Yvette Brunette helped Françoise Sarcelle set up for the party as Dame Beatrice Mellon rehearsed her performance. In a conference room at the Black Towers Hotel, Lady Lavender welcomed PlantCorp’s potential investors and members of the board. Rusty Nayler apologized for not taking a more active role in the company. At Jojo’s Diner, Ramona Vermillion tearfully reunited with her youngest daughter, Solana, who was accompanied by her boyfriend, Diego Ladrillo. Audrey Summers, went outside to have a cigarette, but was stopped when Jake showed up. Later, Jake told Gavin Gold that he was in the hotel at the time of Alva’s shooting and that he had purchased a diamond ring to give to her. Gavin realized that the ring he found in the balcony near Channing Steele’s body was the same one. A worried Corrine Canary talked with Veronica Sable, who tried to reassure her that Kirby and Yvette would not be harmed in PlantCorp’s demonstration and that some members of her own family would also be in attendance. Later, Corrine went to the Black Estate and met with a mysterious man in the Black Family Mausoleum. The man explained to Corrine that there was not enough of the elixir to save all of the people that were at the Performing Arts Center. As poisoned-filled balloons hovered over the guests at the Founder’s Day celebration, Dame Mellon and Marina Popov took to the stage, while bottles of champagne laced with the life-saving elixir were served to some of the guests. As Dame Mellon finished her song, the balloons were released and the excited guests prepared to pop them and receive prizes that were inside. Onstage, Dame Mellon and Marina Popov’s delight in seeing Blackport’s citizens clamoring for inexpensive trinkets soon turned to horror when people began collapsing. The poison from the balloons quickly overtook the partygoers and Marian Popov let out a blood-curdling scream. In the conference, Lady Lavender and some of the others watched the events unfold on a monitor and began to applaud while a stunned Rusty Nayler and a tearful Veronica Sable recoiled in disgust. The entire auditorium became deathly silent as Marina Popov herself collapsed to the stage.