“It’s hot in here,” said Anne as she entered the stuffy windowless waiting room of the Orange County Courthouse. Eddie and the crew followed, gear in tow. The clock said 6:40. The trial was scheduled to begin in five minutes. Finding two seats next to each other, Anne and Eddie sat down to wait.

The door opened. In stepped Garner and Jack Ingrassia, both clad in crisp black suits with Zabrina Carothers, close behind. “This must be where the party is,” Zabrina observed. The trio stopped in the center of the room, their boisterous chatter disrupting the somber atmosphere.

At his entrance, Anne quickly made her move.

The bailiff entered to usher everyone into the courtroom. In the defendant’s seat, a fidgety Eddie checked over his shoulder for Anne. His excitement was apparent. With a look, she tried to calm him down.

Judge Hiram Douglas entered the courtroom, putting the trial into motion with a bang of his gavel.

Prosecutor LeRoy Collins called Kenneth Garner as the first witness. On the stand, Garner was cool and articulate—until public defender, Taylor Parker began his cross-examination.

Returning to his seat, Garner whispered to Jack, “That couldn’t have gone any worse.”

Next, the prosecutor then called a surprise witness to the stand.

Finally, despite his attorney’s reservations, it was Eddie’s turn. As he approached the witness stand, Anne broke into a nervous sweat, silently willing her cousin to stay calm.

With Eddie nowhere to be found, the bewildered counselors returned to the courtroom. A furious Judge Douglas issued a bench warrant for “the arrest of Edward Sullivan.” As he spoke the words, Anne noticed a strange – yet familiar – man rise and leave the room. It only took a moment for her to recognize him as the aggressive bounty hunter from Torrie’s Bail Bonds. Knowing she didn’t have a moment to waste, she gathered her crew and left to find Eddie.

Garner grabbed her by the arm.
“We need to talk.”
“Can we talk on the way out?” Anne asked, trying to rush by.
“No. We need to talk now.”

Garner was the last person Anne wanted to talk to. But it was a shot to get closer to Jack, and she needed to take it.

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, they took off to chase down the fugitive Eddie. Their first stop: Sligh Studios. As the SUV pulled out of the parking lot, no one noticed the headlights of the silver Malibu that pulled out right behind them.

Anne and her crew arrived at the studio, and headed inside.

Outside the warehouse, a dark-clad figure climbed out of the silver Malibu.

“No guts, no glory,” he said.

“I just want to apologize,” Garner said.
This friendly and repentant Garner was a far cry from the man who had strong-armed her at the courthouse. She looked at him suspiciously.
“Did you follow us here?” she demanded.
“No. I just came here to apologize. I mean that sincerely.”

Garner explained that everything he was doing was to protect Jack. There were issues with Zabrina and the company. He was ready to help Anne and Eddie as long as they would help him.

“We’re on the same page now,” Garner assured them before walking off into the night.
Anne waited until he was out of earshot.
“We are not on the same page at all.”

Garner climbed into the departing silver Malibu.
“Eddie and Anne are no longer a problem.”

With Garner gone, all Anne cared about was finding Eddie.

“Let’s try the library.”

Jack’s silver Malibu pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. Zabrina had to powder her nose, and she despised gas station bathrooms. As she crossed the parking lot, Garner turned to Jack.
“I don’t trust her.”
Before Jack could reply, a melodic chime sounded from the backseat. Zabrina’s cell phone. Jack and Garner looked at the phone, then at each other. Neither man made a move. The dare was in their eyes. Garner reached first.
“It’s a text message.”

* The Text Message *

When Jack identified Annabelle as a shareholder, Garner put the pieces together. “I need to use the bathroom,” he said. Inside Starbucks, Garner pulled Zabrina aside. “I know that you own 28% of Rosetta Corp. And I know that you’re about to get 23% more. And when you do, you’re going to get rid of Jack. Well I have a proposal for you.” Zabrina listened.

Garner went back to the car alone. Zabrina returned later with a coffee – and a kiss for Jack.
“Anything for you baby,” she said to him, with a quick and pointed look in Garner’s direction.

In the SUV, Anne took a call from a voice that was becoming very familiar.

* Anne receives a call *

They finally arrived at the library, and started showing Eddie’s picture. But there were no leads to be found.

On their way out, wondering aloud where Eddie could be, a young couple interrupted the conversation.

“Oh you know Eddie?”

Anne flashed the picture.

“That’s him. Are you the reporter? He left us this note for you.”

Anne snatched the paper away and read it over.

"Don't try to find me. I'm safe. Just do what you can to let people know about the Central Florida Rural Planning Commission. 4:30 Orlando Science Center. Love, Eddie"

“Okay. He’s safe. We know what we need to do”

They drove to the roof of the six-story parking garage. With the lights of Orlando as her backdrop, Anne taped the lead-in to the most important story she’d ever had.

But a nagging question still remained—