Erica's flight out of Betty Ford landed her at the Palm Springs airport. She scheduled a flight to Seattle to visit Bianca, but she didn't plan on what she saw while at the airport. A nervous Erica held one of her pain pills firmly in her hand, ready to take it. The lounge's Tv set aired the Cutting Edge---and Erica saw Laurel get killed. Frantically, Erica paged Dr. Kinder. Dr. Kinder called minutes later and Erica told him how she couldn't stay at Betty Ford because she didn't like the rules and she was now totally cured. Dimitri found out just before his luncheon meeting with Gloria that Erica went AWOL from the center, but Glo told Dimmie that Erica can't be forced to stay in drug rehab. It's treatment, not prison. As Johnthan fielded his call from Erica, he watched on at Dimitri. After finding out that Erica did try to reach her estranged husband but couldn't get through, Dr. Kinder told Erica that she should stay at the airport and not go anywhere. He'd be there as soon as possible. Just as Tad and Dixie were about to pacth things up, Opal called out for Tad to put on the TV. Of course this meant now that Dix would see the airing of Laurel's death. She began so enraged that she packed her bags and headed off to spend the night at Myrtle's with Michael. Michael, by the way, had also seen the show and could not believe that WRCW would be so concerned with ratings and not give a damn about the pain they are causing to Laurel's loved ones. Janet battled the little voice inside her head that told her to join the "dark side." The voice (that of "Mirror Janet") told Janet that she had tried unsuccessfully to kill Laurel in the past so she should just accept the blame for her death. And here's something that dispells the myth that Laurel was killed by Janet: The voice acknowledged that Janet did not kill Laurel, but she was simply accused of it because everyone in Pine Valley hates her. Laura was arrested for shoplifting a $100+ kashmere sweater from a boutique. She was immediately arrested on the spot and taken off to (you guessed it) the Pine Valley Prison where she would share a cell with Janet.
The pace slowed down slightly on today's show. Hayley told an AA meeting of the pain she feels over Laurel's death. Elsie, an AA member, refused to attend the meeting because Jason was there. Elsie, a gay rights activist, refused to be in the same room with the "hateful" Cutting Edge rouser. Hayley's telling of how she pulled a gun on Adam made Jason recall how he was in the "gun drawer" just before Laurel's shooting. "Little Grey," Edmund and Maria's still unnamed baby, wasn't as strong as he should be. In fact he was refusing all of the nourishment being given to him. As a last resort, the baby would either have to be put on an or breastfed by him mother. This left Maria and Edmund with the painful task of asking Kelsey to breastfeed the infant, something that could form a bond between mother and son. Meanwhile, Tad had visited Kelsey, but Kelsey thought that Tad was the latest Martin assault, asking her to keep the baby. Tad explained that he knows more than anyone the aspects of adoption and that no matter what choice Kelsey makes, it will be a good choice. Edmund and Maria showed up a short time later and asked Kelsey if she'd be willing to breastfeed. Kelsey immediately said no because she had some rather unpleasant images of what it would be like. After Edmund said that he'd be in debt to Kelsey if she'd help out (and save the baby's life), she agreed. At the Valley Inn on a dinner date with Brooke, Adam Junior, and Jamie, Adam soon found himself dateless. Mateo called Pierce at Janet's request to have him come down to the police station and help out Laura. Brooke overheard the phone call and decided that she could offer some help since she has experience with parentless children. Mateo accompanied Laura down to the police station. Janet asked Matt to call Pierce because he was fatherlike to Laura. Laura was processed on shoplifting charges and told that she's be placed in a foster home. Brooke stepped in and said that she'd be more than willing to serve as a home for Laura. Pierce wouldn't qualify as a suitable host for Laura because he's single and lives in the woods. Adam was left to trade barbs with Palmer and Pheobe (who showed up to have dinner with Pierce) about his feelings for Brooke and his insecurities with Pierce. Janet asked to speak to Brooke alone and then asked if she believed that she was innocent. Brooke said that Janet is innocent until proven guilty and even offered to give Janet reports on Amanda's condition. After Janet was left alone for the night, she had a revelation. Brooke was an all too familiar face. She had Pierce, Laura, and everything good---she was Natalie reincarnated. Janet vowed that she'll get out of prison and put an end to "taht self-righteous sow."
The rollercoaster known as Sweeps month continues its winding track voyage. To continue with the metaphor, let's just say we're at a very low and low point on the ride right now. Liza was jubilant after getting the latest ratings. The airing of Laurel's murder set all kinds of records for WRCW. The controversial decision to air the show sent the Cutting Edge's ratings through the roof. After doing a jig and stopping just short of singing a cheer, Liza decided to prep herself for Laurel's funeral. Dixie stopped by the studio to go to the funeral with Tad, but that was blown when Liza told Tad to take "the kids" because the Martins' Happy Family would be a great publicity stunt for The Cutting Edge. Dixie, who wrongly assumed that Tad is in agreement with everything Liza says, told tell that he was an evil man for trying to capitalize on a woman's murder. This all came just after Dix told Michael that she and her husband are on the verge of a divorce. Hayley found herself having a difficult time tending to Tim and Amanda. That's until Mateo came to the rescue. Matt dropped by the Dillon House to see how Hayley was holding up, but the duo's goodtimes were short-lived. You can probably already figure out why. The woman with better sonar than a bat locked in on Mateo's vitals and payed an unsolicited visit to the Dillons to get Mateo to escort her to Laurel's funeral. Erica called Travis hoping that she could have a few words with Bianca, but that wasn't about the happen. Travis told Erica that she cannot talk to her daughter and added that he told Bianca that her mom is a drug addict. Erica hovered on the brink of popping her "security pill." Jonathan showed up later and comforted Erica, telling her that she needed to return to Betty Ford. I dunno why she left. I've seen the place and it looks really nice. More on that later. Anyway, Erica refused to go back to the Potty Cleaning center. Dr Kinder reminded Erica how he went to jail to cover for Erica ramming into Maria and Kelsey and she finally conceded to return. Not for her, but for Jonathan. Noah and Julia's boat finally came in. Well, it docked somewhere. They were about to leave the freighter when they heard voices. They took for cover and watched as a gaggle of guys placed a wooden crate marked "Handle with Care/Pershiable" in the hull. After they left, Noah and Jewels snooped the box to see what it contained, hoping that it was food. It wasn't. It was the body of a mysterious woman. If she weren't dead, she could be the mysterious, free-spirited, and exotic Corinne Elroy (a new character coming to AMC). The guys returned later to give the woman food and were stunned to find her dead. Jason showed up at Myrtle's to have a conversation with Dixie, but she blew him off. Jason tried to follow after her, but Michael stopped him and told him that he doesn't care if he dislikes him, but that Jason needs to support Kevin. All this came just in time to set up the day's cliffhanger: Jason remember having a handgun just as Laurel was shot.
Tad and Dixie really got into it on today's show. Tad blasted Dixie for running out on him and not discussing their problems. Dix used her fury to tell Tad that he is an uncaring urchin, just like Liza. The two blew up at each other and they both agreed that they cannot go on like this anymore. Dix nodded and said that Tad shouldn't expect her home any time soon. The whole time, unbeknownesdt to the fading love birds, Liza listened in through an intercom. Julia and Noah tried to figure out who the mysterious dead-woman-in-the-box was. But they tossed it aside when they heard the ship pulling up it's anchor and heading back out to sea. They scampered around trying to get off the ship, but every effort was thwarted by the two Caribbean-accent speaking men. When they got back to the box, the woman had mysterious vanished. The two mates returned shortly thereafter and also found the woman had disappeared. They began talking of voodoo and how the woman wasn't dead, but rather in some mystical trance and would come back to claim the lives of those who crossed her. Jason realized that he was responsible for Laurel's death...or at least he thinks he is. As he was yelling at Michael, he saw a vision of him holding a gun and aiming for Michael. He heard the shot of a gun, but could remember no more. Trevor bid Laurel a final farewell just before Laurel's loved ones gathered for her funeral. Jack and Hayley paid their respects to Laurel in eulogies, but things turned bitter when Tad and Liza showed up. Hayley first had words for them and then Trevor ordered them out of the funeral parlor because he no longer considered Tad a friend. Hayley then made her way to an AA meeting where she found Jason breaking down in front of the meeting, saying how he needs help.
Maria returned to Kelsey's room to ask her to breastfeed the baby again, but Kelsey blew up. She flat out refused to breastfeed and told Maria that since she cannot have a child she should keep her mouth shut on what it's like to be a mother. Ouch! The darling Kate even went as far as to say she would get a shot that would supress her milk production. But when Edmund popped in to talk to Kelsey, her attitude changed. She agreed to nurse the baby because Edmund asked her to. And in her mind, she envisioned what it would be like if she and Edmund were the baby's parents. Maria and Edmund's anxieties were about to be put to rest. Belinda showed up with the adoption papers and said that Kelsey said she is ready to sign them. But when Belinda gave the papers to the new mother, Kelsey threw them back in Ms Keefer's face, telling her the buzz off because she doesn't want to sign the papers and if and when she decides to sign them, she'll call Belinda. I half expected her head to spin around! At AA, Jason broke down in tears with Hayley by his side. He explained how much he despises Michael for "making" Kevin gay. He went on to recount how he took a supposedly unloaded gun out of Tad's office and pointed it at Michael. It wasn't long before Hayley figured out that Jason shot and killed Laurel. The predicament comes now when Hayley has decide if she'll break the confidentiality rule of Alcoholic's Anonymous or tell what she knows about Laurel's death. Trevor told Jack that he doesn't think Janet was the one who killed Laurel. On the heels of this, Jack had to quickly rethink his action on arresting Janet on murder charges. Trevor went on to say that there were dozens of "Janets" at the studio and any one of them could have pulled the trigger. Hayley showed up just as Trevor and Jack were having the conversation, but she said nothing. Not knowing what Hayley would do, Jason ran home to get his affairs in order. Jason made sure he told Kevin when the bills were due and to get his college applications out on time because he was going to be going away for a long time. Kevin looked on, having no idea what his brother was talking about. Noah and Julia knew that they had to get off of the boat, but there was no simple way of going about it. So they finally chose to jump ship and swim to shore even if they didn't know how far shore was. As they made a dash for the ship's deck, the henchmen heard them and pulled their guns on them.
