Am I caught in a hit-and-run?

Quinn tried to help a contrite Zoe reconnect with Carter but ended up confiding in the COO instead. Meanwhile, Liam had visions of Vinny, as Thomas hypocritically wanted justice for his left-for-dead friend! Tell it "straight up" with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Were you such a broken record that it seemed like you reinvested in vinyl? Did you go all Dr. Ruth with a lovelorn coworker? Did you yelp about what was good for the goose, forgetting that you were the gander? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Walton-Fulton-Buckingham clan this week!

Straight up now tell me, Scoopers! Oh oh oh! One thing I'll tell you straight up is that a lot of us are cheesed that we were promised a murder mystery, yet Vinny's death wasn't a murder, and the culprit is no mystery, since we know Liam was behind the wheel. Add that it all was an accident, and I don't blame y'all for crying foul. I'm still hoping there's another twist coming, as we were also promised.

I have a few ideas why I think Liam's involvement and torment is a red herring, but can we just talk about what a hypocrite Thomas is? All this disgust and rage over his BFF being left for dead on the side of the road...when Thomas ran Emma off the road and watched her die, also not calling the police! Wouldn't this be a good time for the "new and improved" Thomas to mention that? Lots to unpack here, so let's Scoop about it!

Congregated in the CEO office (because no one has their own office anymore), Brooke and Katie looked over Flo's dbut report. Brooke, whose updo/high ponytail was fierce, initially doubted that Flo could have done such good work. But Brooke came around, then decided to bewail Lope's separated status to her sister and niece. Katie realized that Brooke was pushing Lope because Brooke wanted Thomas out of Hope's picture.

The youngest and oldest Logan sisters determined that Brooke remained anti-Thomas because Brooke was unable to forgive Thomas for keeping Beth from Hope...right in front of Flo! And without the slightest hint of irony! Look, Logans, Thomas only kept the secret. Flo participated in what needed to be kept secret. Wow, talk about a missed beat there. They all just acted like Flo had done nothing.

And was I the only one annoyed that Flo was getting inserted into stories that are really none of her business? Hope wouldn't want Flo knowing anything about her shaky marriage to Liam, and Flo's not even on the periphery of Zoe and her not-engagement to Carter. Yet Flo was there, shipping Zarter as if her opinion mattered. Yeah, you caught me; I was hoping Flo would have had the date with the Grim Reaper instead of Vinny.

Flo's a fictional character; I can wish her dead if I want to. I think it's just that I didn't appreciate Flo being needle-dropped into other people's stories as if she were a fan favorite. I get the feeling the show doesn't know what to do with Flo and is trying her out in different scenarios, when I was sure the scene was being set for her untimely demise. Killing off Vinny instead was predictable and unsatisfying. Shut up, Flo.

Quinn wanted all the details about how Zoe using Eric's herbal digestion remedy to turn Paris into a fart machine (although all I really heard was a noisy stomach) ruined Paris' date with Zende. Alas, it had just somehow made Zende and Paris bond, Zoe reported. (I actually had a similar experience once, but y'all don't wanna know about that.) Zoe realized it was time to actually be a sister to her sister.

Zoe's back-and-forths about Paris get on my nerves, and I don't know if I should expect Zoe to not attack her sib again, even after her desire for reconciliation. And instigator Quinn was the devil on Zoe's shoulder without there being a corresponding angel to balance things out. It felt like Quinn would have been perfectly happy with Zoe continuing to cause trouble in Paris' burgeoning romance with Zende.

Carter came in to grab some papers and blew off Zoe's attempt to reach out to him, saying that wasn't something he could be a part of right now. I guess he's not a part of suits anymore, either. Isn't it odd that he spent years in suits, outdressing everyone at Forrester, but now that he's COO, he's scaled down to super-casual? Whatever; Quinn saw the rebuff and thought she might be able to help Zoe's cause.

Carter wasn't in the most receptive mood on that subject, having just sat through Zende's attempt to Krazy Glue Carter's relationship with Zoe back together. The former Room 8 star gruffly told Quinn he couldn't take Zoe throwing any more apologies at him. I'd have to agree; it's been a couple of months now, and I don't think there's enough "there" there to justify all this fuss. Move on, Zoe; move on.

Quinn opted to see Carter on Zoe's behalf, inviting herself over to the loft and commenting how Carter had kept all of the dcor that Ridge had bought and paid for. Smooth entrance line, Quinnster. Carter didn't want to talk, but Quinn admitted she could relate to Zoe by virtue of the fact that Quinn had hurt a man, as well. While Quinn wasn't known for her empathy, she did believe in second chances.

And that's certainly because Quinn has had triple and quadruple and quintuple second chances. Perhaps not coincidentally, Ridge, with whom Quinn had once played tonsil hockey behind hubby Eric's back, had gone to the Forrester mansion to check up on Eric, sensing his pop was distressed about something. Eric revealed he was still struggling with how Quinn had reverted to her dastardly self.

I would have thought Eric would have been more torqued about Quinn wanting to call Robert at Caf Russe to set up a private table for them! The Caf Russe only closed down in 2011! There was a whole big scene about it! If not, that would have been a cool nod to continuity. Sorry, Robert. Eric continued, telling Ridge that forgiveness was not a magic potion, which Ridge and Brooke knew better than most.

Amen! But before Eric could get into what was really wrong between him and Quinn, Zoe traipsed in, offering them more foolery about how sorry she was and how Carter had rushed her and how her almost-nuptials with Thomas had spooked her. Nobody is about that, Zoe! Besides, I wanted to hear what was up with Queric, and didn't appreciate the interruption.

Thankfully, we got more info via Quinn and her unusual scene partner, Carter. As Carter lamented the lack of connection and lack of passion since splitting from Zoe, it made Quinn look at the lack of passion in her own relationship, and she ended up admitting to a loss of sexual satisfaction with Eric since their reconciliation. Quinn felt she had said too much, but Carter felt it was only fair that Quinn shared, too.

Carter even went so far as to say that the concern Quinn had for him was mutual. And Quinn remarked that it hurt not being touched for so long! Whoa...is this going where I think it's going? I didn't see any definite sparks between Carter and Quinn, but let's face it...Carter is on the rebound, and Quinn is a lady left lonely. It certainly wouldn't be the first time such a soap pair found love in the afternoon!

I don't want to see Eric hurt, but I've never shipped Queric, and after Quinn tanked Bridge to cast Shauna as Ridge's husband, I really thought Queric should have been done. And I'm not invested enough in Zarter that I really care how much Zoe might be stung by Carter getting with Quinn. Is Quarter (Cinn?) something you'd want to see? I admit it's intriguing...and I'm just so hungry for anything different on this show!

Not that things haven't changed up a bit in recent weeks. We usually don't get scenes in a morgue. In this one, Thomas broke down in tears at the sight of his dead best friend, with Matthew Atkinson giving some of his finest performances yet. Thomas demanded to know from Finn just how Vinny died, but Finn didn't have much to report. Aren't they going to do an autopsy on Vinny?

Maybe when they do, we'll find out that Vinny didn't actually die from being hit by a car. After all, as Liam kept wailing, Vinny just stepped out into the road. Maybe Vinny had been fatally drugged, and that's why he was in the street. Maybe I'm hanging onto the words "murder mystery," but that's not what we have so far, so it feels like false advertising. Finn just stood there as Thomas crowned Vinny a decent person.

It's too bad we didn't actually get to see Thomas and Vinny grow up together; it would have lent poignancy to Vinny's death. We were only introduced to Vinny because Thomas wanted drugs to spike Liam's drink with so Liam would get all horny and sleep with Steffy, which no one ever found out about. Then Vinny crushed on Steffy and slipped her drugs, all the while apparently having a girlfriend.

So, yeah, not buyin' it. The only thing I will say in Vinny's defense is that he did step up and tell Thomas how crappy it was that Thomas was using his son Douglas in his attempts to bag Hope. But that was about it. Hearing that Vinny had been the victim of a hit-and-run, Thomas vowed to find the bastard animal who left Vinny to die, again with no acknowledgment that Thomas had done exactly that with Emma.

Thomas can't label Vinny's "killer" a "sick individual" without looking in the mirror himself first. And by Thomas' own admission, Vinny dealt drugs. No wonder Hope started to think that Vinny was run down on purpose, possibly by someone from that seedy world. Wouldn't it make more sense for Vinny to have been attacked by drug thugs and that right now it only looks like Liam was responsible for Vinny's death?

Liam couldn't believe that Bill would demonstrate his love for his son by ditching a dead man's wallet and cell phone and spiriting Liam away from the scene of an accident. Bill couldn't believe he and Liam were still having the same conversation. Frankly, neither could I, and neither could a lot of you. Liam wanting to do the right thing and Bill preventing that was already old by the time we got to this week's eps.

Seriously, Bill and Liam went around in circles so rapidly on this subject, I thought they were going to get whiplash. I don't mind the show driving a point home; it's when they get stuck in repetitive loops of dialogue that it burns my butt. And the father-and-son Spencer duo might have remained in that cycle, except Wyatt suddenly walked in and caught his relatives in their intensity.

Speaking of which, Wyatt was awfully intense, considering he really didn't even know what the tension between Bill and Liam was about. And despite the fact that he was doing his best to pivot, Bill was not wrong that Wyatt should have at least rung the doorbell. Why was Bill's door unlocked in the first place? You'd think the Dollah would have his place done up like Fort Knox after Taylor got in and popped him.

Wyatt kept sticking his nose where it felt like it didn't belong, until Bill countered with the claim that Liam was upset over his separation from Hope. That wasn't an unreasonable cover story, and the way Bill planned out every chapter of it, shipping his car to the Middle East and all, Bill should have had that bit prepared instead of letting Wyatt ask leading questions.

Plus, Bill so uncharacteristically motor-mouthed that Wyatt was sure to catch on. Bill managed to usher Wyatt out of the house but couldn't stop Hope from calling Liam. I liked the way Scott Clifton showed Liam trying to keep it together as he talked to his estranged wife and got the "news" that Vinny was dead. And Liam was doing okay, but that wasn't enough for Bill, who yanked Liam's phone out of his hand.

Bill later told Liam that Liam's tone sent signals to Hope that something was off, but Bill basically hanging up on Hope did that all by itself. Bill is not as in control of the situation as he thinks he is, which is more due to Don Diamont's portrayal than it is anything Bill is saying or doing. Methinks Bill is going to be in far more trouble than Liam when the truth comes out, as Liam rightly said it would.

At Forrester, Thomas let Ridge know that Vinny was dead. "I always liked Vinny," Ridge recalled, but he declared that Vinny should have gone to jail for tampering with Steffy's paternity test. Um...Ridge? Vinny did! The only reason he was running loose in Bel Air was because he was out on bail. Too bad Ridge's bid for criminals being incarcerated didn't extend to Flo, who he helped out of the slammer.

Later, as Thomas continued to reel from the death of his BFF, who should show up but Lieutenant Baker! Pardon me -- Deputy Chief Baker! Mercifully absent of his latter-day trademark hot dogs, the promoted law enforcement officer, who first showed up in 1998 when Sheila busted out of jail and took off, was on Vinny's case...and the first person Baker suspected was Thomas!

Again, that accusation would have carried more weight if there had been reference to Thomas' connection to Emma's death, though Ridge threw the cops off the scent about that. But it should still be on Thomas' file. Instead, Baker suspecting Thomas came out of thin air...at first. The Oscar Meyer lover determined that perhaps Thomas had offed Vinny in an attempt to get revenge for his sister, whose life Vinny had tampered with along with the paternity test!

Stated like that, it makes sense. Thomas didn't answer when Baker wanted to know who might have wanted Vinny dead. And ya know...we haven't seen Steffy for a while! I know, "Jacqui Mac" is on maternity leave, but Steffy's life was turned upside down by Vinny's actions. I wouldn't ordinarily suspect Steffy, but she did kill Aly, albeit by accident. Maybe that's why Steffy took a sudden trip with the kids?

Another person who has reason to hate Vinny is Finn. True, Finn did act surprised when he saw Vinny's body in the morgue, but we don't know much about Finn, and he wasn't afraid to resort to fisticuffs upon learning Vinny had tried to deny him fatherhood. Finn could also alter any autopsy. But I like Sinn, so I really don't want to see Finn carted off to jail.

That leaves Liam, and he already has the alibi of having been with Bill, despite telling Hope that he hated Vinny. So, Baker has no answers yet, and I'm still hoping it isn't as simple as Liam hitting Vinny with the car. Baker knew, with Vinny's phone and wallet missing, that tracks were being covered. And Baker suspecting Thomas was most interesting, as was Thomas feeling Baker already knew "whodunit." Maybe Taylor is back avenging Steffy the way she did with Bill!

At the Spencer compound, Liam had more problems than his father swiping Liam's phone as Bill left to take a conference call. Liam tried to lie down but could only see visions of the accident in his head...until he saw a vision of Vinny standing in the living room! The hooded, ghostly image harassed Liam, taunting Liam over leaving Vinny for dead and vowing that Liam would pay for killing Vinny!

Is Liam having a brain bleed, too? After all, that's what had Thomas having conversations with and resisting commands from a mannequin, which this scene reminded me of. But I'm not being completely facetious about Liam's head here. He has had numerous concussions, the last of which had him hallucinating that he was the one who shot Bill.

How do we know Liam didn't hit his head on the asphalt when he fainted on the roadside? There could be a physiological reason for Liam's behavior, over and above the shock and guilt of hitting Vinny. And another concussion could certainly account for "seeing" Vinny, even if Liam did realize the vision was only in his head. Amazingly, Bill didn't hear Liam's loud convo with the deceased, despite being in the other room.

While Bill worked to keep his eyes from rolling back permanently after walking in on this new wrinkle with Liam, Liam's phone rang again. This time, Bill wanted Liam to take the call, and Liam tried his best to act normal as Hope asked him to come to Forrester to talk about the kids...and "us." As soon as Liam got there, he saw Deputy Chief Baker at Donna's empty desk and ducked out of the cop's eyeline.

Liam unsteadily made his way to the CEO office to meet Hope, freezing in his tracks when he heard a voice behind him, claiming Liam was caught! Liam actually reached for the sky and hesitantly turned around...only to see Charlie there, chortling over Liam being in the building without the prerequisite badge. Okay, what am I missing here? How many hundreds of people have wandered through this place in 34 years without a badge?

And didn't it seem strange that Charlie was enjoying throwing a scare into poor Liam? It seemed Chuck could have found an authoritative but friendly way to let Liam know he was badgeless without playing a prank on the guy. Stranger still, Charlie started asking all these questions that made it look like Charlie suspected Liam of something. I know Charlie is a goofball, but Charlie was way more off than he realized Liam was.

Still shaken from the appearances of Baker and Charlie (why do I feel like I'm reading out license plates there?), Liam walked in to find Thomas with Hope, which didn't make Liam feel any better. Especially when Thomas growled that the monster who hit Vinny didn't deserve to walk free in the world. Yeah...again, Emma. I can't say enough that Thomas has no right to be so indignant about someone leaving someone else to die.

But that didn't stop Thomas, who swore in front of the withering Liam that if the cops didn't find Vinny's killer, Thomas would! It's Mannequin Man to the rescue! You know, we could have been spared all this if it had been Flo who had taken a dirt nap instead. Ah, missed opportunities. I really do hope it turns out Liam's involvement is just a distraction and that someone else actually murdered Vinny. Don't you?

What are your thoughts, Scoopers? Are Liam's current travails more interesting than his usual insertion into triangles? Could Vinny have been near death before Liam hit him? Is the idea of Quinn hooking up with Carter more interesting than Carter and Zoe ever were? And should Thomas step lighter when it comes to hit-and-runs? "Rush rush" over to the Comments section below or the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column! Like these!

"This whole murder fiasco will bring Thomas and Hope romantically closer." -- Cecil

"I can't see Finn risking his future with Steffy by beating up Vinny. Risking jail time and being taken away from his new baby?" -- "thomascd"

"Who bailed Vinny out? Thomas...said he hated Vinny and blocked him from his phone and stuff. So I don't think Thomas bailed him out. Maybe [Vinny] has a family who lives out of town, he called them from jail and they got him a lawyer and wired him the bail money. OR...Vinny was into some drug supplier for some HUGE bucks. The guy bailed Vinny out because Vinny can't pay up while he's in jail...and demands his money and gives him 24 hours to come up with it or else...drug lord sends some thugs over to beat the living crap out of [Vinny], and then they dumped him on the side of the road. Which was where he was when Liam hit him with the Dollah Bill-mobile. The autopsy will show that...the car didn't kill Vinny, the beating did...that is my theory. I seriously doubt that either Liam or Bill will be looking at any serious prison time." -- Christine

"You didn't see the brief glimpse of a pair of feet walking? It was when Bill was putting Liam in the car. It was too arbitrary to throw in if it didn't mean something. Someone else was there." -- Laura

Almost forgot to mention that Lawrence Saint-Victor cowrote Thursday's episode! Kind of unusual, having a cast member contribute to scripts, but also very cool. I've long said the show needs fresher writing as a whole, fresher perspectives. Maybe we're getting a little of that with Liam's story and Quinn suddenly bonding with Carter over her physical dissatisfaction with Eric!

Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And don't forget, protecting yourselves and others from a virus and getting vaccinated for it is always beautiful.Mike

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