Days of our Lives Recap for Monday, December 9, 2024: Rafe believes he has cracked the Lady Whistleblower case

At Rafe’s house, Jada arrived home and found Javi texting someone. Noting the smile on his face, Jada asked Javi if something had happened. Javi claimed he had been making a Christmas gift list. After the two engaged in some light-hearted banter about Jada’s gift, Javi informed Jada that Rafe had left for a Black Patch case. He snarked that Leo seemed to have Rafe at his “beck and call.”

Jada and Javi shared a drink, and he complained about how Rafe had ignored him in favor of football when Javi had tried to talk to his cousin about Leo. Javi said he’d warned Rafe about going to the meeting, and a curious Jada asked why. Javi proclaimed he was trying to defend Rafe’s honor by protecting Rafe from a horrible person like Leo. While Jada thought it “sweet” that Javi cared about Rafe’s integrity, she still couldn’t understand why Javi had a problem with Rafe working on the Lady Whistleblower case specifically.

Javi continued to insist that his concerns were more about Leo. He suggested that Leo might actually have resumed the persona of Lady Whistleblower. Jada wasn’t convinced and said she could understand Leo’s desire to get to the truth. Just then, Javi received a text alert, excused himself, and left. Jada expressed confusion at Javi’s abrupt departure.

In Horton Town Square, a distressed Leo read Lady Whistleblower’s latest column, which had revealed a spoiler about “Weivenip.” When Rafe joined Leo at his table, Leo showed him the article and moaned that Lady Whistleblower had “struck again.” Leo filled an amused Rafe in on his “Weivenip” plot, which involved murder victims turning up alive on a tropical island. Rafe challenged the originality of the plot and pointed out plot holes to Leo’s chagrin. Leo testily reminded Rafe that he’d hired the detective to uncover the imposter’s identity.

Rafe asked Leo about potential suspects, and Leo told him about having accused Javi. Leo defended his actions by claiming that he had subconsciously sabotaged the relationship before he could get hurt. When Rafe pressed about other suspects, Leo seemingly had an epiphany and announced that he’d figured out “Shady” Whistleblower’s identity. Leo then confidently presented his new theory that Kate and Abe were secretly trying to tank the show so that they could collect insurance money. Leo compared the scheme to the Broadway play The Producers.

Rafe was skeptical of Leo’s theory, and he hinted that he had his own theory about the possible new Lady Whistleblower. Even after Leo’s persistent inquiries, Rafe refused to divulge his theory to Leo until he had evidence. Rafe left to work on the case.

Later, Leo browsed the column and lamented about another spoiler that had been disclosed. Javi showed up and mentioned the article. Leo assumed he had come to gloat, but Javi surprised Leo by sympathizing with him. Leo took advantage of Javi’s seeming goodwill by inviting Javi up to his room to watch an episode of the show.

Before Javi could respond, Cary arrived. Leo had a flashback of almost hooking up with Cary in his hotel room before Javi's arrival in town. Cary explained to Javi that he and Leo had gone on a date, but Leo had eventually turned him down. Leo was confused that Javi and Cary seemed to know each other. Javi clarified that he didn’t know Cary, at least not yet.

Javi added that he and Cary had connected on an app. Leo realized that Javi and Cary were going on a date. Javi said goodbye, and a dejected Leo watched the duo leave together.

Meanwhile, Rafe returned home and greeted Jada, who said that Javi had told her about Rafe’s meeting with Leo. Rafe revealed that he believed Hattie Adams might be responsible for Lady Whistleblower due to the woman’s anger at being fired. Jada reminded Rafe that she was investigating Hattie in the poisoning case, and she cautioned her fiancé not to impede her investigation. Rafe jokingly wondered if Jada thought he could catch Hattie before her. She balked, and the couple shook hands and mutually declared, “May the best investigator win.”

Outside the Brady Pub, Joy met with a waiting EJ. He attempted to hand her a check and instructed her to go. Joy hesitated, prompting EJ to ask if there was a problem. Joy expressed reservations about accepting the check, so EJ discussed the prospect of a “fresh start” for Joy. He also offered to use his connections to help her find a new acting job. Just as Joy took the check, Kate approached and inquired about the meeting.

EJ informed Kate that Joy wanted to quit the show. Joy claimed that the lack of rehearsal time was making her anxious and that she was missing living in New York. Kate smiled and said that while she could sympathize, Joy had an “ironclad” contract. With a pointed look at EJ, she reminded Joy that she would be in breach of the contract if she quit. EJ quickly stepped in and claimed that Joy had hired him to get her out of the contract. He also claimed that Joy had been handing him a payment, which was the reason for the check.

As EJ continued to insist Joy wanted out of her contract, Kate declared that Joy was the character of Reagan. Kate told Joy that “everyone” loved her in the role, and she added that both Abe and she were willing to work with Joy and address any concerns. Kate implored Joy to reconsider. Joy relented and told Kate she would stay. Kate gave her a pep talk as EJ seethed in the background.

Once Kate left, EJ immediately lashed out at Joy and asked what she was thinking. Joy countered that Kate had made her realize how much she loved her job. EJ argued that Joy should go because she was ruining his son’s life, and family was most important to him. Joy reminded EJ that Johnny was just as responsible as her for their hookup.

Joy didn’t think it fair that she be punished for Johnny's mistake. She told EJ that Johnny would have to deal with her presence and walked off.

At the DiMera mansion, Alex confronted Johnny about Joy’s decision to leave town. Johnny angrily told Alex to stay out of it just as Chanel walked into the room. Chanel demanded to know what the men were arguing about. Johnny tried to blow off the exchange, but Alex told Chanel that he and Johnny had been discussing Joy. Alex clarified that the discussion involved Chanel.

When Alex started to tell Chanel that something had happened a week ago, Johnny interrupted and blurted out that Alex had slept with Joy. Alex was taken aback and attempted to say something, but Johnny interrupted him again and lied that he’d overheard an incriminating exchange between Alex and Joy. A confused Chanel asked Alex if what Johnny was claiming was true. After a beat, Alex confirmed Johnny’s claim.

Alex patted Johnny on the shoulder and said he’s just been telling Johnny that it was none of his business since Johnny had supposedly been “concerned” about the effects on the show following Alex’s dalliance with Stephanie. Alex shot a look at Johnny as he added that he and Joy weren’t hurting anybody. “It’s not like we’re married,” he said with a forced smile. Chanel refuted Alex’s belief that he was not doing any harm. She was worried that he would hurt Joy since Joy was new in town and he was on the rebound from Stephanie.

When Chanel went upstairs briefly, Alex commanded Johnny to tell him the reason for the lie. Johnny claimed he had panicked and had said the first thing that came to him. Alex was outraged because Chanel would think of him as the bad guy in the situation. He agreed to keep quiet for her sake, but he called Johnny a “little bitch” for how he had handled the circumstances. After Chanel returned, Alex promised Chanel that he would not hurt anyone and left.

Chanel told Johnny she needed to rehearse the scenes she had with Joy the next day and invited him to run lines with her and play the part of the “home-wrecker.” An uncomfortable Johnny agreed.

Later, Johnny was alone when EJ came home. Johnny wanted an update on Joy. EJ reluctantly informed his son that Joy had rejected the offer. Johnny did not take the news well, but EJ told him he would have to make the best of it. Chanel once again walked into the middle of the tense exchange.

At Alex’s apartment, he was rehearsing his script when he heard a knock at the door. He saw his visitor was Joy and invited her inside. Alex was pleasantly surprised when Joy told him that she was staying on the show. He then revealed that they had another problem: Chanel believed Joy and he had slept together. Joy was shocked by the news.

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