Secrets and lies

It's easy to imagine that seeing Diane and Jack might have sent the mind-muddled Patty into a rage that could have led to those ten hard whacks to the back of Diane's skull.

The Diane Jenkins murder mystery continues to unfold, and I confess I'm enjoying every step down the clue-strewn trail. Despite the fact that many guilty-acting Genoa Citians met up with Diane that fateful night, leaving an abundance of incriminating evidence behind, nothing has happened over the past couple of weeks to convince me that any of them actually killed her. Instead, I, along with a growing number of fans, continue to point my finger at Patty. If she was indeed the peeper at the Abbott estate, it must have felt like a very horrible and painful case of dj vu as she watched Jack and a naked Diane through the window. For those of us who remember those days, Diane was the woman Patty saw making love to Jack when she was a young and pregnant Mrs. Patty Abbott. In her shock and grief, Patty tripped and fell, miscarrying. So it's easy to imagine that seeing Diane and Jack might have sent the mind-muddled Patty into a rage that could have led to those ten hard whacks to the back of Diane's skull.

Dragging Deacon Sharpe into the murderous, murky mix was a twist I hadn't seen coming. Good one, scribes! But was he actually an eyewitness at the park, or did he spot and steal the camera after the fact? Deacon seems to be targeting mainly Phyllis, although he did toy with Abby a bit. But we know he already knew about Abby's confession since he was the one who sold the video to Diane. He told Phyllis he was interested in dating her. Obviously their dumpster sex left him hungering for much more of the same. Perhaps he had been watching her and followed her to the park when she met Diane.

But someone is targeting other Genoa Citians. Who is calling Nick Newman, tormenting him with his own voicemail? Who sent Ashley a photo of her running from the scene? Nick received one of those calls while Deacon was at Restless Style, badgering Phyllis. Which would indicate either that Deacon only has knowledge of Phyllis' part in this murderous play, or he's working in tandem with the real murderer, who perhaps has both Ashley's phone and the stolen camera. Deacon seemed to kind of like Diane. If he had the camera, which presumably recorded the murder and the murderer, you would think he'd want to bring the killer to justice. But this is all just speculation on my part. I'll just have to wait and see what the coming weeks hold to see if I'm warm, hot or goosebump cold.

Kudos to young Kyle, who is hitting the proverbial ball waaay out of the ballpark! Nothing he's said or done in Genoa City up to now hinted that the young man had the acting chops to pull off the understated but powerfully devastated little boy who lost his mother in such a violent manner. I have been riveted by his every scene since the murder, and he and dad Jack are bringing it in spades. I am totally impressed!

Who killed Diane Jenkins isn't the only mystery unfolding in Genoa City. When he's not busy running with Ronan down one false trail after another, Paul continues to look into the past to locate Tucker's love child, or, in this case, maybe it was more of a lust child. We now know the child is no older than 26. And, according to Paul, the words in the letter seem to indicate the child was the result of more than just a simple one-night stand. If that was the case, though, you would think Tucker would be able to narrow down the possibilities, unless he was simultaneously breaking many promises to several women at a time.

At any rate, the age limitation means neither Sam nor Adam could possibly be Tucker's son. If the child is actually a male, I would have to return to my first guess that the son could be Devon after all. Everyone else currently in Genoa City is either the wrong age or has already had their paternal lineage explained. Plus, we all know Devon's mom, Yolanda, will soon be returning to town. Will we soon discover there was a long-ago connection between Yolanda and Tucker? Was Tucker's rejection the reason Yolanda turned to drugs? Of course, knowing our scribes, we can't say with absolute certainty that Tucker's child is male. The mystery woman obviously wanted to punish Tucker for his broken promises by keeping his child from him, so she could have told him it was a son when it was really a daughter. Like Noah's young friend, Hunter, perhaps? Just guessing.

Speaking of Tucker, Katherine is acting like such a female dog these days, I want to be on Tucker's side, but his stubbornness is making it difficult. Why in the world would he refuse Sofia's offer to look over the paperwork Kay wanted him to sign? You would think he would have learned his lesson after Kay used that exact ruse to trick him into showing the court he'd lost his business sense. I guess the brain injury has cost him a little of his common sense as well.

As for Kay, it's hard to figure out her motives. In some ways, I guess Tucker has a little bit of this payback coming. After all, he started this skirmish by using underhanded measures to snatch majority control of Chancellor. But, although I might be wrong about this, I thought he later reversed himself and made them equal partners. Even if my recollection is correct, though, his gesture wouldn't have restored her to wholeness, because she was once the majority shareholder of Chancellor. Of course, Jabot was once owned by Chancellor until Tucker took it. So, I guess I can't fault Kay for taking it back. Tucker would do no less and probably in an equally underhanded manner.

Kay's determination to interfere in Tucker's personal life by trying to have his marriage annulled, however, is less easy to understand. But, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt by presuming her interference is simply out of love because she believes Ashley might have tried to kill her son. I also presume it is also love for her son that motivated her to try to find his son.

While I'm on the subject of sons, what is the deal with Nina's? Why did Ronan disappear without a word after receiving a new lease on life with part of his brother's liver? Is he protecting his family somehow by pretending he doesn't care about them? As Nina berated him, it seemed he wanted to open up to her, but something was holding him back. Clearly there is more to this story, because I refuse to believe Ronan is that conniving or coldhearted. I guess it's up to one of the ladies most recently in his life to pull the truth out of him. Chloe got him to open up to her before, and she's currently without a beau now that Kevin's cut her loose, so she seems the most likely lady to coax the truth from Ronan.

When it comes to Cane, however, he is one son we are finally learning more about. With a father pitting evil twin against good twin, and a mother pretending she only had a daughter, it's no wonder Cane hides all his feelings behind an expressionless mask. His disclosure to Jill about his relationship with his mother humanized him for me and actually has me rooting for him. I could almost see that lost little boy longing for his mother's love, competing for his father's, defending himself against his diabolical twin and trying to protect his innocent sister. And was I the only fan almost wanting to cry for him when he dropped, devastated, onto that park bench, holding those divorce papers?

But while I'm beginning to get a glimmer of what makes Cane tick, I can't say the same about his father. What the devil is he doing? If he wants a truce with Genevieve, somehow I don't think having sex with her, then telling her he wants a divorce, is the way to maintain one. If he thought Genevieve was hateful before, she's going to be one hundred times worse now that he's sexed then immediately scorned her. By the way, I've never been much for anyone's sex scenes, but I found their staircase foreplay surprisingly steamy. Genevieve was a mix of vulnerability, longing, and hope, and that was the first time I thought of Colin as sexy.

Unfortunately, Colin's complicated relationship with Genevieve probably means heartbreak ahead for Jill if she gets involved with him again. It's too bad because I do like them together. Jill loses most of her hard edges when she's with Colin. Of course, a reunion between them is probably not in the cards right now, given that Genevieve has already painted Jill a not so pretty picture of her recent romp with Colin. Genevieve's revelation undoubtedly eroded whatever ground Colin had gained by asking Genevieve for a divorce in Jill's presence. Kind of like two steps forward and a giant leap back.

Daniel is another son leaving me scratching my head in confusion. Didn't his marriage to Amber supposedly crumble because she wanted to make room in her life for Deacon's half-grown son and Daniel didn't? And didn't Daniel give up the rights to his own daughter because he was not the least bit interested in donning some Daddy duds? Yes, I believe, on both counts. So how can I now buy that he would enter with eyes wide open a relationship with Lily, who has not one, but two, wee ones for him to play daddy to.

I actually see Lily and Cane ending up back together, so this whole interlude with Daniel and Lily is likely only to make Daniel more amenable to being a Dad to Lucy and in the process, get all warm and fuzzy with forgiveness for Phyllis. I can almost smell the heaping helping of I told you so Phyllis will serve him from here. On a side note, if Lily and Cane aren't destined to unite, she and Daniel could work this second time around. The chemistry between them definitely seems stronger than before.

It's not just sons who are finally being given some kind of a backstory. Avery almost certainly has a connection to someone in Genoa City. She seems to be avoiding Phyllis for the moment. So does that mean she holds the key to why Phyllis can sometimes act like such a hateful, jealous female dog, something many fans have professed a desire to know? Is Avery a friend of someone Phyllis once wronged? Or could she possibly be a relative, a sister perhaps? The good, obedient sister, favored by Mommy and Daddy, while troublesome Phyllis was shunted aside? We know almost nothing about Phyllis' life before she roared into Genoa City, already obsessed with another woman's fellow. So if Avery holds the key to Phyllis' past life, I can't wait for her to use it to open the door.

Ahh, Adam. He's really cranking up the crazy, isn't he? I don't have a clue as to what the future holds for him. As Victor told him, he has nothing: no family, no friends, no job, and no woman. It's said that man cannot live by bread alone. In Adam's case, however, maybe he can survive just fine on a daily diet of pure and unbridled hatred.

So much for my opinions. Here is what some of you thought about the past week's serving of Genoa City doings. I hope you enjoy a few comments from your fellow soap junkies. And send me an email to share your thoughts with me -- and your email might appear in a future column.

* * * * * * *

The only good thing about Y&R last week was between Lily and Daniel, being past marriage partners, it just seemed so real. But my complaint is that Y&R is spending far too much time on this Diane who did it. It's crazy! They are going to lose so many viewers! - Janice

What is it with GC women keeping their exes from their kids? First Chloe's ridiculous position and now Lily. And don't even get me started on Chloe, Kevin was absolutely spot on in his assessment, Chloe was totally enjoying the drama with Billy and clearly still has feelings for him. - Ellen

I am tired that there is not one honest person coming forward about their contact with Diane! My guess on who killed Diane is it was someone with passion because of the number of times she was struck with the rock. My guess is it was Patty! We saw viewing angles from outside of windows. It smells like a Patty murder to me! - Kathy