Does anybody really know who killed Diane?

Finally, Diane's killer has been revealed -- or has it? Nikki seems to think she did the dirty deed, but has her drinking clouded her memory? Have the writers even decided for themselves? Review the facts in this week's Twoodunit, er, Two Scoops!

What a week for Genoa City homecomings, hmm? Nikki, Emily, Harmony... Let's start with Mrs. Newman. Nikki made a triumphant return from rehab, had a romantic reunion with Victor, went to one A.A. meeting, and completely fell apart! Did she really remember killing Diane, or was she so befuddled that she only thought she remembered attacking her? And if I were Victor, I'd be suing that rehab center because after five months there, Nikki was right back on the bottle! She never embraced sobriety, which suggests to me that the rehab didn't work, did it?

But Nikki's homecoming allowed Victor to play the hero, which was a nice change of pace, since he's been such a villain lately. But you know that there's no way he's going to be imprisoned for Diane's murder. He didn't kill Diane, and even with his confession, the D.A. will bungle this case. He won't need Heather's help; he'll do it all by himself! The evidence is circumstantial at best, and there are so many suspects that even a lawyer trained on only episodes of Law & Order would be able to argue reasonable doubt! Just you watch -- the syringe in the safe will turn out not to have been used in Diane's killing, or the blunt force trauma from the rock didn't do it either... We're going to find out it was something else.

And -- eventually -- Patty will be found out. By the way, since there is footage from the park that shows everyone chasing Diane, confronting Diane, fighting with Diane, why isn't there any footage of Patty? That seems to be a big hole in this plot. Patty should be in the footage, and so should Deacon, since he was there, too. What happened? Selective security footage?

Meanwhile in Chicago, Emily only needed for Tucker to challenge her to return to Genoa City and -- boom -- there she was. Perhaps it was inevitable that she'd come back, because somebody is going to need to analyze Patty once she's captured. Who knows how much damage she'll do before she's snagged, but Patty is not going to be on the loose for long. I'm still baffled that the police never interviewed her -- Myrna -- after the explosion at Genevieve's house. How did that slip through the cracks? She was the victim of a big accident and was hospitalized with horrific burns. We were told that Colin was responsible for the explosion...but still, wouldn't the cops have asked the victim what she'd seen before the explosion? If they had, someone would have realized that Myrna was Patty Williams -- fugitive from a mental institution!

Emily's return was a surprise because of the way they presented it. We didn't even know that Tucker was seeing a therapist...or that the therapist was in Chicago...or that she just so happened to be Dr. Petersen, Jack's ex-fiance. When they showed him meeting with the shrink, it was a shock to see that of all the doctors in all the world, Tucker chose the woman who was involved with the Abbott family and the Newmans and all the craziness about Patty Williams. I mean, we as viewers didn't even know that Tucker was seeing a therapist. It was just sprung on us...and then it's Emily!

Later, it was interesting to see Tucker trying to reach out to Kay, but, of course, that went nowhere because Harmony was there. So far, I'm bored with this storyline. Harmony doesn't do it for me. I'm not connecting, and I don't trust Kay's relationship with her. What's the end game? How will Kay befriending Harmony give either of them a closer relationship with Devon? Meanwhile, Devon remains a pawn. He keeps telling anyone who will listen to him that he doesn't want either Kay or Tucker in his life, but they're relentless. The one development with Devon that was positive this past week was his accepting Abby as an investor. That made sense. She's got $500 million and is desperate to get into the entertainment business. And she likes Devon. Maybe too much. That should add up to some interesting developments.

It might be fun to see what Victoria and Nick plan on doing now they've decided to go into business together. They each have $500 million, too -- thanks to Victor losing that lawsuit. I doubt sincerely that Nick will be creating another magazine. Frankly, I think he was happy to sell Restless Style to Billy. Nick's been an absentee editor, spending more time in bed with Avery than putting out a publication. By the way, what qualifications did Nick have to run a magazine in the first place? He never wrote anything.

Nick's happier as a horn-dog, enjoying the ladies and not working too hard. He worked way too hard when he was Victor's number one lackey. With Victoria in their new business endeavor, I'm sure big sister will be in charge. That's assuming they actually get their enterprise off the ground. With Victor's arrest and Nikki's drunkenness, not to mention Adam trying to take over the conglomerate, don't be shocked if Nick and Victoria return to Daddy's company to save the day. It would be just like the Newmans to band together in the face of disaster.

The new and improved Billy is wonderful. Thankfully, he got the magazine back from Nick. Billy does not belong in Jabot. Jack is too intense to work with every day; he'd drive me crazy. Ashley was ready to deck him when he suggested making a move on Beauty of Nature when they've barely gotten settled with Jabot (this time around). She was right, too. Jack should not be looking for corporate takeovers until the new product line has taken hold. Just chill, Jack.

But you know what? When Jack finds out that Victor was arrested and it looks like he's going to be imprisoned for murdering Diane, Jack will want to take advantage of Newman Enterprises' weakness. It's not nice, but it's realistic. Goodness knows that Victor would do it to Jack if he had the chance. Between those two, the only rule is that there are no rules.

Wasn't that an odd moment when Victor needed Adam to confirm that he'd killed Diane, even though he hadn't, but Adam said he did because Adam wants Victor to hang for the murder? Talk about your twisted motives. Victor needed his black sheep son's help, and the black sheep son had to agree with his father to get what he -- the son -- wanted. Good one, Maria Arena Bell. That was like pretzel logic. I'll be curious to see how they untwist Adam's eyewitness account when the evidence doesn't support Victor as the killer. I still believe that the evidence is going to finally point Ronan in the right direction. He's been completely led around by the nose with text messages, stuffed pillows, and false information. Is he really supposed to be some kind of Sherlock Holmes, because he's coming off like one of the Keystone Kops. If you're too young to know the latter, they were like the Three Stooges of police forces!

Do you think Ronan's feelings for Phyllis are more than lust? If so, what will he do when he discovers -- if he discovers -- that she was ready to write a story about Nikki Newman as a suspect when Ronan had asked her not to reveal what he'd told her. She thought nothing of betraying his trust, which could be why Phyllis is still alone and unloved. She's very high maintenance. Either you're all for Phyllis or you're the enemy. The way she's been acting lately, Phyllis has become the show's most miserable character.

But Phyllis finally got hers when she pushed Nick too far. It's hard to imagine what Phyllis was thinking by starting to write a story about Nikki being Diane's killer. Did she really think that Nick was going to let his publication speculate in print and online that his mother murdered a woman who'd been Nick's lover? Putting the shoe on the other foot, would Phyllis have been ready to write a story about Diane's murder if Daniel had been a suspect? When she told Nick that she was only interested in page views and selling magazines, it almost sounded believable. Phyllis might be a good writer, but she's a terrible editor. Where's her staff? Did she ever hire writers and a photographer? Do you ever see anybody else working for the magazine? As a stylist, Chloe's on a permanent vacation.

Well, it doesn't matter now, because Phyllis has been canned from the magazine and she's left town for a while. If she returns to Genoa City and Billy hires her for Restless Style, I will blow my top. There is no way Billy should ever allow Phyllis back into his life or his offices! She "stole" Lucy from Victoria and Billy, causing them incredible grief, and for what? She's not a better parent to Lucy than Victoria and Billy were! If anything, she's been neglecting Summer to obsess over granddaughter Lucy. That's going to come back to bite Phyllis in the butt. That's what I hoping for; I really want to see Phyllis knocked down more than a few pegs.

That's it for this past week. The holidays are coming, as well as our year-end review. If you have thoughts about what I have to include, please email me! Also, I'm anxious to hear more from you all -- your theories are dynamite. And tell me about which characters you'd like to talk about in the Two Scoops! Write me! Till then, let's take a look at some letters from the mailbox:

• Please, oh please, do not revisit Patty posing as Emily. It's too tiresome. Please wind up the Patty storyline soon and move on. -- Karol
• One thing I don't understand: Genie Francis's character appears to be an American. So why would Cane have such troubles with immigration? I don't think Australians can become dual citizens, but you'd think he'd have the option to become an American citizen considering his mother is an American. Maybe she's a Canadian? Are we supposed to have forgotten that this was a major concern for ages and ages? -- Annie
• I have apparently missed the idea of Phyllis being Avery's Mom. Where does that come from? And if so, what else happened to Phyllis? Why did they (the family) make her leave home? What else does she have to tell Avery about her father? Was Phyllis abused as a young girl? Is that what made her the way she is? I know I've missed a few episodes; it seems to have been more than a few. - Jacee

Best,Allison