Previously...
- Tori realized that Philip is the Footprint Killer. While trying to escape him, she fell down a staircase. Philip put her unconscious body in her car and drove it to a seedy area of town, where he planned to kill her. 
- Molly was shocked to find a bag containing a black rose and a dead bird — just like a stalker left her years ago — on her doorstep.
- Samantha promised to cover for Tori, who wanted to go on a date. Sam became concerned when she didn’t hear from Tori. She and Tempest found Tori’s parked car and interrupted Philip just in time to keep him from killing Tori. Philip escaped before they could identify him, and the girls called 911. 

Sarah Fisher Gray has spent far too much time in this hospital. There are some good memories, of course: giving birth to Tori here, and her impromptu marriage ceremony with Matt after Molly went into labor during their wedding on the beach. But so many of the memories are fraught with fear and panic. She remembers coming here years ago after Tim was shot and after Matt was injured in a car accident. She recalls giving birth to Billy here, terrified of what kind of man Graham might be — only to have him drop dead in front of her. And then there was the time when she awoke to learn that she had been injured in an explosion and that Matt had to make the painful decision to terminate her pregnancy to save her life. Just last year, she woke up here after undergoing surgery and learned the shocking news that she had been shot while trying to save Diane from Keith Huff. But no visit to King’s Bay Memorial Hospital has ever been as filled with horror as tonight’s visit, after the call she received about her daughter’s attack. 

She and Matt wait as the elevator climbs with excruciating slowness. It stops twice at intermediate floors to pick up additional passengers, and each time, Sarah has to force her twitching finger not to jab the Close Doors button instead of waiting for the stupefyingly slow strangers to board. By the time they reach the designated floor, she is waiting with her nose nearly touching the doors, the way Billy does, and when they finally part, she explodes out of them and toward the waiting area, Matt on her heels.

She finds her niece and Tempest Banks waiting in two chairs against the wall of the almost-empty waiting area.

“What’s going on? Where is she?” Sarah’s head spins as she scans the room, looking for something — a sign, a clue, anything to tell her what has happened with Tori in the time between Tempest’s phone call and now. During the car ride over, she kept expecting her phone to buzz or beep or do something to alert her that there was more information.

Samantha’s cheeks are red, and her face is puffy from crying. 

“You’re her parents?” a female officer in uniform asks from several feet away.

“Yes,” Sarah says briskly. “What’s happening?"

“Your daughter’s in surgery,” the officer says, her voice a little shaky. “We’re waiting for word from the doctors."

“What’s wrong with her?” Sarah demands.

Matt places a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Sarah…"

Sarah doesn’t shrug off his touch but swivels to face Samantha and Tempest. “You just found her like that? Weren’t you supposed to be with her?"

Samantha looks as though she is going to burst into tears again. “She asked me to— she made me promise to say we were hanging out."

“Why?"

“She had a date,” Samantha says meekly.

“With who?"

Samantha’s shoulders rise in a sheepish shrug. “She didn’t say."

“So you lied? And this happened?” Sarah feels a fire burning in her gut. “How did you find her?"

Tempest rises from her chair, her posture much more self-assured than Samantha’s. “We went to dinner. Sam called her when we left ‘cause we hadn’t heard from her yet. We heard the phone ringing on the car thing…"

“We heard her Bluetooth,” Samantha fills in. “Her car was around the corner."

Sarah looks to Matt, who is equally puzzled.

“Her car just happened to be there?” he asks.

“It was real weird,” Tempest says. “We were up on the north side of town, that industrial spot — and we heard her phone ringing, so we went to the car, and some guy ran out of it and left her there."

“Who was it?” Sarah asks, ready to jump out of her skin.

“We don’t know,” Samantha says weakly. “He ran away really fast."

The officer takes a step closer toward them. “A pair of shoes were found in the car with your daughter. We believe they’re the same shoes that have been used to—"

“Oh my god,” Sarah says, cutting her off. She grips Matt’s arm. “Where’s Brent— Commander Taylor?"

“I called the station to notify him. I’m Officer Jimenez, by the way." “Thanks for your help,” Matt says, after it becomes clear Sarah isn’t going to respond.  “It doesn’t make sense,” Sarah says instead. “The other crime scenes had footprints at them. Leaving the shoes— that’s inconsistent." “Mrs. Gray,” Jimenez says carefully, “we’re going to figure this out. We’re working very hard to—"

“I was you once,” Sarah says, indicating the police uniform. “I get it. And Commander Taylor is a — he’s my ex-husband, and a friend. I know you guys are doing your best. But I want to know what happened to my daughter. I want justice!"

The younger officer steels herself and then says, “Let me go see if I can get an update from someone."

“Thanks,” Matt says as she moves off.

The room seems to be spinning as Sarah directs her attention back toward the two young women.

“I want to know where my daughter was tonight,” she says, “and I want to know how this happened."

* * * * *

After phoning the mother of Caleb and Christian’s friend who was supposed to drop them off at his house and redirecting her to Molly’s, Brent Taylor checks in with Detective Harris to follow up on their latest lead in the Footprint Killer case. As the men are wrapping up their talk, Brent’s cell phone beeps with the notice of another call.

“It’s the station,” Brent says as he leans against a wall in the foyer of the home that he once shared with Molly. “Let me know what else you find."

He ends the call with Harris and switches over to the incoming one from the King’s Bay Police Department. He listens with alarm to the explanation of what has happened and then hurries back into the kitchen, where he finds Molly pouring hot water from the kettle into a mug with a tea bag in it.

“I just got a call from the station,” he says, and the statement is enough to stop her in her tracks. 

She places the kettle unsteadily back on the stove. “What happened now?"

“There was another attack,” he tells her. “It was— it’s Tori."

“What? Is she…?” Molly can’t even say the word.

“She’s in surgery. I’m heading to the hospital. I can call Ben’s mom back and tell her to bring the boys there—"

“No. I don’t want them being that close to any of this.” Molly plants her palms on the granite countertop as she thinks. “Let them come here. We’ll be okay."

Brent hesitates. “Where’s Danielle?"

“She went up to take a shower. Brent, we’re fine. You said a squad car was going to wait outside tonight, right? We’ll be okay."

“It should be here soon,” he says. “If you need anything—"

“I know. Thank you.” Molly knots her hands together nervously. “Are they sure it was him?"

Brent nods. “The shoes were there. I’ll give you an update as soon as I know more. Be safe, please."

“We will."

He takes the paper bag from earlier and hurries out to his car, dreading what he will learn when he gets to the hospital.

* * * * *

Diane Bishop charges into the emergency waiting area. 

“Thank god you’re okay,” she says when she spots Samantha sitting there, looking very upset but physically intact, beside Tempest. “What the hell happened to Tori?"

“She was attacked by the Footprint Killer,” comes a voice from several feet away. Diane turns to see Sarah standing there, her arms folded over her chest and Matt posted behind her.

Diane recoils. “What? Did he come after all of you—"

“Samantha wasn’t with Tori. She lied for her so that Tori could go meet some boy,” Sarah says. “And now my daughter’s in surgery, and we don’t even know if she’s going to make it—"

“Sarah,” Matt interrupts.

“She shouldn’t have been alone tonight,” Sarah rails. “Or with some stranger. If Samantha hadn’t lied—"

Diane opens her mouth to respond, but before she can, Tempest bursts out of her seat once again. “Tori’s the one who lied. You think she gave Sam any choice? Don’t pretend your precious little girl is some angel, okay? This isn’t Sam’s fault."

“Tempest, they’re right,” Samantha says softly from her seat.

“No, they’re freaking out and they’re taking it out on you, and that’s not cool,” Tempest says. “Yeah, Sam should’ve said she wouldn’t cover for her, but do you think that would’ve stopped Tori? Hell no." The adults are quiet for a long moment. “I’m sorry, Samantha,” Sarah finally says, though the words sound reluctant. “I’m worried about Tori, and I know you aren’t the only one to blame here."

All Samantha can do is nod gratefully.

“Why don’t we go get some coffee?” Matt suggests, guiding Sarah with a hand on the small of her back. “I’m gonna go crazy if I have to keep staring at this wall."

Grudgingly, Sarah accepts, and they head back toward the elevator. 

“Thank you,” Diane says, taking Tempest by surprise.

“Huh?"

“The way you stood up for Samantha just now — that was impressive."

Tempest waves it off. “It was nothing. It’s just not all her fault."

“Sometimes Samantha is too nice to stand up for herself,” Diane says, casting a knowing look her daughter’s way. “Which is not a problem I’ve ever had. I’m glad she has someone a little more assertive in her corner."

Tempest’s head bobs up and down with understanding. “Thanks."

“Thank you,” Diane says. As tight as the coil of worry in her gut is as they wait to find out what is going on with Tori, there is a faint, accompanying sense of relief — relief that, perhaps, Tempest might be just the person whom Samantha needs in her corner after all.

* * * * *

Molly takes her cup of tea to the family room, where she turns on the TV and attempts to relax into the couch. But when she sees a burst of light outside -- no doubt headlights out on the street -- she startles, and it takes no small amount of effort to calm her heart rate. Upstairs, she hears the shower turn off, and she reminds herself that Danielle will be down in a few minutes, and the boys will also be home. None of them will have to be alone. 

But the house continues to creak around her, in ways that it either never has or that she has failed to notice until now. She goes to the front window to search for the squad car that Brent ordered, but there is no sign of it yet. 

She feels insane. But she also knows that she was not imagining things earlier. She heard sounds outside the noise -- sounds made, perhaps, with the intention of scaring her -- and then the bag left on the doorstep and the man running away were very real. And the attack on Tori... she wants to call someone for more information, although she knows on a practical level that there must not be more yet. 

Suddenly she realizes how tired she is. Her body is weary and her energy is low, but her brain is racing. She knows that she will have to be "on" once the twins are dropped off, too. What she doesn't know is how she is going to get any sleep tonight. 

That is how she finds herself picking up her cell phone and dialing a very familiar number. 

* * * * * 

After fleeing from Tori’s car, Philip runs for several blocks with his head down. He cuts through alleys and hugs the sides of dark buildings, expecting sirens to erupt around him at any moment. The sky opens up again, but he knows that he has no choice but to endure the weather. He cannot risk calling a car; it would be tantamount to informing the authorities that he was in this part of town tonight. He even took the care to put his phone in airplane mode before leaving his building, so there would be no risk of it pinging a cell tower anywhere close to where Tori was found. The rain goes on and off for several miles, and by the time he arrives in a more populated part of King’s Bay, he is drenched and exhausted.

He manages to hail a cab after only a few minutes of waiting, and he watches the meter closely to see how far the $20 bill in his wallet can get him. The driver drops him about a mile from his home, and he is easily able to walk the remainder of the way, satisfied in the knowledge that there is no electronic record of him having been anywhere near where he left Tori’s car tonight. Only then does he switch his phone out of airplane mode. 

With great relief, he realizes that Spencer is not home from the concert yet. The door to the loft is unlocked, and he hurries inside to do away with whatever evidence remains. The two champagne flutes are wrapped in a plastic bag, which goes down the same garbage chute as the bottle of Dom went earlier. It isn’t ideal, but if no one knows Tori was here tonight, no one will know to check the trash in his building for something that might have her fingerprints or DNA on it. He straightens up the bedroom and wipes down the barstool and the countertop where Tori spent the majority of her time this evening. Finally, he allows himself to take a hot shower, and he is just emerging, a towel wrapped around his waist, when he hears Spencer arriving home.

“How was the concert?” Philip asks as he enters the main living area.

“Good. Fun.” Spencer’s eyes are glassy, his speech thick, and his movements clumsy. For once, Philip is grateful for his brother’s propensity for partying, since it will render him much less observant. 

“I’m glad to hear that.” Philip wants terribly to inquire about Tori — whether she ever mentioned a love interest to Spencer, whether she identified him by name. He doubts it, or Spencer would have warned him, but he still has no way of confirming that there isn’t a single soul who knew Tori was coming here tonight. And there is no plausible way to shift the conversation in that direction without seeming incredibly suspicious.

He is resigning himself to this fact when he hears his cell phone ringing in the bedroom. He excuses himself and hurries to answer it, his body tensing with worry that someone knows. He isn’t sure how to feel when he sees the name on the display, but after a moment of hesitation, he answers.

“Molly,” he says, doing his best to sound bright but casual. “This is a surprise."

“I’m so sorry to bother you.” Her plaintive tone leaves him with no doubt that, at minimum, Loretta’s hired hand did his job and left the bag on her doorstep. “Something happened tonight, and I’m…"

“What is it? What’s the matter?” he asks, already dropping his towel and grabbing clothes from his closet.

“My niece — Tori — was attacked by the killer tonight."

“What? Do you— How is she?"

“She’s in surgery. I’m waiting to hear more.” Molly’s heavy breaths rumble against the receiver. “There’s more. Someone left a— a strange bag at my door tonight. I don’t know if I ever told you about this, but Craig, my ex-fiancé—"

“The one who terrorized you,” Philip says as he steps into a pair of boxer briefs. “You said he was dead."

“He is. But someone left the same things at my door that Craig left when he started stalking me. Brent came and took them away as evidence, but between that and what happened to Tori—"

“You must be very shaken-up.” He works hard to keep any trace of delight out of his voice. “Are you alone?"

“No. Danielle is finishing a shower, and the boys are being dropped off here. But I’m… oh, it was silly of me to bother you…"

“No. What is it?"

“Would you mind coming here for a while? Brent called a squad car to wait outside the house, but I’d feel much better knowing that there was another adult in the house — someone with a little objectivity. I keep hearing things."

“I’m on my way,” he says, taking a grey pullover from the closet. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” And even though he doesn’t allow her to hear it over the phone, a devilish grin crosses his lips.

* * * * *

A thick cloud of tension fills the waiting area as Tori’s loved ones gather to await word on her condition. When Brent arrives, he goes over Samantha and Tempest’s statements with them — with Diane and Sarah hovering the entire time, no matter how many times he asks them to back off. He is just finishing up when Rosie appears from down a corridor.

“I wasn’t able to get anything solid out of anyone,” she informs the group. “They keep saying a doctor’ll be out soon."

Brent turns toward Tempest. “Have you seen Claire yet? I’m sure she can find out something."

“She’s not working tonight,” Tempest says matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” Brent tries not to let his reaction show, even though he distinctly remembers Claire telling him that she couldn’t meet for dinner tonight because she had picked up a night shift. 

“Is your dad coming?” Brent asks Samantha, in an attempt to force himself to refocus on the case.

The young woman shakes her head.

“He didn’t want to leave Travis alone at the house,” Diane explains. “He’s really big on this whole ‘no one should be alone’ thing. Sam and I are going to sleep there whenever this is all over."

“That’s smart,” Brent says. He was hoping to be able to discuss Liam Cassel with someone here — and Tim is the only one aware that Liam is now a person of interest — while he awaits word from Detective Harris on Liam’s whereabouts this evening. But he knows it’s probably for the best not to say anything to anyone until they have concrete information.

His attention is again pulled from his thoughts when Paula and Bill Fisher come hurrying in to join them. They quickly deduce from the way everyone is standing around that no one knows anything yet. 

“This is so awful,” Paula says as she embraces Sarah. “Who would do something like this to a child?" “It’s disgusting,” Bill comments. “We’re doing everything we can,” Brent says as he steps toward them. “We have some leads—" “I don’t care about your leads unless they amount to something,” Paula says, her eyes wild with anger. “Helen Chase is running around like a free woman, and people are still being attacked. What I want is justice."

Brent nods sympathetically. “I want to catch this bastard just as badly as you do. I want to put an end to this."

“I want justice for my son, and my granddaughter, and all those other people. I demand it, Brent."

“You’ll have it,” Brent says as he casts another hopeful eye toward the double doors that lead to the operating rooms.

* * * * *

“I’m so sorry this is happening,” Philip says as he folds Molly into his arms. They stand in the foyer of her home, which currently seems to be illuminated by every single bulb present. He can hear the drone of the television emanating from the family room.

“Are the twins home yet?” he asks.

“Yeah. They’re watching Modern Family with Danielle.” Molly shakes her head and takes a step back to look at him. “I feel so silly for dragging you all this way. I’m sure you have plenty of other things—"

“Nothing is more important than making sure that the people I love are safe,” he says with a reassuring smile. “I’ll stay here tonight. I can sleep on the sofa."

“That’s so nice of you, but you don’t have to…"

“I want to.” 

She has no idea how badly I want to, he thinks as he stares into her beautiful, fragile face. He is still elated that his plan worked so well — that the special delivery left at her door spooked her enough to cause her to call him. He hates hoping that the phone will ring to inform them that Tori has sadly died without ever awakening, but that is the only way that he will be in the clear. 

“It’s important that we stick together at times like these,” he says. “Now why don’t we make some popcorn and join the others in front of the television?"

* * * * *

Sarah has never been good at biding her time. She has always preferred doing. The wait for news about her daughter’s condition — in a sterile room designed for nothing other than waiting! — seems interminable, and the crappy hospital coffee does nothing to help. The urge to crawl out of her skin grows and grows, and finally, she grabs Brent and pulls him around the corner to talk.

“We have to find this boy she was with tonight,” she says.

“Samantha doesn’t seem to have a clue who he was,” Brent says. “Tori hasn’t mentioned anyone to you?"

Sarah sighs, angry with herself for not having asked more questions. “Not for a while. There was this boy — Ian — earlier this year. But she hasn’t mentioned him in a long time."

“I want to question her friends. Who is she close with?"

“Her best friends are two girls named Fee — Felicia. But I think she had a falling-out with them. I asked her if she wanted to invite them to dinner the other night, and you would’ve thought I told her I was thinking of having Charles Manson over."

“I’m going to need you to put me in touch with them, anyway.” He squares his jaw. “What was with that fishing expedition earlier?"

Sarah knows exactly what he is talking about, but she forces her eyes to narrow anyway. “What do you mean?"

“All those questions you had when you called me before. The paint at Cameron’s murder scene? What are you up to?"

“Nothing. Nothing solid, anyway. I had a theory, but you blew it out of the water."

Before Brent can grill her any further, Matt comes rushing around the corner.

“The doctor’s here,” he says breathlessly, and Sarah and Brent follow him back into the waiting area.

“I’m Tori’s mother,” Sarah says as she and Matt step to the front of the crowd to stand before a Filipino man with graying hair. “How is she?"

“Victoria suffered what’s known as an intracerebral hematoma as a result of her injuries,” the doctor explains. “That means there were injuries to the blood vessels in her brain—"

“How is she?” Sarah repeats, her tone more demanding. She feels Matt’s hands on her, one at her waist and one on her arm, but instead of their usual steadying presence, she can feel the fear radiating from his being.

“She’s in a coma,” the doctor says solemnly. “We were able to control the bleeding, but Victoria experienced severe head trauma, in addition to a number of other injuries, including a broken tibia."

“But she’s alive,” Matt says, with all the desperation of a man struggling to maintain his grip on the edge of a rocky cliff.

“She is. And, with any luck, her body will be able to heal so that she can wake up."

“What can you do in the meantime?” Sarah asks.

She already knows what his answer is going to be, and she hates it.

“We monitor her,” he says, “and we wait. That’s all that can be done for now."

END OF EPISODE 802

Will Tori awaken from her coma to reveal the truth?
What will Philip’s next move be?
Will Brent confront Claire about her lie?
Talk about it all in the Footprints Forum!

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