Jennifer Logan and Blake Montgomery, best friends for the past four years of college, pulled up to the U-shaped apartment building on Saint James Street on a rather balmy Saturday afternoon, well balmy by Nevada standards anyway. They began unloading their possessions from the moving truck and into their fourth floor apartment, and with the help of Blake's cousin Lucas, the job was done in just under two hours.I wasn't there for this part, so the details are scares, only what I gathered along the way talking to Jen and Blake about their arrival in town. And Lucas wasn't exactly Blake's cousin. Lucas was Blake's father's cousin, but that's just details. Point is, they're related, and that's how these two girls coming from their small mid-western university managed to find such a great deal on a kick-ass apartment in suburban Las Vegas. Blake's parents lived in San Diego at the time. Close enough to drive, but far enough for comfort. Her mother -- Evelyn -- was a real controlling bitch; she and I actually crossed paths in a very unusual way, but that's another story for another time. Blake's mother didn't really realize that her three daughters had grown up around her. She was busy climbing the corporate ladder. Blake's father -- Robyn -- on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Evelyn. He loved all of his daughters, and some people might even say that he spoiled them, but Blake didn't turn out like a spoiled little daddy's girl. She was only twenty-two, but she had the makings of a real lady.
So, Blake and Jen moved to Nolan, Nevada, and up-and-coming suburb of Las Vegas, only three days after graduating from Gilman University. Jen earned her degree in psychology and finished top in her class. This earned her an internship at Nolan University Hospital, which just happened to be the best hospital in Las Vegas. Strange thing is, there is no Nolan University, nor is the hospital located within the Nolan town limits.
Once, I asked why the hospital was called Nolan University Hospital, and the answer rather surprised me. Turns out that back in the late 1950s there was a man by the name of Stephen X. Nolan. He donated a large sum of money to the University of Nevada to start a teaching hospital. Stephen X. Nolan's great-great-grandfather, Eli X. Nolan, Jr. actually helped found the town of Nolan, which ended up being about six miles south of the location that Stephen X. Nolan purchased for his hospital. Anyway, I have digressed long enough, such is the mind of an old lady with a story to tell.
Blake Montgomery graduated with Jennifer with a B.A. in English. This earned her absolutely nothing, which is hwy she tagged along with Jennifer on her quest across the county to start her career. Well, that and her family was mostly near by as well. Blake's plan was to pound the pavement, so to speak, to find herself a rewarding career, or at least a job to help pay the bills.
Tyler McMannis lived in the best neighborhood in Nolan. Wycliffe was almost a suburb within a suburb. Wycliffe consisted of maybe two square miles of cliff-perched property. Many of the homes had spectacular views overlooking the city. It had the snobbiest shops and boutiques with the snobbiest sales girls. Wycliffe boasted the best restaurants, and the best schools in the district, which is a good thing, because Tyler's wife -- Crystal -- was pregnant, and although she didn't know it yet, she was also on the cusp of giving birth. But putting Crystal aside for a moment and looking at all that Wycliffe has to offer begs the question, how can Tyler -- a local police detective -- afford to live there? Another bit of story for another time.
Tyler was pure Irish through and through. Apparently, his father was the first McMannis to be born in the United States. And even thoguh he had no accent, just looking at him you could think that he was fresh off the boat from the old country. He was ruggedly handsome with a bit of rose in his cheeks, even when he hadn't been in the whiskey, and shoulder-length strawberry blond curls that perfectly complimented his green eyes. It's no wonder that Crystal the blond bombshell and former southern belle fell hard for him. Tyler had been a detective for only two weeks when Crystal had her accident.
Remembering her now after all the details came to light, I'm tempted to believe that what happened to Crystal was no accident, but at the time, no one (myself included) suspected any foul play. And Crystal and Tyler both stuck to their story.
Crystal had fallen down the stairs in her twenty-third week of pregnancy. Just looking at Crystal McMannis walking down the street, one would think that she was almost a full two weeks past her due date. But she was thin, and she was carrying twins. She and Tyler had not wanted to know the sex of the babies, so they had yet to settle on names. That evening, Tyler accompanies his wife on her bed rest following her accident, and together they discussed what names each of them preferred. Crystal was adamantly informing her husband that if they had girls she was not naming them Betty and Veronica, when Tyler's phone rang.
"Tyler!" The man on the other end of the phone shouted.
"Cody," Tyler tried not to sound too annoyed that Cody was calling him late in the evening. "What's up?"
"i was just getting ready to leave the station after I filed this last report, and I just wanted to know if you wanted to join me for a drink over at Scully's."
"I can't," Tyler replied. "You know that i have to be here for Crystal." He talked about his wife right in front of her like she wasn't in the room. Crystal rolled her eyes at her husband. And why Cody was trying to convince Tyelr to join him at the bar, Crystal tapped her husband on the shoulder. "Go. Go have a drink with Cody. I'll be fine," she whispered. Tyler gave his wife a look. You sure? His eyes said. She nodded, and she could clearly hear Cody prodding Tyler through the earpiece.
"Alright, alright," Tyler submitted to Cody at last. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Tyler hung up the phone, pulled on his pants, and found his jacket on the floor. Crystal grabbed her book from the beside table and propped it on her belly. Tyler made it to the bottom of the stairs and began to put on his shoes when he heard Crystal scream from the master bedroom.
"Tyler, something's wrong!" Crystal bellowed. Tyler called 9-1-1 while running to his wife's side. Twenty minutes later, Crystal was whisked into the emergency room of Nolan University Hospital. Luckily for her, her doctor was on duty that night, so she was in good hands. Shew as in need of an operation, and Tyler took a moment to make a phone call. After all, Cody was a friend to both of them, and he should be there.
Cody Weber. Even now, his name sparks feelings inside me. Cody and I had a history. Don't worry; I'll get there. Cody was one of the two Weber children. The Webers have owned the mansion on the hill at the top of the cliff overlooking all of Nolan and the southern end of Las Vegas since before Eli X. Nolan , Jr. was even a twinkle in his daddy's eye. At this time in his life, Cody still lived in that stately mansion on the hill. He lived there with his grandparents: Rosailnd -- Rose to everyone that knew her -- and Marcus (only the newspapers and business magazines called him Marcus Weber, and even then it was usually to say "Marcus Weber the multi-billion-dollar advertising mogul"; everyone knew him as just Marc). Cody's parents -- Doug and Carol -- were absent most of Cody's young life and nearly all of his adult life. At the ripe old age of twenty-five, Cody had the attitude and mindset of a seventeen-year-old boy. Of course, it worked for him. He had more money than he knew what to do with, and the looks of one of those underwear models on teh life-sized posters at the mall. He could have any woman he wanted, and he had. He became a police officer for three reasons: (1) to give him something to do, (2) because chicks dig the uniform, and (3) it's hard to get in trouble with the law when you are the law. Cody often used this last line on the naive looking girls at Scully's as an entryway into their pants.
Cody and Tyler had been partners since he was a rookie, and they could have made it to detective at the same time had Cody not been such a sub-standard police officer. The only reason that Cody was still in uniform was because Rose donated sizeable amounts of money to the police department each year -- enough money to pay her grandson's salary, as it turns out. Cody either didn't realize it or didn't care.
Cody arrived at the hospital to find Tyler pacing around the waiting area outside the operating room. He gave his best friend a hug, and Tyler filled him in on the goings on. Dr. Gladstone arrived from the OR about an hour later and told them that Crystal had lost a lot of blood and that the twins -- although premature and small -- would be alright.
Dr. Thomas Gladstone was the best OB/GYN at University Hospital. He was very popular among the staff, and buzz around the water cooler had pegged him as a future chief of staff. At this point in my tale, Thomas is not yet a major player. But trust me; this hunky gyno is definitely not just another pretty face. But I'll get to that in due time. But for now, I need to get the ball rolling.
Blake and Jen spent the next few days getting settled into their new place, as well as trying to find Blake a job. While Blake was unpacking boxes in the living room, the floor of their apartment started vibrating. Jen was out for her daily run, so Blake took it upon herself to walk downstairs and introduce herself to her new neighbor.
Back in the days of the beginning of my story, there were two extremely wealthy families living in the Nolan area. I've already mentioned the Webers. The other family is the Connors -- the anti-Webers. Nicolas connor was new money through and through. No one really knew how Nick made his fortune, but everyone suspected that it was through dirty dealings. I tend to agree on that one, especially through my time interacting with the Connors. Nick's wife -- Linda -- was hardly your run of the mill millionaire housewife. She lived her life according to what she wanted to do, for the most part. She had a job as anchorwoman on the local news at KYDQ. It wasn't network, not in those days anyway, but it was good enough for Linda, and everyone in Nolan (most of the greater Las Vegas area too) tuned in at 4, 5, 6, and 11 to hear what Linda had to say.
Both Nick and Linda were in their mid 40s, and they had been married ever since Linda graduated from college. They raised three children in their house that over the years grew into a sprawling estate on the south edge of town. Nick and Linda were an odd couple. Everyone in town at the time knew who they were and everyone wondered what Linda saw in her husband. But she loved him, and so they forgave her for her horrible taste in men.
That morning started as any other morning did on the Connor Estate. All of their children were grown and out of the house, and the quiet bothered Linda if she stopped long enough to listen to it. The cook prepared her usual breakfast buffet, and Nick and Linda sat at opposite ends of a very long table, eating in silence.
Linda looked up from her eggs to Nick staring at the paper -- not reading, staring. "Nick, what's wrong?" Nick mumbled something and looked at his watch. he stumbled to his feet, kissed his wife on the forehead, put the paper on the table, and walked out the door. Linda grabbed the paper, out of curiosity of what could mesmerize her husband. The paper was open to a photo of Crystal Blaire-McMannis. "Emergency operation at University Hospital puts McMannis on Critical List" the headline read. the article announced the premature birth of twins, Baby-Boy and Baby-Girl McMannis, to Crystal and Tyler McMannis. The article also said that the blood bank stores were low, and everyone was encouraged to go to the hospital to donate blood.
At that same moment, a man at a diner across town from the Connor Estate was reading the same article in the newspaper. This was someone no one in town knew or knew was there, but he showed a definite interest in the goings on of Nolan's citizens. He called himself Quinn and left in a hurry from the diner in a taxi after reading about Crystal in the paper.
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