Chapter 1: Spring of The Killer' Recap

Once upon a time there was a weak-minded gatekeeper, Leonard Stone, and his naive, trusting girlfriend, Rochelle Desmores.  One could argue they were destined for a happily ever after, but then Leonard and Rochelle weren't your typical fairytale romance.  Leonard may have been regarded as someone from the wrong side of the tracks, but his confidence made him an attractive lure.  In fact, women adored him, and he adored them.  Naturally, his adoration for them is what got him into trouble.  He just couldn't control himself when opportunity came knocking, and the result would always be the same -- Rochelle would learn of his trangression and dump him.  But like Romeo and Juliet, they would find there way back to each other time and time again.  Part of the reason was that deep down Rochelle knew Leonard loved her and deep down, she wanted to believe he was the one.  After all, this was a man she spent most of her youth drawn to.  Another likely reason was that Rochelle blamed herself for Leonard's dalliances with other women.  He was not a virgin when she met him and although he respected that she wanted to wait until marriage before being intimate, did she really have the right to ask him to wait as well?  Rochelle's best friend, Lacreasha Dupree, would have answered a resounding yes.  Lacreasha despised Leonard for the constant turmoil her friend had endured over the years because he couldn't keep his pants zipped.  Determined to rid her friend of him forever, she decided to do some digging around in the gatekeeper's past, only to discover even more incentive to split the couple up.  Leonard Stone was the biological child of Rochelle's mother, Rachel.

Realizing Leonard was hardly one to resist a woman looking for sexual pleasure, Lacreasha made her seduction attempt on her best friend's boyfriend.  Problem was, Leonard was determined to remain faithful to Rochelle, turning down the woman he knew loathed him.  Lacreasha, however, refused to take no for an answer and proceeded to initiate intimacy between the two of them, only to be discovered by Rochelle.  Although Rochelle quickly realized the situation was a setup, she couldn't help but feel that she would be resigining herself to moments like these for years to come if she stayed with Leonard, and so she ended things with him.  To ensure the couple remained apart, Lacreasha continued plotting with her mysterious cohort, but it would turn out to be for naught.  Leonard, void of any hope of getting back together with Rochelle, got drunk and slept with Lacreasha.  Consequently, Rochelle had a change of heart and went to find Leonard, only to discover him in the heated act with Lacreasha.  It was then she realized it was truly over between the two of them.  As she found herself teetering to the edge of her workplace's balcony, she contemplated ending her life as well.  Fortunately, her friend and colleague, Anton McCloud, was able to talk her down.  Lacreasha, on the other hand, couldn't wait to gloat to her partner in crime about finally succeeding in breaking up the happy couple.  Little did she know that Leonard was right on her trail.  Unable to hide his shock after learning Lacreasha was working with Kyle Sharrington-Pierre, Leonard knocked over a trash can, putting Lacreasha's co-conspirator on the defensive.  When Leonard had no choice, but to come out into the open, Kyle shot him.  Then, with Lacreasha's help, stored Leonard's dead body in a shed, only to learn the next morning, Leonard had escaped uninjured.  Realizing Leonard had the power to destroy them, they devised a plan to poison the gatekeeper with cyanide.  Rochelle, meanwhile, turned to her recently returned colleague/friend, Kavina Shah.  Later that evening, she would run off to take care of a mysterious errand.  The following morning, Leonard would be discovered dead in his hotel room.

Considering the youthful ignorance of Rochelle and Leonard's ill-fated romance, you might have expected that a union brought together before the eyes of God might have a little more stability.  Unfortunately, Dr. Jessica Chappell Arlington and William Arlington's marriage proved just as volatile, if not more so.  An accomplished psychiatrist, Jessica was just getting used to married life with her high school rival when she learned she was pregnant.  Considering the amount of hours William's job required, Jessica wasn't sure how her husband would feel about their sudden pregnancy.  What she didn't expect was for her husband to reject the child all together.  As it would turn out, William believed he was sterile.  Jessica swore up and down that she did not have an affair, and that he should get retested.  The next morning, both Jessica and William went to retake their respective tests, each receiving the results they had expected.  While Jessica suspected that something more was going on, William quickly vowed vengeance against his wife after getting proof that he was again sterile.  Unfortunately, fate would intervene first and Jessica would end up in a tragic car accident.  No news of it would ever hit Hallandale.

A week or so after her disappearance, William returned to Hallandale anxious to locate his wife.  He would learn from Kavina Shah that she was in Springfield.  When he arrived there and saw his wife being caressed on the legs by another man (Dr. Greg Juntas), he immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was hiding away with her secret lover, overlooking the fact that she was wheelchair-bound.  Jessica tried to explain that she was in a car accident, and that the brunt of the explosion caused her to miscarry.  William, however, continued to disclaim the child and implied that he was happy his namesake was dead.  Jessica, realizing that nothing had changed, told her husband to leave and never return.  When Jessica returned to Hallandale, she was devastated to learn that Blanchencore Hospital was blown to smithereens, leaving Dr. Romain Chandler, a friend and colleague of hers, presumed dead.  Greg tried to convince her to hold out hope, but Jessica could not overlook the reality of the situation - a building was decimated.  If Romain hadn't been found by now, then it was not very likely he survived.  Later that evening, she followed through with her plans to move out of her home with William, despite any icy altercation with her husband, who vowed never to let her go.

A mere week later, she would find a moody William in their home.  When she refused to do what he said, he manhandled her, taking several cries from the frighten psychiatrist before he loosened his grip and threatened worst if she defied him again.  Spooked by the incident, Jessica ran to Greg, who advised her to go to the authorities.  Jessica, however, quickly shot down the option, fearing what William might do.  Greg decided to spend the night with her.  The next morning, Jessica was grateful that William didn't return to their home because he would have jumped to the wrong conclusion about her and Greg.  Greg is hesitant to leave Jessica alone with William after last night's events, but she assures him that William only talks tough, and would never hurt her.  Later that evening, William revealed to Jessica that he knew about her entertaining Greg the other night.  Although she tried to explain it away as an innocent encounter, it was clear William was in no frame of mind to listen as he forcefully tried to reclaim his role as her husband.  Jessica, however, fought back this time, pulling out a gun and threatening to shoot the son of bitch if he didn't back down.  After managing to pry the gun from her hands, William used it to knock out a curious Romain Chandler, who had dropped off the psychiatrist minutes prior following their night out.  William would then lock an unconscious Romain, and later his own wife, inside a morgue cooler and leave them for dead.  Thankfully, a suspicious Greg and Taneia Ralston caught on to him, and were able to see Romain and Jessica to safety.

Speaking of Taneia Ralston, this was a woman that held nothing back.  Business partners with psychic visionairy, Crystal Perez, the duo's friendship/partnership entered a period of unsurmountable tension following Taneia's broken engagement to Kyle Pierre.  While Crystal understood that Taneia was dealing with a lot of emotional heartache, her non-committal attitude was affecting business.  Crystal's nagging eventually got to the point that Taneia decided it was time to knock Mrs. Perfect down a peg or two.  So she called their silent business partner, Earl Pryce, and demanded he come to Hallandale.  When Earl arrived and realized the true nature of his presence - to intervene between yet another dilemma with Taneia and Crystal - he decided to dissolve his affiliation with the restaurant.  Realizing the error of her ways, Taneia tried to counteract Earl's decision by filing a lawsuit against him.  Earl was outraged and attempted to smooth things over by letting Taneia keep his investment, but the woman was unrelenting.  As a result, he declared that she would definitely see him in court.  Earl's brother, Matthew, was equally discontent with Taneia, but reminded his brother that there were other innocent people to consider.  For Crystal's sake, Earl offered to give over his shares free and clear if the lawsuit was dropped.  After weighing the pros and cons of a long drawn out suit, Taneia agreed to drop it. 

Things, unfortunately, did not go back to normal for the Pryce brothers.  Matthew was becoming disenchanted with life in Hallandale and decided to call family friend, Evelyn Vasquez, for reinforcements in convincing Earl to leave the god forsaken place.  The plan, however, backfired as Evelin ultimately sided with Earl, who thought it was time he and his brother leave Pacific Palisades.  Earl was worried that being down there was feeding into his brother's delusion about his so-called psychic dreams and evil laying in wait in Hallandale.  Of course, Leonard Stone's murder didn't help matters.  Meanwhile, Taneia found herself in another load of trouble after confronting a very unstable Laura Sedwick, who had stolen T.E.C.'s bankroll in an effort to put one over on Crystal.  Although Romain was able to convince Laura to hand it back to Taneia, the added presence of Crystal and Darron at the hospital, followed by the authorities outside the premesis, prompted Laura to detonate the bomb, blowing Blanchencore Hospital to pieces.  Although it took a while for Crystal and Romain to surface, everyone was okay, mostly.  Crystal had suffered major facial scarring due to the blast of the bomb and had to undergo reconstructive surgery.  Romain, who suffered very little damage, visited Laura in the mental ward at Leysdale Hospital to see how she was doing.  She blamed him for her being locked up and accused him of using her to get what he wanted, and then discarding her like every other man in her life had done.  He counteracted, telling her that it was the anger in her heart that drove them apart, but she held firm to her beliefs that he was user, making his decision to wash his hands of her so much easier.  Laura, however, ascertained that he had not seen the last of her.  He would later learn that Laura escaped custody during a transfer from the mental ward.  Shortly after learning of her escape, Romain tried desperately to reach Crystal or Taneia, but was unsuccessful. 

Meanwhile, Taneia and Darron declared a truce after getting into yet another one of their infamous arguments in front of recently recovered Crystal, who kicked the former lovers out of her hospital room.  When they returned to her room, Crystal was no where in sight.  Despite talking with several members of the medical staff, no one seemed to know where she was.  Romain eventually showed up, clueing in Taneia and Darron to Laura's recent escape.  They then formulated that Laura had snuck into the hospital and kidnapped Crystal.  Right they were: Laura took Crystal to an abandon mine and began a deadly game of cut and switch using Crystal's face.  Laura was overjoyed by the prospect of watching Crystal die a slow and agonizing death, and couldn't help but admire the irony of the situation since she was the one person who could save her life.  Once she finished torturing Crystal with her knife, she then set stage to take care of Taneia.

Taneia, who stayed behind at the hospital once she determined that Laura might have taken Crystal to the mines, received a mysterious call from a woman claiming that T.E.C.'s had burned down to the ground.  As a result, Taneia left for Hallandale, as Romain and Darron discovered a weak and barely breathing Crystal hanging on to dear life.  When Taneia landed back in Hallandale, it became clear that her restaurant hadn't burnt down and that psychotic Laura had lured her back to town where no one could help her.  Taneia, however, manages to get hold of a crowbar, surprising Laura with a blow to the head.  She then flees the scene, trying to find her way to the nearest police station, but gets lost.  Laura eventually regains consciousness and catches up to her, heading her off at the end of the cliff.  Laura starts body wrestling with Taneia as the rock gives way, leaving Kyle as her only salvation.  As Kyle sweeps in to save Taneia, Laura looses her footing and tumbles amongst the rocks and unforgiving waters to her death.

In every sleepless city, there is a wealthy maiden waiting for her chance at true love.  Well, Widlin Pierre at the very least was the daughter of wealthy, news mogul, Alexander Pierre.  However, unlike other rich socialites, snagging the city's most eligible bachelor wasn't her main priority.  Keeping her deep, dark secret buried from her father and best friend, Malina Ramirez, was.  But how do you keep a secret buried when the one person that knows is using it as leverage for blackmail?  From the first day Camille Bellows blew into Hallandale, Widlin's knew her life would never be the same again.  She was now lying to her best friend, who continued to press her to be honest and not give into Camille's demands.  In addition, her father had become disillusioned with her after Camille fed him a ridiculous lie about her time at West Creek Camp, and the ill-will just continued to festered.  Widlin thought when she discovered that Camille had been married to sweet, unsuspecting copywriter, Mark Reyes, that she finally had the blackmailing villainess right where she wanted her, but that proved to be wishful thinking.  Meanwhile, her boyfriend Alfonso Morgan began to suspect that Widlin wasn't being entirely upfront with him, and demanded that she let him inside.  Widlin refused, lashing out at him for suggesting that she was keeping something from him.  When Malina learned that the two split and had been dating since last winter, she hastily decided to end her friendship with Widlin, unable to keep up with all the lies.  Days later, Malina would have a change of heart after talking things through with new beau, Anton McCloud.  Widlin, however, told her friend that it was impossible for them to go back to how things were because the fact of the matter was that she [Malina] should have a friend who was willing to share all of her secrets, and that was something Widlin couldn't do.

On the heels of Widlin's rejection, Malina went to Mark Reyes and opened his eyes to the truth about his wife.  The misguided sap, however, did not want to believe all the hateful things that Malina was saying about his wife.  But then, what reason would Malina have to make all those things up?  The next morning, it became clear to him that Malina was right.  When Camille returned home after a night of threatening Widlin Pierre, she was shocked to find a her and Mark's wedding portrait shattered, and a cold reception from her husband.  She would began to put two and two together after taking a closer look around their home: Mark knew about her extra-curricular activities.  She tried her best to lie her way out of the situation, but Mark was not buying any more of her bull.  Camille had no choice, but to confirm her husband's worse fears and put herself at his mercy.  Too bad for her, he couldn't help, but feel that there was nothing worth salvaging.  In the heat of the moment, she cursed Malina for her actions, and Mark finally saw the woman he had been living with.  Disgusted with the sight of her, he walked out on her.  Camille would turn straight to revenge, determined to make Malina pay.  Meanwhile, Malina paid Widlin another visit and told her that Camille would no longer be a problem now that her husband knew the truth.  Widlin, however, feared that Malina's actions would only intensify Camille's fixation on her, and make Malina a target as well.  Malina, however, wasn't the least bit fazed.

In the days to follow, Malina would find her home trashed, and the brake lines to her car sabatoged.  After she and Anton skated death, Malina realized that her stalker meant business and that it might be her favorite blackmailing vixen, Camille.  After being corned by Malina, Camille took great delight in admitting that she had been stalking Malina for weeks, and that she was the one responsible for Anton and Malina's near-death experience after sabatoging the brakes on Malina's car.  She, however, refused to take ownership for trashing Malina's home, reveling in the fact that someone else might be out to get Malina.  Anton wondered if Camille might be possibly telling truth.  If she were, then who trashed Malina's home and why?  The answer would arrive in Hallandale in the form of Malina's ex- husband, Mauricio Gonzalez, who it would turn out she was still married to because he never officially signed the annulment papers.  In exchange for his signature on the papers, he asked Malina to fork over a hefty sum of cash.