Friday, April 20, 2007, Episode #5042

Lt. Baker listens to Taylor's concerns.

Nick arrives at Insomnia, where Taylor is waiting for him. He thanks her for meeting him. Taylor remarks that he seemed upset when he called earlier, so she's been thinking about him all day. Nick responds that he was upset before, because Shane McGrath showed up at Forrester Creations today, but that passed once he told Shane to stay clear of him and threw Shane out. Taylor frets that Shane keeps showing up in their lives, since she fears what might happen if Phoebe gets mixed up with the unstable Shane again. Just then, Lieutenant Baker spots Taylor and comes over to say hello. Taylor asks the detective if he knows Nick; Baker confirms that he does and congratulates Nick and Taylor on their engagement. Since Baker is here, Taylor asks if he has a minute to chat. The cop says he does, so Taylor tells him that Shane McGrath showed up at her house again uninvited and harassed Phoebe. Baker asks how Shane harassed Phoebe, so Taylor explains that the drifter is stalking Phoebe and refuses to leave Phoebe alone, even after Phoebe told him to leave her alone. Baker asks Taylor if she called the police. Nick answers that he handled it himself. Lt. Baker remarks that he would have thrown Shane in jail long ago, but Phoebe wouldn't let him. Since he had to set Shane free, there's not much he can do if Shane and Phoebe are having some lovers' quarrel.

Nick tells Lt. Baker that he'll deal with Shane himself.

Taylor insists that Phoebe has told Shane to leave her alone and wants to know that she can do to make Shane stop. Lieutenant Baker asks Taylor if she's sure that Shane's advances toward Phoebe are unwanted. Nick doesn't like that question and tells the cop that Shane is bad news, so he suggests that Baker and his men do something about Shane before someone gets hurt. Baker points out that Shane hasn't broken any laws that the police can charge him for. Convinced that the legal system can't help protect Phoebe from Shane, Nick thanks Baker for his time and says that he'll handle Shane himself. Baker asks what that means; Nick promises to make very sure that Shane will not be a threat to Phoebe anymore.

Taylor thanks Nick.

After Lieutenant Baker leaves, Taylor thanks Nick for trying to get through to the cop for Phoebe. Nick wonders if he got through to Baker, but he thinks he made it clear that he won't tolerate Shane bothering Phoebe again. He asks Taylor if they can leave. Taylor says they can and suggests that they meet up at her place, but Nick wants wants to go down to the Marina and spend some time on the Marlin. Taylor offers to keep him company, but then realizes that he needs some alone time to clear his head. Nick says she's starting to get to know him now and gives her a goodbye kiss.

In the lab at Forrester Originals, Stephanie convinces Ashley that the loud bang they heard (the gunshot) was just the freight elevator. Ashley is glad it wasn't an earthquake, since she's not sure she's ready a quake. Stephanie thinks she should be heading home and wishes Ashley a happy dinner with Ridge. Ash thanks Stephanie and bids her goodnight.

Shane falls to the ground and dies.

In Ridge's office, Ridge and Shane gaze at each other as they drop toward the floor. As Ridge drops to his knees, Shane starts to stand up. But as soon as he's upright, Shane collapses, exposing a bullet wound to the stomach as he falls to the carpet and dies.

A memory prompts Ridge to take desperate actions.

Panicking, Ridge rushes to Shane's side and picks up the gun. He frantically recalls how he tried to save Shane, but the gun went off. He starts to call the police, sure that they'll understand once he explains. But he pauses as he flashes back to his sentencing after he pled guilty to shooting Grant Chambers. After Grant pled for leniency, the judge agreed not to send Ridge to jail, but she warned that Ridge would be thrown in jail for life if he was ever again charged with a weapons related crime. As the judges warning echoes in his mind, Ridge puts down the phone and closes his office door. He takes out a large garment bag, unzips it and nervously stuffs Shane's body in the bag. He then sticks the gun in his pocket and drags the garment back into the hall.

Ashley wonders where Ridge is.

Wondering why Ridge hasn't picked her up for dinner, Ashley goes to his office to look for him. She knocks on the door, but when there's no answer, she lets herself in. Seeing the empty office, she decides to wait, not noticing the spot of dried up blood on the carpet.

Stephanie wonders what Ridge is doing.

Down in the parking garage, Stephanie calls Ridge as she walks to her car. When she gets his voice mail, she leaves a message and conveys her hope that he and Ashley have a nice evening and gets into her car. As she gets into her car, she sees Ridge enter the garage carrying the large garment bag. She watches as Ridge puts the bag into his trunk, gets in his car and speeds off. Stephanie follows; as she tries to keep up with Ridge's furious pace, she wonders where he's going driving like a crazy person. In his car, Ridge wonders where he can go with the body in his truck. Thinking back to when he picked Phoebe up at the Shady Marlin II earlier in the day, he recalls her comment that the Santa Monica Bay was like a black hole graveyard for old cars and stuff. He makes his way to the marina, parks his car by a chain link fence and removes the garment bag from the trunk. As he walks away from the car toward the dock, Stephanie arrives and spots him, wondering what could be in the bag. Just then, she gets a call from Ashley, who's still waiting for Ridge at the office. Stephanie tells Ashley that Ridge had a sudden business emergency to attend to and is sure Ridge will explain it to Ashley tomorrow. Ashley thanks Stephanie and bids her goodnight.