EPISODES 719 - 979
JANUARY
Sara and Mike were joyous over the news that Sara is going to have a baby. Gail and Hugh continued their romance despite Mildred’s objections. Mildred continued to show Hugh a portrait of their parents, hidden behind a curtain, and reminded him that he is responsible for the death of his father and her mother. Terry discovered that Mildred controls all of the Bryer fortune since Hugh signed a trust agreement giving her power over the family fortune as well as Hugh’s personal earnings from scientific royalties. Max acquiesced when Terry suggested that he pursue Mildred romantically as a solution to their serious cash flow problem. Snobbish socialite Mrs. Kingston Houghton commissioned Gail to paint her portrait. Mrs. Houghton’s menacing son Francis harassed Gail, who rebuffed his advances.
FEBRUARY
Max deftly manipulated Mildred into a quickie marriage then convinced her to endow the Bryer Foundation with her financial support. Max continued his relationship with Terry on the sly. Francis Houghton invited himself to Gail’s apartment and forced himself on her. After she slapped him and threw him out, he swore revenge. Hugh proposed marriage to Gail, who remembered that she was forced to leave Chicago after being arrested for theft. Mrs. Houghton reported the disappearance of an expensive emerald broach, which the police later found hidden in Gail’s apartment. Gail was arrested and charged with grand larceny, and her case looked grim when her past in Chicago was uncovered. Gail insisted that she took the money to pay for her mother’s operation and paid the money back. Mike agreed to handle Gail’s defense.
MARCH
The judge set Gail’s bail at $10,000. Mildred reserved her rights as Hugh’s trustee and refused to give him money to get Gail released from jail. Mike advised Hugh that unless he is prepared to instigate legal proceedings against Mildred in an attempt to break the trustee agreement, Mike cannot help him. After learning that Hugh’s salary from Grimsley Industries goes straight to Mildred, Winston posted Gail’s bail. Mildred examined the financial ledgers at The Bryer Foundation and insisted that he fire Terry. Max panicked at news of Hugh’s attempts to break the trustee agreement, since Mildred has no personal wealth and all of her assets will revert back to Hugh. Though most everyone considered Gail guilty, Mike suspected that Francis Houghton stole his mother’s broach and framed Gail for the crime in an effort to avenge her rejection.
APRIL
Mike proved Gail’s innocence and Francis’ guilt in the jewel theft. Despite Gail’s exoneration, Hugh decided to fight for control of his finances as he can never achieve independence otherwise. Mildred was aghast when Hugh left their home and moved into a small apartment. Hugh told Gail that he cannot marry her
until the case against Mildred is settled. As the courtroom proceedings got underway, the judge froze all of Hugh’s assets. Mildred informed an infuriated Max that she planned to shut down The Bryer Foundation, as her $50,000 saved the company from ruin, but she was willing to sell it back to him for $100,000. Terry insisted that she wanted in when Max devised a plan to free himself of Mildred and Hugh for good. Later, Max tricked Peggy Collins into stealing from the Grimsley lab the same poison John Phillips and Ollie had used to murder Martin Spode. Hugh mixed a special medication to ease Mildred’s asthma, which Max exacerbated by secretly replacing all of her pillows with horsehair. A guilty Peggy decided to confess that she stole the poison, but with promises of curing her fear of heights, Max lured her to the roof of her apartment building and shoved her to her death.
MAY - AUGUST
A mortified Terry realized that she’s an accomplice to Peggy’s murder. Max poured the industrial poison from Grimsley’s laboratory into the medicine Hugh concocted for Mildred’s asthma. Later, during an asthma attack, Mildred consumed the medicine and died. Sara experienced a difficult pregnancy, and her obstetrician diagnosed a mismatch between her Rh blood factor and the baby’s. The circumstances surrounding Mildred’s death prompted an autopsy, which revealed that she had been poisoned. Gail stood by Hugh, who was implicated in Mildred’s death. The new district attorney charged Hugh with first degree murder. Mike theorized that Hugh had been framed and agreed to defend him. When Jack and Betty Jean’s finances reached a crisis level, Betty Jean insisted on working part-time. Jack wrecked one of the cars at Golick Trucking and attempted to blame a coworker, but Jake Golick discovered what had happened and fired him. Jack attempted to borrow money from the bank in an effort to cover up his termination. Terry began to crack under the pressure of Mike’s investigation into the deaths of Peggy and Mildred. Fearing that Mike was about solve the case, a desperate Max broke into the Karr home and held Sara hostage. Mike arrived to save his wife and capture Max, but during the melee, Sara collapsed in premature labor.
SEPTEMBER
Sara gave birth to a daughter. Mike and Sara prayed over the baby, whose life hung in the balance for weeks. After the doctor assured the Karrs that their child would live, Mike and Sara named her Laurie Ann. Hugh and Gail were married. Mike and Sara’s friends the Applemans were strong-armed by the sinister Mr. Moore, who wanted to buy their family farm. Betty Jean was upset to learn of Jack’s lies and termination from Golick Trucking, and the two sank deeper into debt. Mattie asked Winston to help Jack.
OCTOBER
Mr. Moore hired a thug to pretend to be a hit and run victim and frame Dick Appleman for the crime, but the plan went awry. Mike and Winston invested in a revolutionary new motor that Dick agreed to design for Grimsley Industries. Winston hired Jack to work for Grimsley Industries, and Jack was instantly attracted to pretty blond Ruth Hakim, an office secretary. Mr. Moore, working with Ruth behind the scenes, encouraged her to dig Jack into a hole from which he couldn’t escape. Later, Ruth suggested that Jack could move on the fast track in Winston’s company if he plagiarized the ideas of their coworker Alan Johnson.
NOVEMBER
Following Ruth’s advice, Jack passed off Alan Johnson’s marketing survey ideas as his own and received a cushy promotion. Hulking ex-con Frank Dubec arrived in Monticello, fresh from a five year stint in the slammer, and insinuated himself back into the life of former cohort Mr. Moore, who’s now dating Dubeck’s old girlfriend Suzanne. Ruth passed on information about Dick’s motor blueprints to Moore and Dubeck. Mr. Moore told his group that he could sell the Appleman plans for a million dollars. Winston hired Mike and Willy as security specialist after a failed attempt by Mr. Moore’s thugs to steal the blueprints. Dubeck hired thug Mickey Kutka to take care of Dick with Ruth’s inside information about Dick’s movements and the location of the blueprints. Betty Jean inadvertently learned about Jack’s treatment of Alan Johnson and gave him a choice: confess the truth to Winston, or she would take Bud and leave. Jack called Betty Jean’s bluff and was astonished that she walked out on him. Ruth tipped off Dubeck on how to catch Dick alone after work, and Kutka beat Dick to a pulp in the Grimsley Industries parking lot. Dick was found unconscious with a severe head injury, and his brief case was missing.
DECEMBER
Dick awoke in the hospital and realized that he had been blinded in the attack. Mr. Moore raged at Dubeck’s stupidity when the blueprints found in Dick’s briefcase turned out to be phony. Meanwhile, Mike and Willy congratulated themselves for insisting that Dick carry fake plans while the real ones were safe in a vault at Grimsley. Following brain surgery to relieve cranial pressure, Dick regained his vision. Sara found Betty Jean and Bud at a rooming house and brought them to stay in the Karr home. Near Christmas, a lonely Jack secretly longed for Betty Jean to return, but Ruth effectively drove a permanent wedge between the couple by tricking Betty Jean into witnessing a near seduction on a nightclub dance floor. Dubeck grew more violent, threatening to kill Mr. Moore and reclaim his own status as the man in charge.
JANUARY
Sara and Mike were joyous over the news that Sara is going to have a baby. Gail and Hugh continued their romance despite Mildred’s objections. Mildred continued to show Hugh a portrait of their parents, hidden behind a curtain, and reminded him that he is responsible for the death of his father and her mother. Terry discovered that Mildred controls all of the Bryer fortune since Hugh signed a trust agreement giving her power over the family fortune as well as Hugh’s personal earnings from scientific royalties. Max acquiesced when Terry suggested that he pursue Mildred romantically as a solution to their serious cash flow problem. Snobbish socialite Mrs. Kingston Houghton commissioned Gail to paint her portrait. Mrs. Houghton’s menacing son Francis harassed Gail, who rebuffed his advances.
FEBRUARY
Max deftly manipulated Mildred into a quickie marriage then convinced her to endow the Bryer Foundation with her financial support. Max continued his relationship with Terry on the sly. Francis Houghton invited himself to Gail’s apartment and forced himself on her. After she slapped him and threw him out, he swore revenge. Hugh proposed marriage to Gail, who remembered that she was forced to leave Chicago after being arrested for theft. Mrs. Houghton reported the disappearance of an expensive emerald broach, which the police later found hidden in Gail’s apartment. Gail was arrested and charged with grand larceny, and her case looked grim when her past in Chicago was uncovered. Gail insisted that she took the money to pay for her mother’s operation and paid the money back. Mike agreed to handle Gail’s defense.
MARCH
The judge set Gail’s bail at $10,000. Mildred reserved her rights as Hugh’s trustee and refused to give him money to get Gail released from jail. Mike advised Hugh that unless he is prepared to instigate legal proceedings against Mildred in an attempt to break the trustee agreement, Mike cannot help him. After learning that Hugh’s salary from Grimsley Industries goes straight to Mildred, Winston posted Gail’s bail. Mildred examined the financial ledgers at The Bryer Foundation and insisted that he fire Terry. Max panicked at news of Hugh’s attempts to break the trustee agreement, since Mildred has no personal wealth and all of her assets will revert back to Hugh. Though most everyone considered Gail guilty, Mike suspected that Francis Houghton stole his mother’s broach and framed Gail for the crime in an effort to avenge her rejection.
APRIL
Mike proved Gail’s innocence and Francis’ guilt in the jewel theft. Despite Gail’s exoneration, Hugh decided to fight for control of his finances as he can never achieve independence otherwise. Mildred was aghast when Hugh left their home and moved into a small apartment. Hugh told Gail that he cannot marry her
until the case against Mildred is settled. As the courtroom proceedings got underway, the judge froze all of Hugh’s assets. Mildred informed an infuriated Max that she planned to shut down The Bryer Foundation, as her $50,000 saved the company from ruin, but she was willing to sell it back to him for $100,000. Terry insisted that she wanted in when Max devised a plan to free himself of Mildred and Hugh for good. Later, Max tricked Peggy Collins into stealing from the Grimsley lab the same poison John Phillips and Ollie had used to murder Martin Spode. Hugh mixed a special medication to ease Mildred’s asthma, which Max exacerbated by secretly replacing all of her pillows with horsehair. A guilty Peggy decided to confess that she stole the poison, but with promises of curing her fear of heights, Max lured her to the roof of her apartment building and shoved her to her death.
MAY - AUGUST
A mortified Terry realized that she’s an accomplice to Peggy’s murder. Max poured the industrial poison from Grimsley’s laboratory into the medicine Hugh concocted for Mildred’s asthma. Later, during an asthma attack, Mildred consumed the medicine and died. Sara experienced a difficult pregnancy, and her obstetrician diagnosed a mismatch between her Rh blood factor and the baby’s. The circumstances surrounding Mildred’s death prompted an autopsy, which revealed that she had been poisoned. Gail stood by Hugh, who was implicated in Mildred’s death. The new district attorney charged Hugh with first degree murder. Mike theorized that Hugh had been framed and agreed to defend him. When Jack and Betty Jean’s finances reached a crisis level, Betty Jean insisted on working part-time. Jack wrecked one of the cars at Golick Trucking and attempted to blame a coworker, but Jake Golick discovered what had happened and fired him. Jack attempted to borrow money from the bank in an effort to cover up his termination. Terry began to crack under the pressure of Mike’s investigation into the deaths of Peggy and Mildred. Fearing that Mike was about solve the case, a desperate Max broke into the Karr home and held Sara hostage. Mike arrived to save his wife and capture Max, but during the melee, Sara collapsed in premature labor.
SEPTEMBER
Sara gave birth to a daughter. Mike and Sara prayed over the baby, whose life hung in the balance for weeks. After the doctor assured the Karrs that their child would live, Mike and Sara named her Laurie Ann. Hugh and Gail were married. Mike and Sara’s friends the Applemans were strong-armed by the sinister Mr. Moore, who wanted to buy their family farm. Betty Jean was upset to learn of Jack’s lies and termination from Golick Trucking, and the two sank deeper into debt. Mattie asked Winston to help Jack.
OCTOBER
Mr. Moore hired a thug to pretend to be a hit and run victim and frame Dick Appleman for the crime, but the plan went awry. Mike and Winston invested in a revolutionary new motor that Dick agreed to design for Grimsley Industries. Winston hired Jack to work for Grimsley Industries, and Jack was instantly attracted to pretty blond Ruth Hakim, an office secretary. Mr. Moore, working with Ruth behind the scenes, encouraged her to dig Jack into a hole from which he couldn’t escape. Later, Ruth suggested that Jack could move on the fast track in Winston’s company if he plagiarized the ideas of their coworker Alan Johnson.
NOVEMBER
Following Ruth’s advice, Jack passed off Alan Johnson’s marketing survey ideas as his own and received a cushy promotion. Hulking ex-con Frank Dubec arrived in Monticello, fresh from a five year stint in the slammer, and insinuated himself back into the life of former cohort Mr. Moore, who’s now dating Dubeck’s old girlfriend Suzanne. Ruth passed on information about Dick’s motor blueprints to Moore and Dubeck. Mr. Moore told his group that he could sell the Appleman plans for a million dollars. Winston hired Mike and Willy as security specialist after a failed attempt by Mr. Moore’s thugs to steal the blueprints. Dubeck hired thug Mickey Kutka to take care of Dick with Ruth’s inside information about Dick’s movements and the location of the blueprints. Betty Jean inadvertently learned about Jack’s treatment of Alan Johnson and gave him a choice: confess the truth to Winston, or she would take Bud and leave. Jack called Betty Jean’s bluff and was astonished that she walked out on him. Ruth tipped off Dubeck on how to catch Dick alone after work, and Kutka beat Dick to a pulp in the Grimsley Industries parking lot. Dick was found unconscious with a severe head injury, and his brief case was missing.
DECEMBER
Dick awoke in the hospital and realized that he had been blinded in the attack. Mr. Moore raged at Dubeck’s stupidity when the blueprints found in Dick’s briefcase turned out to be phony. Meanwhile, Mike and Willy congratulated themselves for insisting that Dick carry fake plans while the real ones were safe in a vault at Grimsley. Following brain surgery to relieve cranial pressure, Dick regained his vision. Sara found Betty Jean and Bud at a rooming house and brought them to stay in the Karr home. Near Christmas, a lonely Jack secretly longed for Betty Jean to return, but Ruth effectively drove a permanent wedge between the couple by tricking Betty Jean into witnessing a near seduction on a nightclub dance floor. Dubeck grew more violent, threatening to kill Mr. Moore and reclaim his own status as the man in charge.