EPISODE 233
Written by: Bre L. Drew
April 24, 2023
Last Time on Town and Country
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Jordan got admitted to Stonecrest psychiatric hospital, where Samuel conducted a blood test to determine whether or not Dr. Toussaint had overmedicated her. While Ernest and Thora agreed to do their own questioning to the doctor,
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As a result of the car going into the ditch trying to avoid Jordan, Shauna miscarried her and Max's baby, while Max was told he would be paralyzed indefinitely.
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Tommy suspects his father is also responsible for the downfall, but he keeps it to himself for now.
STONECREST
Jordan McKnight couldn't help but feel the impending doom while stepping onto the scarcely lit road. She finds herself calling out for her son; however, she doesn't spot him, as he had taken off from her while she had dozed off in the woods of Lake Hudson.
As she gets closer to the center of the roadway, she sees headlights from a vehicle heading in her direction. Fear somehow seemed to make her immobile, as the thought of never seeing Jeremy terrifies her.
The driver and the passenger notice she is on the road and have no intention of moving out of the way, so at the last minute, they notice Shauna in the passenger seat and Max behind the wheel diverting the convertible away to avoid her, but the vehicle slides into the ditch on the side of the road.
Quickly, Jordan rises from her slumber as the anxiety of her nightmare makes her heartbeat faster. The young woman realizes she is in the tasteless room she's staying in at Stonecrest, the mental hospital where she's currently seeking treatment for her psychosis, which results in the accident involving her son's uncle and his pregnant wife.
Taking a deep breath, she finds herself lying back down on the stiff twin bed, trying to regain a regular heartbeat, and realizes maybe she does belong here with the other people needing their heads examined.
COVINGTON GROUP
On the twentieth floor of the Covington Tower, Daniel Covington is at his desk in his office suite on the phone.
"I promise if you do not return my call, I will gladly inform your chief of staff of your less-than-stellar reputation," he says to the voicemail.
For the past two days, he's been trying to reach Dr. Toussaint, the psychiatrist he's been blackmailing for months with the fact that a patient he was romantically involved with took her own life to get him to help him gaslight Jordan into thinking she's losing her mind. With her now in Stonecrest, he needed to speak to him about making sure nothing was said since he did not want it to come out about his involvement since he already has enough guilt about his role, which resulted in the loss of his unborn grandchild and the use of Max's legs.
The businessman soon hangs up the phone as a knock on the door gets his attention.
"Come in," he announces aggravatedly.
Courtney Covington Sullivan peaks through the door wearing a sleeveless black sheath dress. "Whoa," his daughter responds. "If this is a bad time, I can always come back."
"That was not meant for you. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I guess with everything happening to this family, it's taking a toll on me," he admits.
By now, Courtney saunters into the office to sit across from her father. "It has been rough on all of us," she reveals. "And I know we all should be grateful that both Max and Shauna made it out alive, but the thought of Max being unable to walk is devastating. I wish there is something more that can be done."
Daniel reflects on the information the neurologist from Chicago he brought in as a second opinion also told him, which confirms what the doctors from Radcliffe Receiving diagnosed, which is permanent paralysis.
"Anyway," he says, changing the subject. "I've seen the images of the renovated ballroom, and I must say, Max and you did one hell of a job."
Her brother and she were in charge of the ballroom renovation of the Miller Inn, which had been a project that had taken months to complete.
Courtney smiles at the compliment from her father. "It was a team effort. I know initially I was not keen on receiving the assignment, but I appreciated the responsibility." She then looks at the large wall clock behind her father. "Oh, I better get going. I have a meeting to get to. But Dad, everything will work out."
Daniel nods respectfully at his daughter as he watches her exit the room. However, his mind is still on what led to this unforeseen trajectory.
HOME FARM
Antoine Hall never felt out of place like he does while steering his fifteen-year-old Ford Focus in front of the mansion on the estate. He still can't believe he knows people who live here since he comes from a very different background. although that doesn't matter right now.
He gets out of the car on this sunny afternoon, as it's evident that it is spring now, as it had been a cooler first month of spring than usual.
Antoine goes up to the door, where he presses the doorbell, which he can hear ringing.
Not long after the door opens, he sees Shauna Covington standing on the other side in a gray hoodie and denim jeans. Her hair is hanging somewhat past her shoulders, and he can't help but admire how beautiful she looks.
"Are you going to let me in, or do I need an invite?" he inquires cordially.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to cause a disturbance in the neighborhood." Shauna mocks.
She then steps aside to let him inside the house, where she leads him into the spacious living room.
"So, what brings you all the way out here?"
"Hey, can a brotha check in on his best friend without the third degree?"
Shauna naturally smirks at him, hearing the solemnity in his voice.
"Have you ever thought your life was going one way, but somehow it goes in a different direction, and you're wondering how the hell you got there?"
Antoine moves his head to indicate he understands the point she is making. "Yeah, I do."
"I was supposed to enjoy a weekend away with the man that I love, and in seven months I was going to give birth to our child, but in the middle of the night that all changed." She then shakes her head at her for admitting it. "And the person responsible for it is mentally unbalanced, so I can't blame her because, in a way, she was out of her mind."
Over last Christmas, she had gotten to know the mother of her husband's nephew and could see that despite her brash exterior, she's quite sensitive, making her feel bad about placing blame on her.
Antoine gets closer to the young woman he will always have feelings for and grabs her hands.
"You have every right to feel like that. I know you would've been a great mama to that baby."
"It's funny," she discloses. "A few years ago, the thought of me becoming a mother would've scared me, but I thought it would be a chance to make up for the lousy relationship I have with Cassie, but it wasn't meant to be, and I should be focusing on Max, who needs me right now because he is in his own hell."
He then let go, remembering what Mae told him about how he should respect her as a married woman.
The doctor had informed Max that, as a result of the accident, he's paralyzed from the waist down.
"Hey, Shauna, I know me, and Max have our issues, but I would never want anything like this to happen to him."
Shauna takes a few strands of her hair and tucks them behind her ear.
"Yeah, I know," she replies lowly. "Tomorrow, Daniel has people coming in to install a ramp and stairlift; you should've seen him when that neurologist told him that the doctors were right about Max's paralysis; he would never admit it, but I know he was heartbroken."
Antoine could never imagine the millionaire businessman being sad, but then again, he hardly knows him.
"You know what? I better get outta here, so I don't be late for my shift," the bar manager tells her.
The two then walk over to the door while he doesn't take his eyes off her.
"Just remember, take it easy, and you don't have to be Superwoman, okay?"
"The suit and cape might be in storage, but you know me, I can't simply sit back and do nothing. I'm going to help my husband get through this."
Knowing he can't talk her out of this mindset, he embraces her, and he then heads out the door.
Antoine stands outside the door, while on the inside, Shauna remains on the opposite side.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Nurse Joyce Miller, please call extension 211, Nurse Miller, please call extension 211; thank you.
​
The overhead announcement is given throughout the hospital concurrently as Samuel Gupta walks off the elevator into the psychiatric department where he works. While heading toward the front desk, he sees a few patients sitting in the waiting room.
"Hey, Dr. Gupta, I thought you were going to be out for the day," Joanie, a part-time patient service representative at the front desk, says to the psychiatrist.
"I'm just here to grab some things, and I'm heading back out, so pretend that you don't see me," he teases good-naturedly.
Earlier, while at home, he had been informed by the lab that the blood test he conducted on Jordan to determine whether or not she had been overmedicated by Dr. Toussaint.
He treks through the door into the corridor, where the offices of the therapists are located. Samuel reaches his place, where he sees an envelope sticking out of his drop box.
It doesn't take long for him to see the results, so he checks to see if anyone is coming, and when anyone isn't, he quickly tears the envelope to obtain the documents and begins skimming them over.
Once he gets the conclusion, he takes out his phone, and after three rings, he gets the person's voicemail.
"Hey Tommy, it's Samuel; I have the results of Jordan's blood test; call me when you get a chance, bye."
He then ends the call and decides to go into his office.
HOME FARM: GUEST HOUSE
We went to bed in France; then we woke up in Japan
I like you; I do; I do
​
The vocals of Post Malone and Doja Cat can be heard from the flat-screen television as "I Like You" (A Happier Song) plays on the Spotify app in the guest house on the Home Farm estate this afternoon while Tommy Covington, Elijah Barker, and Lorenzo Vidal, the latter of whom stays here, all sit around the living room, the latter hearing what their friend told them about possibly what Toussaint has done to Jordan.
"You mean to tell me that you think the shrink had been doing this to Jordan all this time, and nobody knew?" Lorenzo asks for clarification.
"Look, you know how I feel about Jordan as a person, but even I wouldn't go to the trouble of doing this to her," Elijah proclaims while sitting on the sofa with Lorenzo.
"I know Jordan had been dealing with her mental health since she had Jeremy, but to get to this degree while she had been going to therapy is suspect, so Samuel is running a blood test to see if she had overdosed with the medicine she had been taking." Tommy informs from the chair adjacent to his friends. "Just for now, I hope you two can keep it to yourselves; I don't need this getting out."
Both young men make gestures to assure each other, but they won't do it.
"But the question is, why would this guy do this to her?" Elijah wonders. "It's not like the two had some inappropriate relationship other than doctor and patient."
Tommy couldn't help but focus on the potential of his father's involvement since he still remembers Jordan telling him last Halloween that she walked in on the psychiatrist.
"You're sounding like a lawyer already," Lorenzo somewhat teases. "But Tommy, you don't know what this guy can really be like, so just be careful."
"That's why I'm playing it like this," Tommy discloses. "I know I can't go off half-cocked. I got Jeremy to think about it, and the reason why I'm doing this is for him; he doesn't deserve to have his mother in a mental hospital if she really doesn't. Look, I know I wasn't there for Jordan when she was pregnant because I wanted to be with Tanner so bad I didn't want anyone to come in between us, but it isn't anything I won't do for my son or his mother."
​
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
"Do you have an appointment with Dr. Toussaint?" Joanie, the patient service representative, queries the two individuals standing beside each other on the other side of the desk.
"No, we don't, but this is an important matter we have to see him about." Ernest McKnight says it affably.
He and his ex-wife Thora are hoping to see the doctor who, until recently, had been treating their daughter for postpartum depression; however, they both believe something occurred for her downfall mentally.
"Let me call to see if he is not busy," the patient service representative informs them.
The former spouses exchange glances before Ernest reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket.
"I didn't want to do this, but since it's such a problem, how about you tell him that the chief of police wants to see him?" he said, displaying the shield to the hospital employee.
"Uh, you know what? I'm sure he would cooperate in whatever you need to talk to him about," Joanie responds amicably.
Ernest puts his badge into his pocket as they enter the corridor, where they walk toward his office.
"I don't have to worry about you because getting worked up with this guy isn't going to get us the answers we want," he tells her.
Thora holds onto her purse, shaking her head. "I promise I'm not going to get emotional, but if there's some sort of chance, he has done some ill will towards Jordan, Ernest, I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Well, for all of our sakes, none of those actions should happen."
They finally arrive at the door that reads Dr. Pierre Toussaint on the wall beside it. Immediately, the police chief balls his hand into a fist, which he uses to knock steadily.
Some seconds pass without any movement on the other side of the door.
"Is he in there?" Thora asks curiously.
Ernest knocks on the barrier again, yet something instinctually tells him to reach for the knob, which he does, and when he twists it, he and Thora set foot in the room; nonetheless, their eyes instantly lay upon the floor where Dr. Toussaint lies unresponsive and lying not far away is a gun as well as blood splatters in the room.
​
"Dear Lord!" Thora exclaims at the sight in front of them.
By now, Ernest is on his radio.
"I need officers forthwith to Radcliffe Receiving Hospital, possible 10-109, 10-4."
"Who would want to murder him?" Thora asks astonishingly.
Ernest tilts his head toward the body before responding. "I can't be sure yet, but it's not a homicide; it appears to be a suicide."
​
END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
The aftermath of Dr. Toussaint's body being found.
Tricia visits Jordan at Stonecrest.
Gus swings by The Waterfall.
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