At the Fall Festival, Roman, Lucas, and Kate watched while kids hit a piñata. As a little boy hit it with a stick, blood began to drip from it, and suddenly a body fell from it onto the ground. The crowd gasped, and Rex ran onto the scene and found his sister's dead body on the ground. "How could you? You're her mother!" Rex yelled at Kate, who shook her head in spite of the bloody knife she grasped in her hand.
Shawn offered his assistance to a speechless Roman, who delegated the task of phoning the station and Bo and Hope to Shawn. Roman moved to speak to a jumpy Kate, who pointed the knife at him when he called her name. He convinced her to drop the knife, and a shaky Kate begged him to believe that she hadn't done it. Sami, who reasoned that she had been right about the killer's identity all along, grabbed a megaphone and began bad-mouthing Kate, which caused a riot among the shoppers of Salem Place. Roman broke up the mob and threatened to put Sami in jail, but Sami was angry that she was still considered a suspect when Kate had been found with a knife in her hand.
Meanwhile, Shawn called Philip and told him to head right over. When Philip arrived, Shawn broke the news about Cassie's death to him. He soon realized that Philip was unaware of the fact that Cassie had actually been his sister, but Philip couldn't believe that Kate and Roman were the twins' parents. Back at the crime scene, Rex held his dead sister and vowed revenge on Kate and Roman, who he held responsible for Cassie's death. An officer told Rex that Cassie had been dead before she'd been put in the piñata, and after finding her Palm Pilot lying on the ground, Rex figured out that Cassie had known who the killer was. As they zipped up the body bag, Mimi comforted Rex, and Roman silently sobbed over his lost daughter.
Across the plaza, Celeste laid out her tarot cards and had a vision of something bad happening at the Fall Festival. She turned over the death card and gasped as Caroline appeared to be sitting across from her at the café table. Celeste asked her who was going to die, and Caroline told her that Cassie DiMera was already dead. She corrected herself by calling Cassie a Brady and remorsefully told Celeste that her granddaughter wouldn't be the last to die. Celeste asked who would die next and guessed Marlena.
Celeste wanted to warn Marlena, but Caroline told her that it would do no good because her faith in John was unshakable, and Marlena would never believe that he would kill her. Immediately, Celeste asked if John Black was the killer, but Caroline said that she couldn't divulge that information, as it went against the rules of the afterlife. Celeste asked why Caroline kept burdening her with that information if it wasn't going to do anyone any good, and Caroline replied that through her visions, the killer would eventually be caught. Before leaving, Caroline warned Celeste to be careful so that she didn't become one of the killer's targets.
John carried Marlena into a room at their "hideaway," which he had decorated with white roses. He told her that he wanted to take care of her, to return her to health. Marlena couldn't stop worrying about the twins and all they were going through, since they had told who their true parents were. John told her to forget about Cassie because her fate was already sealed. Marlena asked him what he meant, and John explained that it was up to the twins to decide if they were going to be DiMeras or Bradys and that if they made the wrong choice, they would have to face the consequences for their actions.
Marlena wondered aloud if the killer was trying to kill her specifically or not, but John assured her that he would protect her. Then he told her that he had a surprise for her deep in the woods. Marlena stood to start the water for her bath, and after he was sure she was gone, John pulled a large knife out of his bag. Later, the pair walked in the woods and then found a log to sit on. John pulled out some cider and toasted to Marlena's health.
When Marlena voiced her concern about Roman finding out he was the twins' father, John demanded that she tell him if she loved Roman or not. Marlena told him that she did love Roman, but not the way she loved John. John looked angry and told Marlena that he was mad that Sami was trying to split the two of them up. Marlena assured John that she loved him and would never leave him for anyone. With that, John grabbed his knife and reached behind Marlena.
Marlena held her breath and was frightened, but John cut some flowers off the branch behind her and said, "It's you and me, Doc. Till death do us part." Marlena remained shaky while John told her the legend of the flowers. Once John noticed her fear, he stabbed the knife into the log behind him so that it was out of sight then told her that he'd never hurt her. She agreed that she knew he wouldn't harm her, but unseen, the knife began to drip blood.
John and Marlena kissed. Marlena told John that she was happy, and nothing could spoil the moment. Just then, John's phone rang. When he hung up, he informed Marlena that Cassie had been murdered and that Kate had done it. Marlena fell apart and sobbed into John's shoulder.
At Bonnie Lockhart's apartment, Mimi ate a piece of pie and was incredulous that her mother was going to try to seduce Mickey Horton by feeding him TV dinners on Thanksgiving. She asked Bonnie why she was so desperate and what she really wanted from Mickey. As she scraped the food into containers for the trip to the Hortons' home, Bonnie told Mimi her plan of getting Mickey to back her dream of a Country/Western bar, with her as the star of the show. Mimi tried to convince her mom that Mickey wasn't up to it so soon after his wife's death and told her that it could be Bonnie's downfall. As Mimi stood to leave, she rolled her eyes.
As Mimi walked toward Salem Place, Bonnie ran to catch up to her and begged her for a ride to Mickey's house. They saw Celeste crying up ahead and went to find out what was wrong. When Celeste told the two of Cassie's death, Mimi hurried off to find Rex. Celeste told Bonnie of her conversations with Caroline, and a spooked Bonnie asked what else Caroline had told her. Celeste said, "She said that Marlena is going to die, and her husband will be the one to kill her."
At the Salem Police Station, the blood on Kate's hands and the knife were confirmed as being Cassie's. Only Kate's prints were on the knife. Kate was devastated at being accused of killing her daughter and never having bonded with her. While Roman went with circumstantial evidence, Kate explained that something had fallen or been tossed in front of her. Seeing it was a knife, maternal instinct had prompted her to retrieve the knife for the protection of children nearby. Her dazed shock was from seeing the blood and Cassie's dead body. Based on Kate's testimony, Roman believed that Sami and Lucas were the next best suspects, and he called John to take them in for questioning.
As police investigated the scene at Salem Place, Philip confronted Shawn D about not being told Kate was the twins' mother. Still in shock, Philip watched Rex, realizing they were brothers. As Marlena and John arrived, Marlena's concern was for Rex, while John felt uncertain of Rex's innocence. Sami's continued bad attitude toward John upset Marlena, who noted Sami's lack of compassion for her half-sister, Cassie. Rex picked a fistfight with John when police prepared to remove Cassie's body for autopsy.
Rex accused John of hating the twins because they were so similar to him, being molded by Stefano. However, John said that similarity was why he cared so much. When Mimi produced Rex's PDA with Cassie's email message, received after her death, Shawn Douglas accused Rex of planting the message.
Unaware of Cassie's death, Tony arrived wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Sensing another murder had taken place, he was stunned by Rex's news. Tony was irate at not being notified, but Tek revealed that Tony was not next of kin. Declaring the twins were his son and daughter, Tony consoled Rex, encouraging the need for an autopsy to learn the truth. John was suspicious that Tony asked if Cassie had made it to the police.
Tony's distraught reply was, "I'm Tony DiMera. I'm supposed to stop this." Rex refused Marlena's help, saying she was not his mother. John informed Tony that the twins had withheld knowledge of their true identity while living under his roof. Reminding Rex of the bad things the DiMeras were responsible for, John suggested Rex claim his heritage as a Brady. Rex used Sami as an example of one Brady who was not "squeaky-clean." With that, Rex chose to be a DiMera for life. Rex then shocked them, saying the killer would succeed in killing Marlena.
As a tearful Tony promised Rex would get his revenge for Cassie's death, Mimi overheard Rex echo Tony's words after blaming Shawn D for his being falsely imprisoned. While Philip and Shawn D were discussing Cassie, they got on the topic of Jan. Unknown to them, Jan was watching them with a telephoto lens and taking pictures.
At the Salem Police Station, Lucas told Sami that despite her hate for John, she felt guilty for loving him when she thought he was Roman. Asking if she would frame Kate for murder, Sami was quick to say she would. Roman found inconsistencies in Kate's story. Cassie had apparently placed a call to Kate's cell phone. Denying getting the message, Kate explained that she had accidentally deleted it.
Tek's content of Cassie's message to Kate was: "I got Roman's dinner invitation. You've got to be kidding. The last thing I'd give thanks for is you." While Roman gave orders to book Kate, he agreed with Lucas that she was innocent. A bitter Sami watched as Roman promised to clear Kate's name. At Salem Place, Tony called his father, exclaiming, "It happened. She's dead. Cassie's dead...it wasn't supposed to come to this!"
In his office, Roman vowed privately to prove Kate's innocence. Also at the police station, Sami overheard Celeste muttering to herself about Caroline's message from beyond the grave and insisted on hearing what her grandmother had told Celeste. As soon as she heard the prediction that John would kill Marlena, Sami announced it to everyone at the station, including Roman, John, and Marlena. Angrily, John lashed out at Celeste, asking why she didn't use her psychic abilities in a positive way. Celeste, who hadn't meant to cause such a public outburst, apologized to John and left. On her way out, she sensed Abe's presence.
Marlena drew Sami aside and told her that it was time she focused on her own life. "Mom, I hate it when you shrink me," Sami replied. Marlena felt that Sami's fixation on John was an unhealthy obsession. In an emotional outburst, Sami blamed John for ruining her family and destroying her self-esteem. "And let me tell you another thing," Sami yelled to her mother. "If you hadn't been so quick to spread your legs for him --" Marlena slapped Sami hard in the face.
Sami ran to her father, insisting Roman arrest John before Marlena became his next victim. John overheard her and retorted, "Your mom is not my next victim, Sami. You are." John's statement only made Sami more erratic. She wanted John arrested for threatening her. Marlena pointed out that John's word was more valuable than Sami's because of Sami's history of lying and manipulating people, compared to John's history of loving and protecting her.
Marlena and John left, but Sami wouldn't back down, and Roman blew up at her. He wouldn't listen to any more of her allegations against John unless she had actual evidence to back them up. Accepting the challenge, Sami tried to convince her father that John had committed the murders. They checked John's location at the time of each death. Sami eagerly announced that he had no alibi for any of the murders, but Roman reminded her that he had no motive, either. Sami, unconvinced, reminded her father that John's conditioning as Stefano's pawn made motive irrelevant.
Someone was eavesdropping outside the Carver home as Jennifer and Lexie commiserated inside over their respective losses. When Jennifer confided that she was hurt by Abby's reaction to Jack's death, Lexie reassured her that Abby would heal in time. Just as Lexie assured Jennifer that she believed their husbands were still present in spirit, the front door blew open, and the lights flickered. Fearfully, Lexie and Jennifer stepped outside to investigate, just as Celeste returned from the police station. She told an unnerved Jennifer not to worry -- she was not alone. Jennifer left Celeste and Lexie alone to talk. The unknown eavesdropper followed Jennifer away from the house.
At Celeste's insistence, Lexie played a song that had been special to her and Abe. The door blew open again, and Celeste channeled Abe. "I'm back," he stated, as his physical form took over Celeste's. Lexie asked him who the killer was, but Abe couldn't tell her. He had only returned to say goodbye. He promised Lexie that he would always be with her in spirit, and they danced together.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Nicole sipped a martini in the living room, a lascivious smile crossing her lips as she watched Brady do pushups in the garden. She fantasized about making love to him until Victor interrupted her daydream with news of Cassie's death, accusing Nicole of being the killer. Getting Chloe back to Salem, he affirmed, would keep his grandson away from his murdering wife. When Nicole claimed that Brady was over the crush on Chloe, Victor played one of Chloe's CDs, and they watched Brady's reaction -- that of a man in love. Jealous, Nicole told Brady that Victor was ruing Chloe's career by getting her back to Salem, despite the contract she'd made to spend several years working with Madame Marin. Just as Brady confronted his grandfather about it, the telephone rang. It was Chloe.
Bo worked at home on the serial killer case. Hope distracted him temporarily with dinner -- homemade stew made from his mother's recipe.
Not knowing that she had been followed to Jack's memorial site, Jennifer wondered aloud what Celeste had meant by saying that she was not alone. Suddenly, all the darkened candles in the memorial lit up. Jennifer heard a noise behind her and turned around. She recognized the person behind her. "You!" she said.
Chloe spoke to Brady on the phone, confirming that she would be heading to Salem. After speaking to her, Brady thanked Victor for his offer to fly Chloe back but insisted that he would not allow her to return to Salem. He confronted his grandfather with the belief that Victor's generosity had more to do with Nicole than with Chloe. Victor admitted that he did not trust Brady to keep his word about not getting involved with Nicole. Brady stormed off angrily, and Nicole, who had been eavesdropping at the door, walked in and taunted Victor.
At Jack's memorial behind Salem Place, Jennifer was startled by the stranger who had been following her. It was Jack. As she touched his hand, he disappeared.
Lexie and Abe danced together in her living room. She didn't want to let him go until he revealed the killer, but he disappeared, leaving Celeste in his place. Lexie demanded that her mother get Abe back. They were interrupted when Jennifer knocked at the door. Excited and fearful, she told them of her experience with Jack. He had held out his hand to her, and then he had been gone, his spirit pulled away by a strange, cold wind. Celeste suggested a séance, but they would need two more people. A photo album suddenly fell off the coffee table, opening to a picture of Roman.
The ladies called Roman at the police station, where Sami was trying to convince him that John was the killer. He rushed right over to the Carver home, where Lexie, Celeste, and Jennifer explained what had happened and asked him to partake in the séance. Roman was at first hesitant, but Sami, viewing it as a chance to prove John's guilt, talked him into it. At first, Lexie didn't want to accept Sami into the séance, but Celeste intervened, reminding her that they needed all the positive energy they could get. "It's hard for me to think of Sami as positive energy," Lexie said as she sneered, but she acquiesced to her mother's argument.
Roman could barely conceal his laugher as Celeste began the séance with a lengthy appeal to Abe and Jack. Even his skepticism vanished, however, as the lights flickered and the doors blew open. Abe's spirit channeled his words through Celeste, and she spoke in his voice, convincing even Roman of his presence. Sami and Roman asked him about John. Abe moved the Scrabble letters on the table: "JOHN WILL KILL MARLENA."
Sami got up from the table, abruptly breaking the circle. The doors slammed shut, and the séance was over. Jennifer was angry with Sami for breaking the circle before she could hear from Jack, but she understood when Sami explained that protecting her mother had to take precedence. Sami and Roman hurriedly left for Marlena and John's apartment.
Jennifer received a text message on her pager: "Meet me at the alley behind Salem Place ASAP. Love, Jack." Celeste sensed that the message was valid, and Jennifer rushed off to meet him.
Meanwhile, Marlena stood outside on her patio, trying to get Celeste's premonition out of her mind. When she shivered in the cold, John wrapped a scarf around her neck, and Marlena jumped. John was hurt by Marlena's reaction, feeling that she really believed that he was going to kill her. Marlena comforted John, assuring him of her trust in him. They began to kiss but accidentally knocked over a glass. Marlena cut herself quite badly picking up the pieces.
Roman and Sami arrived just in time to hear the commotion. They used Sami's key to burst in at that inopportune moment and saw John holding Marlena's bleeding arm in the air, trying to remove the splinter of glass. When Roman and Sami told them about the séance, John was initially scornful, but when he realized that even Marlena seemed to be taking it seriously, he decided to move out for a while. Marlena protested, but Roman told her that it might be a good idea for the time being. John watched from the stairway as Roman took care of Marlena's cut, and Sami smirked at him.
Behind Salem Place, Jennifer once again saw Jack. She held out her hand to him, and he held it briefly before disappearing. She said goodbye to him, and all the candles on his memorial lit up.
Lexie looked at the Scrabble letters on the table: "MY DARLING LEXIE, I GO IN PEACE. LOVE, ABE" She looked up to see him smiling at her. Then he faded away.
Bo was having difficulty accepting Caroline's death. Although he refused to believe in Celeste's conversations with his mother, Bo felt Caroline wasn't at peace. As he confided in Hope, Caroline's body was sitting up in her coffin -- seemingly distressed.
While Bo napped, Caroline's ghost visited him and foretold that the serial killer would be caught but not before more suffering. When she said Bo wasn't "ultimately in charge," he asked if something would happen to Hope. With downcast eyes, Caroline nodded yes and warned Bo to keep a close eye on Shawn. Saying he never disappointed her, Caroline left her son with a kiss, as Bo returned an "I love you" to his mother. Waking before Hope, who heard him, Bo told her about Caroline. Outside the house, Caroline's ghost wept for Bo.
At the Blacks', Roman apologized for mistaking the accident for John trying to harm Marlena. However, based on Celeste's warnings, Roman suggested that John move out until the danger passed. Marlena tried to stop John from leaving. Sami defiantly threatened to see that John would go to jail. When John reminded Sami that she was the only murder suspect in the room, Sami accused him of having no alibis during any of the attacks. Suggesting that John was helping the police as a cover for himself, Sami claimed Roman agreed with her. Roman had to confirm that he had checked on John's whereabouts. Sami reminded her mother that Stefano had programmed John to destroy the Bradys.
At the loft, Shawn told Philip he had the feeling he was being followed. Recalling Celeste's discussion of Caroline's ghost, Shawn thought it might be his grandmother. As the two men left, they didn't realize Jan had been eavesdropping outside the door. Following them, Jan resented hearing them discussing Belle. Jan's determination to have a life with Shawn had caused an argument with her mother. Recalling their disagreement about returning to Salem, Jan could hear her mother's words: "over my dead body," and Jan's reply of "have it your way." Listening to Shawn leave a message for Belle, Jan was ready to break them up.
Once they left Marlena's, Roman called Sami crazy for getting out of hand. Sami accused Roman of giving up, and she promised to get John out of Marlena's life forever. Inside the apartment, John worried about being the source of harm befalling Marlena. Reassuring him that she wasn't afraid, Marlena made love to John.
