Suspicion ran rampant on the Friday, October 3 episode of General Hospital. Anna (Finola Hughes) had some pointed questions for Carly (Laura Wright); Michael (Rory Gibson) wondered why it was so important for Tracy (Jane Elliot) that she protect him; and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) felt something was off when he brought James (Gary James Fuller) to meet Nathan (Ryan Paevey). Meanwhile, Ava (Maura West) came to Alexis’s (Nancy Lee Grahn) rescue when Ric (Rick Hearst) attacked her, and Sonny (Maurice Benard) made a new friend in Monica’s sister, Ronnie (Erika Slezak). Read on for all the details.

So Close, Yet So Far

At the hospital, Elizabeth handed Molly an envelope of papers that the D.A. was waiting for, then asked if she’d heard from Ric. Both agreed they were shocked he lasted so long on his digital detox without breaking the rules and contacting one of them.

Settling down in her living room with a tray of tea, Alexis chatted with her assistant, Suzanne, on the phone about the next day’s schedule while Ric skulked around the corner. Waiting until Alexis laid down on the couch, Ric approached her from behind, putting Helena’s dagger to her throat! When Ric demanded that she call the cops and confess to holding him hostage, Alexis reminded him that if she called the police, they would all go down for committing crimes, including him. Cornering Alexis against the fireplace mantle, Ric insisted that she call Elizabeth on speakerphone. Just as the call connected, Ava stormed over and threw hot water in Ric’s face, causing him to scream out in pain and fall to the floor! Quickly disconnecting the call, Alexis fired off a text.

Liz heard a scream in the background before the line went dead, then immediately after, the text came through from Alexis in which she claimed her call had been an accident. When Liz swore she’d heard Ric’s voice, Molly chuckled, “You think my dad ditched his detox and came back to Port Charles without a word to either of us so that he could meet up with my mom?” After Molly left, Liz left Ric a message, asking him if he was back in town.

Back in Alexis’s living room, Ric tried to stand up, but Ava hit him in the face with a serving tray and knocked him unconscious. As they returned Ric to his basement prison, Alexis noted that he’d seemed very lucid for a guy who’d been drugged up for weeks, and Ava wondered how he’d freed himself to begin with. Poking around the bed, Ava found the collection of pills Ric had spit out, hiding under the mattress. Making sure Ric didn’t escape again, Ava restrained him to the bed with handcuffs instead of using duct tape again. When Ric came to, he freaked out that he was cuffed to the bed, and Ava called him “a greedy ass” for trying to one-up Alexis instead of making a clean escape. Laughing off Ric’s complaint that it was inhumane for them to keep him locked up, Alexis dryly apologized for not offering the same amenities in her basement as he’d had in the panic room he built to stash Carly in. Telling him that he only had to wait another 10 days before they set him free, the ladies forced a sedative down his throat, and Alexis gagged him before leaving him alone once again.

Number One Son

Elsewhere at the hospital, Nathan was reading a Port Charles Press article on a tablet about his shooting as Felicia, James, and Spinelli ran into Obrecht and Britt in the hallway. While Liesl was thrilled to introduce her grandson to Nathan, an uneasy Britt sent James to the vending machine and then attempted to delay the reunion by questioning if Maxie would be okay with James meeting Nathan. Felicia replied that she and Spinelli had considered Maxie’s feelings, but they didn’t think they could deny James the opportunity to get to know his dad. Britt managed to convince Felicia and Spinelli to hold off on any introductions until they met with a child therapist first, but when they looked for James to break the news to him, they couldn’t find him.

Unbeknownst to the adults, James had wandered into Nathan’s room. The little boy offered to share a drink with his dad, but wasn’t sure whether Nathan liked orange or grape soda. Determining that orange and grape were both their favorite soda, Nathan and James toasted to having something in common. When the other adults found James in Nathan’s room, Britt appeared concerned, Felicia and Liesl beamed at the sight of father and son sharing drinks, and Spinelli seemed upset to see the boy connecting with his biological dad. Noticing Spinelli’s unease, Felicia followed him out into the hallway, where he admitted that he was jealous since he’d been James’s de facto father for the boy’s entire life. “I’m sure it’s just the green-eyed monster talking, but something feels very wrong,” Spinelli mused.

Reprimanded by Elizabeth for leaving the ER, Britt fumed that she was dealing with a family situation since her nephew just met his back-from-the-dead father. She invited the head nurse to fire her. Softening, Liz gave Britt a pass but requested that she let her know next time she needed an extended break. Next, from her post outside Nathan’s door, Britt watched Spinelli and Felicia talking, then turned back to peer inside the hospital room, uncomfortable with the bonding between Liesl, James, and Nathan.

Promises, Promises

Michael found Tracy at the crypt, where she complained about the “hornet’s nest” that she was left to deal with in protecting him from an attempted murder charge. When Michael pointed out that he had an alibi, Tracy retorted that it was a weak one, considering Jacinda had an unsavory history with the victim. Plus, Tracy reminded him, she could place him outside of Drew’s house at the time of the shooting. Then, Michael explained that he’d gone to confront Drew, but as he stood in the pouring rain, he’d changed his mind and left. “I can’t tell if you’re lying,” she chided, adding that she didn’t care whether Michael was actually guilty of shooting Drew or not — just that he remained a free man.

When Michael wondered why she was trying to protect him, especially since if he went to jail, her immediate descendants could secure leadership roles at the company, Tracy revealed it was about honoring Monica. “Michael, she wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. So, it’s my job — no, it’s my duty — to see that nothing does,” she vowed. Michael then expressed his gratitude for all Tracy does for the family, and she said she hoped that when he inherited Monica’s house, he would allow her to continue residing there. “This will soon be your house, but it will always be my home,” she softly confided.

Welcome Wagon

While paying his respects to Monica at the G.H. memorial wall, Sonny encountered Monica’s sister, Ronnie. Learning he was Michael’s adoptive father, Ronnie declared she wasn’t going to let Tracy stop her from getting to know Monica’s grandson. She recounted her prickly run-in with the matriarch at the Quartermaine crypt, and they agreed Tracy was an entitled snob.

Later, Sonny introduced Ronnie, a veteran waitress, to Bobbie’s, and she was impressed by the local diner. Over lunch, they commiserated over their regret for time lost during estrangements with loved ones (Ronnie with Monica and Sonny with his late father, Mike). Ronnie was happy to learn from Sonny that, according to Michael, Monica was happy with her life toward the end and had died peacefully. Back in her hotel room at the Metro Court, Ronnie received a phone call and accepted an invitation from the person on the other end. “Well,” she smiled to herself. “This should be interesting,”

Interrogation Station

Anna called Carly in for a follow-up meeting to go over the points of Michael’s statement that intersected with his mother’s. Anna brought up the phone call between mother and son from that night, and Carly flashed back to their conversation: She’d informed him that Willow had gone back to Drew and urged him not to cave to Drew’s threats. “Drew’s making a lot of assumptions about what he can control,” a steely Michael had replied. “He has no idea how quick circumstances can change for him.”

Returning to her present conversation, Carly brushed off that phone call as nothing out of the ordinary. Without alerting Carly that she was now on the suspect list, Anna pressed on about how Carly’s relationship with Monica had changed over the years, and if she was welcome at the Quartermaine estate. Except for Tracy, she was welcome at the Qs any time, confirmed Carly. Suspicious of Anna’s questions, Carly accused the police commissioner of trying to pin Drew’s shooting on the obvious suspect, but Anna asserted that her job was to investigate all potential suspects. After Carly again insisted that her son was not a killer, Anna suggested that Claudia Zacchara would beg to differ. Carly took offense to that remark, since Michael had been protecting her and his sister, eliciting a rebuttal from Anna that she knew Carly would do anything to protect her son, as well. At that, Carly stormed out, slamming the door. Once out in the hallway, she closed her eyes and shook her head before leaving.

Later, Molly arrived at Anna’s office, and the commissioner shared that the ballistics report showed that the two bullets removed from Drew matched a gun that was in the system belonging to Edward Quartermaine’s collection. Anna shared her theory that Carly and Michael would have been among those with access to the gun, and they both had flimsy alibis. Then, Molly shared that when she and Kristina had visited Michael earlier that day to offer their condolences, Jacinda was there for the same reason — and she had a hunch that he’d orchestrated the situation for her benefit to strengthen his alibi. Establishing that Michael had the means, motive, and opportunity, Anna mused that put him at the top of the suspect list, right next to Carly. Molly and Anna determined that while they still had to wait for a search warrant to get the gun, if forensics could tie the weapon to either Carly or Michael, it would be enough to make an arrest.

Suspicious Activity

Meeting up with Sonny at Bobbie’s, Carly shared that she’d just returned from the PCPD, and based on Anna’s questioning, she believes they’re looking at Michael as the prime suspect in Drew’s shooting. Fearing she accidentally gave something away since Anna already had Michael’s phone records, Carly revealed to Sonny that she’d given Michael the perfect motive during a phone call when she told him that Willow was going back to Drew. Carly added that Anna’s line of questioning included how she and Monica had mended fences and how frequently she was at the Quartermaines, and Sonny pieced together that the commissioner probably didn’t buy Carly’s alibi that she was with Jack that night any more than he did. “Anna knows you would kill for Michael,” he deduced, “and so do I.”

Who do you think called Ronnie? Is Spinelli overreacting? Do you think Carly could have been the one who shot Drew? Share your theories about the latest episode of GH below.