It's 3 o'clock in the morning and Nikki's having a stiff drink. She's upset that Jessie could doubt her insistence that Luke is the rapist. Jessie apologises (whilst still believing, herself, that Harvey has to be the culprit) saying she thought that Nikki had begun to have second thoughts following the weird student's latest antics. There is no doubt whatsoever in Nikki's mind, though:
"That's the one thing I know for sure," she contends.
Jessie isn't the only person to be convinced about Harvey being the rapist; Jerome has also reached that conclusion. However, they agree to bide their time before raising the subject further with Nikki, as they don't feel that she's ready to accept it just yet.
Across the Close, Jackie Corkhill is taking a tricky phone call. Ian Leigh is giving her a tough time over the fight in the garage shop. Jackie hints to Jimmy that she may have bitten off more than she can chew with the promotion.
Lindsey is also bending Jimmy's ear. She's off to the bank to see if she can borrow the thick end of the fifty-seven grand which she needs to pay off Rose. She's even decided that she has no choice but to offer Number Nine as security. Jimmy, straight to the point as usual, tells her that she's wasting her time:
"It'll take more than a bit of lippy and power-dressing to get fifty-seven grand off the bank manager."
Lindsey returns later in the day, disappointed that the bank has turned her down flat, deeming her to be an "unacceptable risk". The manager failed to comprehend how Lindsey could have paid cash for the house on her wages from the chippy. Oh, and she also wanted to the see Club's books and a business plan - minor details, really!
Slumping into a chair, Lindsey turns to her father:
"Dad, what am I gonna do?"
Jim doesn't have an answer.
At Mick's house, Sinbad is trying to untangle some Christmas lights when he is startled by Mr Moore tapping him on the shoulder. Mr Moore, it seems, has turned up out of the blue to offer Sin the chance of "an uplifting experience of both spirit and mind".
This, when decoded, was found to refer to a visit to a local primary school which specialises in teaching children with hearing disorders. Sinbad wasn't keen.
"I'd rather stick pins in me eyes," he said.
Nevertheless, he does accompany the indefatigable Mr Moore and once at the school, Sin is introduced to one of the teachers.
"Hello, my name's Sin....er, Mr Sweeney," ventures Sinbad.
The teacher then told him that he'd broken the 'golden rule' and for one magical moment, I thought that she was going to say that they insisted on only using first names! Unfortunately, she didn't. She meant that she wanted Sin to attempt to sign the word 'hello'.
The day is a great success. The kids take to Sinbad and he clearly enjoyed being with them. Mr Moore remarks to the teacher how he'd hoped that it would bring Sinbad out of his shell. That, it certainly did. Sinbad later tells Jackie how glad he was that he went. It looks likely that Sin will now realise that he isn't too badly off with his own hearing problem.
Ray visits the bungalow to give Jessie the details of Renee's funeral, but Jessie's mind isn't really on the job. She's more concerned about whether she can cope with looking after Emily and Nikki. Ray reassures her.
On their way to Bar Brookie, Nikki and Jerome walk past Luke and Ryan. The latter, has decided to take off to Edinburgh again, for an unspecified amount of time, to try and make a go of things with Abby. Whether Abby has any choice in this wasn't made clear!
Ryan mouths off, asking Nikki who the rapist was and hinting that it must have been Harvey. Jerome backs Nikki up by insisting that was Luke; a comment which sent Luke scurrying back indoors!
In Bar Brookie, Nathan surprises Jacqui with tickets for a surprise weekend away... in New York. She's over the moon.
Also in the bar, Nikki is busy adding vodka to her glass whenever Jerome isn't looking. Before long (and it's a shame that we didn't see this), "she's sliding out of her chair, blitzed off her face and sending glasses everywhere" as Jerome later recounts to Jessie.
Nikki is left on her bed, totally out of her mind. Jerome then tells Jessie how Nikki's behaviour is getting him down.
"How am I supposed to help her, when she gets like this?" he asks.
At the petrol station, Jackie has finally decided to tackle Luke and Joey head on. She gives them a right roasting over the fight and even dishes out written warnings! They didn't know what had hit them!
Later, Jackie returns to a spotless house, where the ironing has been done and the tea is on. She's amazed, if not suspicious:
"Are you after something?" she asks Jim, inquisitively.
"Thanks, Jackie. That's nice, isn't it, eh?" he says putting on his best injured voice.
Jimmy tells her that he plans to "look after the place while you're out there earning a crust. Got to pull together, me and you."
Jackie is touched, but still suspicious.
Okay, so what exactly *are* you after, eh, Jim?
Episode written by Richard Burke
Summary © 1999 Graeme Selway
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001