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 The
character of Jerry Calhoun allows the show to explore, for the first and
last time in Santa Barbara, the world of politics. An old
friend of the Capwell family, particularly Mason, he is running for
municipal office in the summer of 1989. He is first introduced while
organizing a charity gala at the Country-club to raise funds for his
campaign.
Friendly
and always smiling like a typical politician, Jerry is quickly
approached by Michael Donnelly, whose former chapel is threatened with
demolition. At his request, Jerry agrees to purchase the building and
transform it into a community center for underprivileged youth in the
neighborhood. He appoints Laura Asher to lead the project, which brings
Michael and Laura to work together.
Jerry
then becomes a frequent presence around the Capwells. For example, he
joins C.C. and his son Greg for tennis matches, accompanied by his niece
Veronica. A niece who catches Greg's attention, which sparks jealousy in
his girlfriend Emily DiNapoli.
Because
he was a close friend of Mason in his youth and often present on the
Capwell yacht in the mid-1970s, Jerry is one day questioned by Eden
Capwell about his memories of that time. She is trying to recall the
circumstances surrounding the death of Raul Mondragon, a young man from
Las Sirenas island who worked on the family yacht and was officially
killed by Robert Barr ten years earlier.
In
order to uncover the truth, Jerry is summoned by Cruz Castillo to the
Capwell yacht for a reconstruction of the night of the murder. As Kelly
Capwell and Eden begin to remember the presence of a stranger near Raul
shortly before his death, Jerry suddenly disappears.
At
night, in the middle of a storm, he confronts Eden on the yacht's deck,
armed with a revolver. He holds her hostage in the engine room and
confesses to being Raul's killer. Ten years earlier, Raul had caught him
stealing money from the Capwells, and Jerry killed him in cold blood. He
then let Robert Barr - who believed Eden was guilty - take the blame and
serve five years in prison.
Eden
is saved at the last moment by Robert and Cruz, while Jerry escapes to
the deck. Unable to face arrest and the loss of his promising future, he
jumps into the ocean and drowns. His lifeless body is found a few hours
later.
Thus
is revealed the true purpose of this character, whose deceitful nature
had already been apparent, until he ultimately exposes his past as a
cold-blooded criminal.
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