No 12908, Monday 13 Apr 2020, Dr. X

Day 20 of 21 Stay safe at home

ACROSS
1   Army cracks fancy code (8) NOTATION {NO{TA}TION}
5   American, unfairly prejudiced, leaves immigrants primarily mortified (6) ABASED {A}{BiASED}
10 Husband abandons woman after fight turns more serious (5) WORSE {ShE}<=>{ROW<=}
11 Siren say in company ensnares sincere associate (4,5) FIRE ALARM {FI{REAL}{A}RM}
12 Enthralling set! Band is lively (9) SPARKLING {S{PARK}LING}
13 Fine revolutionary rushed to get sacred book (5) KORAN {OK<=}{RAN}
14 Problem is fool in depression lacks love (6) HASSLE {H0{ASS}LE}
15 Trick to go across incline — it’s used by ice climbers (7) CRAMPON {C{RAMP}ON}

18 Concocted by director pursuing hot model, consumed by desire (7) HATCHED {H}{A{T}CHE}{D}
20 Adventurous one bitten by nasty shark (6) RAKISH {RAK{1}SH*}
22 Dismisses one immature trainee in centre (5) NAVEL {NAiVE}{L}
24 Seduced by oriental wife with eagerness in sack (9) BEWITCHED {B{E}{W}{ITCH}ED}
25 Where chamber pot might be put out (9) INCOMMODE {IN COMMODE}
26 Result is terrible unease after abrogation of article (5) ENSUE UNEaSE*
27 First off, decrease in traffic is welcome (6) SALUTE ?(Addendum - {SAL{cUT}E} - See comments)
28 Most costly nuisance to maintain habitual drinker (8) PLUSHEST {P{LUSH}EST}

DOWN
1   Fine westernized houses, most contemporary (6) NEWEST [T]
2   She’ll target man angrily? (9) TERMAGANT* &lit
3   Anything is possible except travel beyond outer space? (3,4,3,5) THE SKY'S THE LIMIT [C&DD]
4   Not connected with rotten nationalist involved in deceit (3-4) OFF-LINE {OFF}{LI{N}E}
6   They trade illegally in alcoholic spirits to tackle shortage on demand (5,10) BLACK MARKETEERS {B{LACK}{MARKET}EERS}
7   British musician, illustrious, welcomes queen (5) STARR {STA{R}R}
8   Pathetic admin, not authoritative (8) DOMINANT*
9   Dreadful jerk abducts kid (6) TRAGIC {T{RAG}IC}
16 Swiftly shot criminal in pound (9) POSTHASTE {P{SHOT*}ASTE}
17 Scrambles to drink punch in lively parties (8) SHINDIGS {SHIN{DIG}S}
19 One owing money in bar about to accept reckless bet (6) DEBTOR {D{BET*}OR<=}
20 A woman and daughter stifled by truly unfair treatment (3,4) RAW DEAL {R{A}{W}{D}EAL}
21 Stop to tackle a little defective plug (6) ADVERT {A{De...e}VERT}
23 Noisy in pub! Victory for Arsenal finally (5) VOCAL (-l+v)VOCAL

Reference List
Army = TA(Territorial Army), American = A, Husband = H, Associate = A, Love = 0, Director = D, Hot = H, Model = T, Trainee = L, Oriental = E, Wife = W, Article = A, Nationalist = N, Queen = R, Woman = W, Daughter = D, Victory = V

Dr RKE's TalePiece

STARR (not the Ringo Starr of Beatles fame) was the NEWEST addition to a music band. He was the lead VOCAL of the group, known for his ability to sing without any NOTATION. His SPARKLING suits and the RAKISH angle at which he wore his hat, BEWITCHED his young female fans as much as his seductive voice.  His music was sold both online and OFFLINE and it seemed THE SKY was THE LIMIT to his earning. From the profits that ENSUEd, he bought a Victorian manor fitted with the PLUSHEST of furniture but there was no way a FIRE ALARM could be incorporated in to the 19th century building. 

Into that manor, Starr had taken one of his fans as a live-in girlfriend. He did not know then that this fawning fan, was only a gold digger or that she would become a DOMINANT influence on him. She arranged many SHINDIGS in the sprawling house, which clearly established her as the mistress of the house. During a holiday in Las Vegas, they had a shotgun wedding with the marriage papers being arranged POSTHASTE. She took to micromanaging his career, signing him up for concerts by the dozens with no rest to his vocal cords.  It was TRAGIC that the strain in his voice showed and he began to lose his premium billing. This turned her into a TERMAGANT. Their relation grew WORSE. She HATCHED a vile plan of burning down the stately manor with its owner and then claiming a huge amount from insurance. Did she succeed? Well, I am as curious as you are to find out!