The Disappearance of Jake:
"Sorry." Leslie apologies as Mal hesitated in the dorrway, not expecting to see anyone in the kitchen this late at night.
"That's ok hon. Couldn't sleep?" Mal asked turning on the kitchen light on as he made his way to the fridge.
"No."
"Feel like a drinking partner?"
"It's milk. Thought it might help settle my stomach."
"Sounds good. I think I'll join you."
"How do you do it Mal?"
"Do want?"
"Keep a brave face. When I think that I might never…"
"Hey now. You can't think like that."
"But it's been five weeks already. The force has officially stopped looking and if run out of leads."
"Wherever Jake is I know he's alive."
"I wish I could believe that."
"Trust me. That boy would swim through an ocean of fire for you. There's nothing in this world or the next that could keep him from coming home."
"This is all my fault. I should never have let him take on Maurice Becker on his own. I knew he was gunning for him and I did nothing to stop him."
"Listen here Leslie. This is not your fault. Jake would have chased Becker with or without your permission."
"But I had the opportunity. Standing there in that station. Hood called me to come with him to round up some more escapees, I should have sent someone else with him and gone with Jake. I should have had his back."
"Then we'd be looking for the both of you right now instead of just Jake."
"I knew in my gut something was wrong." Leslie thought back to that split second when she'd made her fateful decision, "I hesitated, I never hesitated. I should have seen it as a sign."
"It's too late to wonder about what if's. They're not going to help us now. We have to stay positive. Jakes out there and as soon as he finds a way he'll send us a clue."
"I love him Mal. If he doesn't come back…"
"He will."
"He has to."
"Is that Leslie I heard downstairs?" Rose asked as Mal returned to bed quietly, trying not to wake her.
"Yeah. She's not sleeping again?"
"Nope."
"I'm getting worried about her. She hasn't eaten anything or had a decent night's sleep in weeks."
"I don't know how much longer she can go on like this."
"I can't imagine what she must be going through."
"She blames herself. She says if she had of gone with Jake instead of Hood then none of this would have happened."
"That's ridiculous. We have to do something. She can't wear this on her shoulders."
"I know, but she's as stubborn as Jake is." Mal thought to himself.
"I know honey. But that stubbornness is what's going to keep him alive."
"I hope so."
"I know so." Rose held him tightly as she pulled the doona back over them with her free hand.
"If he doesn't make it out of this, it's going to take all of us to get Leslie through this."
"Oh god Malachy how did we get to this point?"
"I wish I knew."
Dawn was only just waking as Leslie stood in the office, staring at the work board. Every lead she had followed over the last 5 weeks both officially and unofficially had hit a dead end. Boxes of files filled the room. Old cases and crimes by all of those involved. Every and any possible hideout, past associate and known hang outs of everyone involved had been searched and torn upside down. If anyone knew where Becker was, no one was talking. She had drenched the bay twice and Des had gone through every surveillance tape they could find in the city searching for a clue as to where Jake had gone but nothing, not on the roads, at the airports, in the shipping terminals. Jake had simply vanished off of the face of the earth. She stared at the board, trying to find just one more lead. It had been almost a week since they had made any progress either positive or negative, and in her experience, once a case was cold for more than 48 hours, the chances of it heating up again were practically non-existent. Following the imaginary lines with her finger, Leslie traced back her steps, clue by clue, reciting everything she knew back to herself. The answer was right in front of her, it was right there, she knew it, if she just concentrated hard enough.
Her phone rang three times before she answered it. She knew who I was. He had called every morning to see how she was. She couldn't quote explain it, but something inside her hated him, blamed him. She couldn't bare to look at him right now.
"Leslie." Sergeant Hood voice asked solemnly
"Have you got any news?" She asked coldly.
"No. I'm sorry. Look Leslie…"
"No!." She cut him off, "I don't want to hear it."
"I think it's time you came back to work. It might do you some good."
"Not until I find Jake."
"I wish there was something I could do."
"Just give me some time. I'll find him."
"I really hope you do Leslie." He paused, "I have something for you. Do you think you could swing by the office sometime today?"
"I'll try but I'm not making any promises."
"Leslie."
"What.. you going to tell me there are plenty of other fish in the sea? That he was no good for me and I should move on? What was it you said? I should think myself lucky to be able to put Doyle behind me."
"No Leslie, of course not."
"Why? You never liked him."
"It's true we had our differences but…"
"But what?" Leslie had to remind herself to calm down. "Jake is a good man and he would never just leave like this. He'll make it back home, you just wait and see."
"I hope you are right, for your sake, and Jakes."
Leslie ended the call and slammed her phone onto the desk. Her whole world was falling apart around her. Tired, she decided to take a quick nap on the couch before Malachy and Rose arrived.