After her problems with Ruby earlier, Charlie hadn't been looking forward to spending the day stuck in a car with her cousin, even more so when Georgie had started in on her about the previous night.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Charlie fires back.
"Do you even remember her name?"
"Who?"
"Don't be dumb Charlie, the woman you used to get over Joey."
"If you must know, her name is Daisy and we used each other."
"So there's no chance she's going to be left pining over you for months." Charlie grips the steering wheel tighter. "You're unbelievable Charlie, you act all wounded and used because your one night stand is now married, yet you're still happy to use women in the same way, without a thought to how they might feel the next morning."
"Daisy was after the same thing I was, sex and nothing more."
"That's what you told yourself when you fucked Joey all night, then you spent months pining after her."
"Look Georgie, who I fuck or don't fuck is none of your fucking business," she finally snaps.
"My, aren't we in a snit."
"For fuck's sake Georgie, just get off my back would you."
"I'm just trying to make you see sense Charlie. You've been making a fool of yourself and taking home stray women isn't the way to get over someone."
"I don't need advice on women from the likes of you," she says, regretting the words the moment she hears her cousin's sharp intake of breath. "Georgie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
"Yeah you did. I'm a screw up who whored myself around just like my mum, so I have no idea of how to treat a woman." She glares at her cousin. "I'm sorry Charlie, I've never been able to live up to the precious Buckton standards, but whatever you might think of me, I never went to bed with someone I wasn't planning on seeing again."
A heavy silence falls over them. "I'm nothing like my mother Charlie," Georgie says a few minutes later.
"I know that and I'm sure Aunt Michelle's reputation was exaggerated anyway."
"It wasn't," she says softly. "Mum was a slut, everyone knew it and because I always hung out with the boys, they always thought the same of me, except in my case, they couldn't have been more wrong. There was only ever Heath and there weren't that many girls, despite all the rumours."
"Then why didn't you deny it when people were saying all those things."
"What was the point? Mum denied it all the time, yet everyone still knew she was lying and they were always so willing to think the worse of me, that they would have just assumed I was lying when I denied it too." Georgie shakes her head. "I know everyone is just waiting for me to honour the family rep and betray Martha but they'll be waiting a long time."
"I know you'd never cheat on Martha."
"You really wouldn't be surprised if I did though, would you?" she challenges her.
"Once maybe, but I know how much you love your family and you wouldn't risk losing them." She takes her eyes off the road to glance at her cousin. "Georgie, can we just forget about all of this agro between us?"
Despite Martha's accusation that she and Charlie never worked through their problems and just carried on after their arguments as if nothing had happened echoing in her thoughts, Georgie finds herself ignoring the words and agreeing with Charlie. "Fine, it's forgotten. By the way, Martha wants you and Ruby to join us for a picnic tonight."
"Fine."
Georgie hands Charlie the water and rag and steps away. "I'm the senior officer here, you should be doing this," Charlie complains as she wets the rag and gingerly starts to clean the mess off the car windows.
"You lost."
"Paper, rock, scissors is such a childish way to decide things," she mutters.
"I warned you about parking here, but no, you wouldn't listen and now we have egg all over the car."
"I'd have thought they'd show more respect to a police car."
"It's Mangrove River Charlie, there's no such thing as respecting property, let alone police property."
"If I ever catch up to the little brats who did this, I'll egg them back."
"Good luck with finding them," Georgie mutters. "Hey Charlie, when you're done cleaning, how about we go to the club for lunch?"
"No thanks."
"Why not?"
"I think you know why."
"Great, so I can't see my girlfriend for lunch because you don't want to run into Joey. You can't avoid her forever Charlie."
Charlie sighs heavily, knowing she was right. "Fine, we'll go to the club."
"You need a hand with that?"
"That'd be great."
"Well, there's a car wash just around the corner, it'll be much quicker than what you're doing."
Charlie drops the water and rag, glaring at her cousin. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"
"I forgot."
"Yeah, I bet," she grumbles, gathering up their things and getting back in the car.
Feeling both nervous and excited about her first day of work, Joey makes her way toward the club, her step faltering when she sees Charlie leaning against a squad car just outside. With Charlie's back to her, Joey decides against stopping to talk to her and heads inside.
"You must be Joey," she's greeted by an older man. "I'm Alf, Martha's grandfather."
"It's nice to meet you," she shakes his hand.
"Martha is having lunch in her office with Georgie, but she'll be out shortly."
"That's ok, I'm a little early."
Giggling, Martha and Georgie stumble from the office, pulling up short when they see Alf and Joey staring at them. "Sorry," Martha stands up straight, "We were just finishing lunch."
"Martha," Georgie whispers, having noticed what the other two were staring at. "Your top is inside out."
"What!" She looks down and then bolts back into the office.
"I'll see you tonight," Georgie calls out through the now shut door. "Hey Alf, any luck with the fishing lately?"
"No, the flamin' fish aren't biting."
"That's too bad."
"Don't get cheeky."
"Come on Alf, just give it up, there is no way that you will get a bigger fish than the one I caught."
"Where exactly did you catch that fish?"
Joey watches the exchange in amusement, Alf's gruffness not hiding his obvious affection for his granddaughter's girlfriend.
"Where's Charlie?" Georgie asks, avoiding his question.
"Waiting for you outside, now, where did you get that fish?"
"Sorry Alf, that location is a secret."
Alf shakes his head as she leaves. "That girl is up to something."
"Of course she is granddad," Martha says as she joins them. "But you made a bet with Georgie, so you need to honour it now."
"If I find out she brought that fish, there will be hell to pay," he mumbles.
Martha chuckles, turning her attention to Joey. "Are you sure you want to work in this mad house?"
Joey nods. "It could be interesting."
"Aside from the occasional side entertainment and your boss getting caught in compromising positions, the bulk of our business is done during the evenings and weekends, so you're not exactly going to be rushed off your feet during your afternoon shifts."
"I don't really care about the hours, I just want to be getting out of the house and doing something."
"Well, we serve lunches 12.30 to 2, which," she glances at the clock, "Starts in 15, so how about I run you through things again?"
"That'd be good."
Surveying the smouldering wreckage of the building, Charlie sighs in frustration.
"The fire chief suspects it was deliberate," her cousin says at her side.
"That would make it the third suspicious fire."
"The MO looks different again and there's still nothing to connect the businesses."
"Three suspicious fires, three different MO's and three random businesses."
"That could be the connection, some pyro with a personal grudge against the businesses or just a hard on for fire."
"I'd prefer that it was insurance fraud, rather than an arsonist targeting random buildings."
"Insurance fraud could still be a possibility."
"Except that only one of the first two businesses was in financial difficulty and the insurance wouldn't have covered their losses. We should get back, write up our report and inform the Sergeant we may have a serial arsonist on the loose."
"Just what we need, a whack job who gets his jollies torching people's places," Georgie mutters as she follows after Charlie.
Next chapter, Martha and Joey talk and Martha asks Joey how she feels about Charlie