Chapter Twenty-One
Charlie arrived home to an eerily quiet house after a long day at work. She tossed her bag down on the table and called Joey's name. Things didn't feel right between them at all and she knew she had to deal with it sooner rather than later. She was met with continued silence.
"Joey?" she called again.
She wandered through the living room and on into the bedroom. Her eyes spotted the note before she saw anything out. It stood out, white against the purple bed sheet, turning Charlie's blood cold. She sank to her knees at the edge of the bed, letter in hand.
Dear Charlie,
I'm so sorry to leave like this. I know it's the coward's way out but I didn't know how to say goodbye to your face. You have been so good to me. You've made me feel alive again. You've given me a reason to wake up every morning and I will never stop thanking you for that. But I need to learn to stand on my own two feet now and try not to depend on you so much. You don't need me needing you. You're so amazing and you've been so kind but I'm only hindering you. You did your job and that should be the end of it. It should be over before it gets any more complicated. And before you start protesting, you know how complicated it already is.
Charlie, I wish I could say that I'm sorry for what happened on the boat yesterday but I'm not and that's the biggest problem. You've been so good to me and it's only been in friendship on your part but it's made me fall in love with you. I didn't mean for it to happen but it wasn't something I can control. I wish I could have because it's destroyed our friendship and I never wanted that. I hate myself for losing you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you, Charlie and I wish you every ounce of happiness for your future. I hope that you can forgive me for kissing you when I had no right to and for loving you when I shouldn't have. I hope I never did wrong by you and that you don't think badly of me. I only ever wanted to be good to you like you've been to me. You truly are my world.
Love Joey
Charlie dropped the note and clenched her jaw, willing the tears away. She hated to think of Joey sad and alone. She began to fret over where she had gone. Charlie didn't think badly of her at all. That was half the problem. She loved Joey too. She just didn't know what to do about it. She dug into her pocket and grabbed her phone, calling Joey as quickly as she could. She growled in frustration when she got her voicemail. Unprepared as to what to say to her, Charlie hung up. She reread the letter and the dialled again.
"Hey, this is Joey. Leave a message," came her friend's voice.
Charlie took a breath.
"Joey, it's Charlie. Look, I'm not mad at you or anything like that. Please don't leave," Charlie said, aware that she was begging and not caring in the slightest. "You don't have to do this. Please, just come home and we can talk, okay? And if you've already gone too far, just call me and I'll come and pick you up – wherever you are. Just please come home. Don't… don't leave it like this."
She sighed and hung up. Her phone rang immediately.
"Joey?" she said desperately, not having bothered to look at the caller ID.
"It's Watson," said her colleague.
"Oh," Charlie said, disappointed.
"Thanks for the enthusiasm," Watson replied, not missing a beat. "Can you come back into work? We've got a heavy duty assault case."
"I'm on it," Charlie said, leaping to her feet.
If nothing else, work would provide a welcome distraction.
***
Joey sat at the bus stop and checked the time yet again. She hadn't really thought about where she was going; she just needed to get away from Summer Bay, Robbo and Charlie. Well, she didn't need to get away from Charlie exactly, she needed to do the right thing and put some distance between them so that she didn't cross the line again.
"Hello, beautiful."
The voice made her freeze. Joey didn't need to look up in order to recognise it but she did anyway. Robbo towered over her. Recovering from momentary paralysis, Joey's flight instinct took over. She dropped her bags and broke into a run but Robbo was ready for her. He grabbed her by her waist and dragged her towards a car.
***
Charlie left the hospital feeling like her insides were twisted into a knot. Their assault victim had been none other than Tanya, Robbo's ex girlfriend. She had been beaten so badly that she was in a coma and might not wake up again. Now, Charlie couldn't stop her mind from racing at a mile a minute as she panicked about where Joey was.
"You said she'd left town," Watson said unhelpfully.
"But what if she didn't manage it?" Charlie snapped, trying Joey's phone again.
She got her voicemail.
"Joey, even if you don't want to talk to me, please can you just let me know that you're safe? Please? It's really important!" she said.
She hung up rather violently and climbed into her car. Watson jumped into the passenger side.
"Do you really think he would have hurt her?"
"I have to treat it as if he has," Charlie said. "We need to find him. Call the station and send out patrol cars looking for him."
Watson did as she was told while Charlie started the car.
***
Joey fought Robbo all the way to the car until the stench and effects of white cloth he held over her nose and mouth took effect and she passed out. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious for but when she woke up, she was in a dark room. As her eyes adjusted, she made out the shape of a person sitting in front of her. It was Robbo. He stood when he saw her blinking.
"I thought it was going to take forever for you to wake up," he complained.
She was too woozy to reply. She just stared at him.
"I thought we should have a little chat."
***
"Charlie, Joey's bags have been found at a bus stop," Watson said, bursting into the Senior Constable's office without knocking.
Charlie leapt to her feet.
"Do we have any leads?" she asked.
"There were signs of a struggle but we don't know where she is now," Watson said.
She hated to see the fear in her friend and colleague's eyes. Charlie clenched her fist and hit the desk.
"There has to be something! He must have taken her somewhere!" she snapped.
"We've got patrol cars everywhere, Charlie," Watson said patiently. "We'll find her."
Charlie couldn't help but fear that they would be too late.
***
"I just wanted to explain to you why I'm going to kill you before I do it," Robbo explained calmly.
Joey felt herself trembling and hoped it wasn't visible enough for Robbo to notice. If she was going to die by his hands, she didn't want him to have the pleasure of knowing that she was afraid.
"You see, you've pretty much ruined my life with your lies."
"They weren't lies and you know it," Joey said firmly.
"It wasn't rape."
"You held me down and forced me to have intercourse with you. In what world isn't that rape?"
"You loved it!"
Joey felt sick.
"You're disgusting!" she snapped.
"You wanted it, Joey!" Robbo insisted.
"You know I didn't want it. Even if I was straight I wouldn't have wanted you!"
Robbo raised the gun and pointed it at her. Joey took a breath. She closed her eyes and pictured Charlie's beautiful face as she waited for the end.
***
Charlie grabbed the phone the second it rang. Her colleague hurriedly informed her that they might have had a sighting of a man fitting Robbo's description hanging around the wharf. Charlie was hurrying out of the door before he had finished speaking. She didn't even hang up the phone properly. She yelled for Watson to follow her.
***
"You deserve this!" Robbo insisted. "Once you're gone, I can get on with my life. This stupid rape case will go away."
"Are you really that dumb?" Joey asked him, actually managing to laugh. "Rape will be upped to murder."
He faltered, trying to figure out whether she was right or not.
"They won't know it was me," he said.
"You really are dumb," Joey concluded.
"Well, I'll go away," Robbo said. "I'll leave town."
"Because they don't have cops outside of Summer Bay. They won't be looking for you."
"What makes you think anyone even cares about you anyway? Your own brother thinks you're a waste of space," Robbo snapped.
Joey faltered. Maybe he was right. Who really would care when she was gone? She had nobody to love her. The only person who had ever come close was Charlie and she'd messed that up now too. Robbo raised the gun. Joey closed her eyes. She clung onto her image of Charlie.