Chapter Fifty One
August 2012 (Age 30)
Charlie stared at Joey for a few moments. She felt like she couldn't breathe. All of her defences crumbled away just by looking into her eyes. She was so beautiful, so perfect. She hated it but she knew at that moment that she had been in love with her this entire time.
"How can I help you?" she said, trying to sound all business.
She needed to keep things as professional as possible. She needed to keep that distance between them. She couldn't break her own heart all over again.
"I know I have no right to ask but I need help," Joey told her earnestly. "I've left Hayley for good this time and I believe that she is actively seeking to keep Aden in jail. I'm willing to do anything necessary to help you press charges against her and anyone else involved in any of this mess. I don't expect anything personal in return from you, although my life will be in danger so any police protection you may be able to provide would be gratefully received. There are also some things you need to know that I'd rather not announce in reception."
Charlie's gaze lingered for the few seconds too long. She tried to keep her face impassive but fretted that Joey could read her like a book. She couldn't help but think how brave she was, walking back inside the station after everything that had happened. And how much it must have taken for her to leave Hayley at long last. She just hoped that this time it was for real. She wasn't about to open up her heart and let her back in. She wasn't an idiot. But she had a duty of care as a police officer and as a human being.
"Follow me," she said stiffly, leading the way into the first interview room.
"Charlie, do you want me to…?" Angelo offered.
Charlie shook her head. She could handle this alone.
Inside the small room, Charlie gestured for Joey to sit down at the table, which she did. Charlie seated herself opposite her ex-girlfriend, clasping her hands in front of her.
"Thank you for not throwing me out," she said quietly.
"I'm a police officer," Charlie reminded her. "I'd never throw out a woman asking for my help."
Joey nodded. Charlie's body language, tone and entire demeanour was different than she had ever known it to be in all their lives.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Charlie suggested.
"I um… I found a file at home," Joey explained.
She moved to dig around in her bag. She produced several papers and lay them flat on the table and slid them over to Charlie.
"You took them?" Charlie asked.
"No," Joey said, shaking her head. "I didn't want to arouse any more suspicion than necessary so I just took photocopies of the necessary pieces. They prove that she's trying to get Aden put away, not trying to save him. That's illegal. She's his defence lawyer."
Charlie took the papers, flicking through them, nodding to herself.
"What about you?" she asked seriously, looking Joey in the eye.
Joey swallowed.
"Well?" Charlie asked. "Are you willing to testify to the kind of person she really is, Joey?"
"Yes."
"And what kind of person is she?" Charlie asked.
"Don't you want it on tape?" Joey asked, looking at the recorder beside them.
A couple of minutes later, wanting everything to be completely official, the tape was on and Watson was station quietly in the back of the room.
"Hayley has been bullying me for years," Joey told Charlie. "Mentally and physically. I've regularly ended up in hospital and there have been a lot of times where I should have gone but didn't. She strives on pushing me down to make herself feel good. I honestly have no idea how I ended up in this position or how I let it go on so long. I'm ashamed that I let it happen but I did and there's nothing I can do about that except try and make it right."
Charlie nodded, forcing herself not to get dragged into the emotion of it all.
"Everything that happened with that guy who died, Robbo, leads back to Hayley," Joey continued. "I didn't know him and my memory isn't clear on what happened but I do know that he's her dealer."
"Her dealer?" Charlie asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"She likes to dabble in a little bit of coke now and again," Joey told her. "She and her beloved River Boys – Brax and Heath. They make fun of me because that isn't my world or Aden's."
"It was Hayley who put me in the vulnerable position in the first place, the one that Aden needed to rescue me from," Joey said. "I don't have perfect recall but from what she said, I was supposed to give him whatever he wanted to get him off her back. I think she owed him money."
"And she was using you as leverage?"
"Yes," Joey said. "Just like now. She said if I got back with her, she'd help Aden. But she was never planning on helping him. She wanted to get him jailed. She's been manipulating me from the start. She found a way to get him assaulted inside the prison."
"How do you know that?" Charlie asked.
"She told me."
Charlie swallowed.
"And she said I couldn't leave after he was released or she'd…"
Joey trailed off.
"Or she'd…?" Charlie nudged.
Joey looked her directly in the eye.
"She said she'd kill you."
Charlie chewed her lip thoughtfully, still trying to keep her face unreadable but her heart and soul were a minefield of emotions – more so now than ever. There was so much she wanted to say. She felt so conflicted. She felt both justified and guilty for being so angry with her for leaving. On the one hand, she was annoyed that she hadn't stayed and tried to work through everything together. On the other, she understood now that Joey had been trying to protect her. She had gone about everything the wrong way but as usual, she had been trying to do the right thing. All Charlie wished was that she had at least attempted to communicate with her before she had run off and tried to handle everything on her own. She could have had the backing of the entire police force if she'd have just let her guard down and trusted her for once.
"I see," she managed.
The two women stared at each other, silence stunting their words.
"I just… I didn't want anyone else to get hurt," Joey finally managed. "I know what Hayley is capable of. I know she doesn't make empty threats. I thought… I thought I could handle it on my own. I thought if… if she took it all out on me then she wouldn't bother you or Aden or… I thought she'd get Aden out of jail and you and he would both be safe."
"What um… what prompted you to come here today?"
"I told you…" Joey faltered.
"For the tape," Charlie said more gently.
"Oh," Joey said. "I realised that Hayley is working towards a guilty verdict instead of not guilty."
"And this is the photocopied evidence you've provided me with?" Charlie asked.
"Yes," Joey said.
"When did you discover this?" Charlie asked.
"This morning," Joey said. "I overheard a conversation between Hayley and Brax – Darryl Braxton – last night, which made me suspicious, so I went looking around her office at home this morning and that's what I found. She's been manipulating Aden and I from the start. Threatening us with what she'll do if we don't agree to play by her rules."
"And you came straight here?"
Joey nodded.
"For the tape," Charlie reminded her.
"Yes," Joey said. "I took photocopies of what I could, packed a bag and left everything as in tact as I could find it so I could give myself as big a head start as possible."
"You realise that you could be putting yourself in danger by making a statement?"
"I'm in danger either way," Joey said. "But the most important thing from the start has been to give Aden the best chance and I understand now that he never had a chance with Hayley as his lawyer. I also understand that I was wrong not to trust the police to help me, not to trust you. I've made about a thousand mistakes and although I don't have a hope of making up for them, I am sorry and I'll spend the rest of my life wishing I had done things differently."
Charlie nodded, her jaw tense.
"I think that's enough for now," she said.
Next time… Joey is taken in by the police as things move on with the case…
