"The Truth Hurts"

Hi guys!

Sorry for the delay in this chapter - been busy at work again :)

And I'm also sorry for the drama this fic has provided you with over the last few chapters...and there's still more drama to come :P

Oh and to all of you thinking that Angelo knew the tie was Grant's because it was he that 'whacked' Grant - sorry guys but he knew because he saw Grant the day Grant died when he threatened Grant to leave town...oh and Robertson knew 'cause he would've watched the security tape of Grant's visit to the station that day to watch Angelo's and Charlie's interactions with the victim...

Okay so I vagued up the Robertson part just now but I'm sure it was something like that before one of you geniuses start accusing him as well lol!

JSCO81 - Always the first to review! Luvs it :P Sorry can't make any promises like that...

DNW - Of course you can change your mind on what you think happened. But I do love your theories on what could've happened...

Lil20 - Sorry far too early to tell you if you (or anyone else) are right. I know I'm cruel but that's why you all love me :P

Bethers - Never break up the CJ relationship...? If you haven't already check out my fic 'Happily Never After' then you'll never say that again :) But maybe you're right about a loophole - you never know. If it exists I'll find it.

Movie249 - Love you been stumped lol! And I'm glad you love the murder mystery :P But it's still too soon to reveal all...

Charliefan - I'd like to think so too but...read on...

Funkyshaz - Sorry to make you feel so sad and angry all at once. I hope the anger subsides a little bit during this chapter...but the sadness...that could be around for a lil while...

CJ4eva - I love how devoted you always are to keep CJ together no matter the odds :P

Oniz - Glad you still like my writing through all this drama :P Maybe this is what Joey's been hiding all along...

And that's enough from me.

I'd say enjoy this chapter but...

Chapter Forty-Nine

"Ms. Josephine Collins is being re-interviewed in relation to the murder of Grant Bledcoe. Detective Robert Robertson is present for the interview. Interview began at 11:00 am on Friday October 23rd 2009," Detective Robert Robertson said into his voice recorder as he sat down opposite Joey. Joey looked away from him. Detective Robert Robertson leant forwards anxiously, "Ms. Collins would you like to contact your lawyer, Mrs. Bellingham, to be present at this interview before we begin?"

Joey shook her head, "No. I can answer your questions now. I don't need a lawyer...there's no point right now." Detective Robert Robertson nodded, "Very well, for the record Ms. Collins has denied representation during this interview... Ms. Collins can you please repeat on record what you told me several minutes ago?" Joey closed her eyes, "I did it...I'm the one who killed Grant Bledcoe."

"Ms. Collins out in the station when you made your confession, you handed me...proof of your crime. Can you please tell me what it is and how you managed to...acquire it?" Detective Robert Robertson asked gently. Joey sobbed silently, "It's...Grant's tie...he was wearing it the night I...it got caught on me as I was... I took it with me so I wouldn't get caught...guess I couldn't keep up the charade for long while you were hurting everyone else with this investigation."

"And the blood splattered all over the tie?" Detective Robert Robertson queried. "From when I stabbed him...obviously," Joey muttered. Detective Robert Robertson leant forwards on the desk, "Ms. Collins can you please recount the events of the night you murdered Grant Bledcoe and tell me how and...why you did this to him?"

Joey sat back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared out of the window, "I did it to stop him hurting the people I love...I...that night was all kind of a blur to me now. I remember I was with Charlie most of the evening. She'd had that run in with Grant at the station where all her colleagues were ignoring his requests to press charges against Angelo. That evening Charlie was so happy that Grant had surely left town. As we told you in our first interview...we had an early night and went to bed. We fell asleep in each others' arms after..."

"Then what happened?" Detective Robert Robertson persevered.

"I woke up about an hour later. I had started to have another one of my nightmares about when he kidnapped me. For once I hadn't managed to wake Charlie...but I knew if I went back to sleep...the nightmares would just return. So instead I got up, grabbed a sweatshirt, jeans and my joggers. Got dressed quickly and went for a walk outside to clear my head," Joey started to tell him.

Detective Robert Robertson nodded, "So Ms. Buckton...?" "Had absolutely no knowledge that I was gone or what happened...she had nothing to do with any of this...," Joey answered. "Are you positive Ms. Buckton didn't hear you leave...or hear you return after you...?" Detective Robert Robertson asked again.

Joey sighed, "She was asleep. After the past few weeks with Grant hassling us and Ruby...she was exhausted. Guess all those sleepless nights finally caught up to her." Detective Robert Robertson nodded, "So would I be right in assuming you came across...Mr. Bledcoe during your walk?"

"Yes..." Joey replied, shaking her head sadly, "I just went for a walk to clear my head...that's all. But I couldn't stop thinking...about the nightmares I'd been having. I didn't want to tell Charlie...but the nightmares had gotten worse the past few nights, especially after I found out he'd returned to town again. My nightmares had begun to...blur the lines between what Grant did to me when he kidnapped me...and what...he could've done. I couldn't trust my memories anymore...I couldn't...decipher if it was my mind...playing tricks on me...making me think that Grant had actually... Or if I'd just blocked a huge part of the kidnapping out and these nightmares...were my way of remembering that he did...rape me."

Joey leant forwards, burying her head in her hands, crying softly, "I can't work it out. I can't...remember properly what happened. I feel like I remember him getting too scared after he beat me...and walking away. But my nightmares kept having a different ending. I didn't know which one was real. I couldn't talk to Charlie about it...you're right...I was afraid for her if she found out Grant had indeed raped me. She barely survived him doing that to her...she'd never let it go that...she'd feel guilty for letting him walk free to do that to someone she...loves. I just wanted to clear my mind and try and work out for myself...what really happened. The thoughts that he had possibly done that to me...and my mind had been so destroyed that it tried to erase it...or that my nightmares...were just that...nightmares. Showing me something scary that...could've happened."

Detective Robert Robertson cleared his throat, "I'm sorry to hear you went through that traumatic experience...so is that why you...?"

Joey tried to wipe her tears away from her cheeks as they kept flowing, "I was walking down to the Wharf. It's just this place I go to clear my head...I thought it might help me work out what had really happened. But as I was taking a short cut through the fish markets...I felt someone was following me. I kept whirling around to find out if I was right but there was no one there. Then I heard some noises and got really spooked out. I was sure someone was out there...I was sure it was Grant. I realized then that maybe he had been watching us at the house...and saw me leave alone.

I stumbled across a knife in the fish markets and...took it with me...just in case. As I exited the markets...that's when he came out in the open. I had the knife hidden, slipped it through one of my jeans' belt holds at the back of my jeans. The sweatshirt I had on covered it up. So Grant wasn't at all afraid when he simply walked up to me and started following me. I just tried to walk away from him, but he kept his stride next to me...I knew I couldn't outrun him. So I kept walking towards the Wharf...hoping he would give up...hoping he wouldn't turn violent again.

So here was me trying to get him to leave me alone but he just kept walking next to me. He had his hands in his pockets, like he was completely at ease and in no danger. Knowing I couldn't run or else he would come after me...Grant then...started talking to me. Talking or carrying on psychotically...whichever...all sounds the same from him. He told me about seeing Charlie at the station that day and that he'd followed her home. Told me...he wanted to get her alone...so he could finish the job. But I had to be at home with her and get in his way. He then started ranting and raving...about watching us that night.

Grant started saying some derogatory things about our relationship and about what a slut Charlie is. He told me that Charlie doesn't want me and was only with me 'cause...she's too pathetic to be alone. I dunno he just kept at me and telling me I couldn't protect Charlie from him. He told me all the things he wanted to do to her when he got his chance. And if I managed to...protect Charlie...he'd go after Ruby. I don't know okay...he wouldn't leave me alone and I got sick of all the things he was saying and...I snapped okay. He didn't even see what was coming."

"So you stabbed him...? Where?" Detective Robert Robertson questioned suspiciously.

Joey looked away from him, "When he started saying the part about going after Charlie and Ruby he stood in front of me and got in my face. I couldn't get him away from me...the rest was just a blur. I remember I just lashed out at him. I grabbed out the knife...and I struck him in the chest first. Then I just kept stabbing him. He was a vicious animal...so I killed him like one. Are you happy now? You know what happened...you got your killer."

Detective Robert Robertson stared at Joey tensely, "What happened to the knife...the murder weapon? And why the tie? Why'd you keep it?"

Joey shrugged softly, as she continued sobbing, "I threw the knife in the ocean...with the tide that evening...the knife's long gone. The tie just...got caught on my watch...and when I had finished...him...I dunno I just took it with me. Guess I thought you might doubt my guilt. I mean...I was injured right? Few fractured ribs and some terrible bruising all along my body...most people don't think I'd be capable of what happened to him. Guess I took quite a few extra pain killers that day...didn't feel any pain by that evening."

"So tell me...why'd you lie to me in your first interview...? You told me you were innocent...and I believed you," Detective Robert Robertson reminded Joey aggressively.

Joey eyed him anxiously, "Didn't want to believe it had happened. I wanted to forget that I killed him. After...it happened and I dumped the knife...I went back to Charlie. She's a deep sleeper...she had no idea I was gone. Woke up the next morning...not believing that it really happened. Didn't last long...so yeah...the first time you asked me I lied and told you I didn't kill him. But I haven't lied and said I didn't kill him to you or anyone else since."

"Meaning?" Detective Robert Robertson pushed her for the truth.

"Go check through your transcripts from the next interviews...go check with...the people I've been in contact with since that first interview... Several people asked or accused me of killing him...I didn't have to say a word...I had people like...Char...Charlie...stand up and insist on my innocence. I didn't have to lie once and tell them they were wrong...Charlie and Ruby professed my innocence for me," Joey revealed.

Detective Robert Robertson sat back in his chair, still stunned beyond belief that he had missed the subtleness behind Joey's actions, "Why come forward now after all this time? And what about Charlie? How's she meant to cope with all this? You murdered the man that raped her..."

Joey stared down at her hands, that were soaked from her tears, "Because I've been sick with guilt. After it happened…I didn't want to believe it was real so…I carried on with my life as normal. But yesterday…I spent some time with Charlie and her family. Made me see that…they don't deserve me in their lives after what I did. I haven't been able to…think about anything else since…I became distant…and distracted. I came forward before Charlie worked it out…why I was acting so…strange. I came forward because...you wanted to put Charlie away for this...she's innocent...I'm not. I did what I had to...to protect her from that monster. Everything I've done...is for her... Is there anything else? You've done your job and caught me...I killed Grant Bledcoe...so what happens next?"

Ruby rushed into the police station. After receiving a desperate but cryptic call from Angelo telling her Charlie needed her, Ruby had dropped everything to get to the station. So many scenarios flashed through her mind about what was wrong...most involving Charlie getting hurt at her dangerous job...but then Angelo would've called her and told her to go to the hospital. Ruby didn't understand what Angelo was trying to tell her...but she knew she'd never abandon her mother. Not now…after they were finally working things out between them.

Ignoring all the strange but slightly familiar faces of Charlie's colleagues that were in the reception area, Ruby dashed straight into Charlie's office without knocking. Shutting the door behind her, Ruby wasn't prepared for what she found.

Charlie...her strong, protective...mother...collapsed against the wall of her office. Charlie was nearly curled up into a ball, she had her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, pulling her knees against her chest. Charlie's face was buried deep against her legs, her hair a tangled mess around her face. But Ruby could still make out the quiet words Charlie was whispering over and over, chanting them repeatedly, "This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening."

Ruby's confused gaze fell onto Angelo, who was sitting on a chair he'd placed a few feet away from Charlie. Angelo was leaning over in the chair, begging Charlie that "everything will be fine." Angelo was sitting there pleading for Charlie to stand up and share her pain, in a way that most pet owners would sit in front of their sly cat, begging and enticing the cat to come out of hiding.

Ruby growled at Angelo, "What the hell did you do to her?" Angelo had been so focused on trying to get Charlie to talk to him he hadn't noticed Ruby until she was standing over him. Angelo looked up at Ruby saddened, "I'm glad you came...I can't get Charlie to talk to me...or do anything but..." "What did you do?!" Ruby shouted.

A tear slipped out of Angelo's eye as he answered, "I think Joey just confessed to killing Grant."

Ruby took a step back, shocked, "No." Angelo shook his head sadly, "I didn't want this...I didn't think Charlie would...be this way if it turned out..." Ruby ran her hand over her face, "Joey would never...there has to be some kind of mistake." "Joey's in there...with Robertson now...he wouldn't let Charlie talk to her...before he took her in for questioning after...she confessed," Angelo told Ruby weakly.

"Oh God...Charlie..." Ruby whispered. Ruby launched herself onto the ground next to Charlie, wrapping her arms around her mother, and kissing the top of her head several times, "God...Charlie...how am I gonna get you through this?"

Charlie was so distraught she didn't even notice Ruby was there. The only thing running through her hysterical mind was the four words she kept repeating – 'This is not happening.'

As Ruby held onto Charlie tightly, continuing to try and pull Charlie into embracing her, Angelo stood up. Aware that he needed to leave the girls alone as despite all his efforts, he couldn't be the one to help Charlie, he made his way to the door.

Just as he reached the door, Detective Robert Robertson suddenly appeared in front of him. Angelo took a step back, but the Detective motioned for Angelo to stay where he was. Detective Robert Robertson took several steps into the room, looking down at Charlie and Ruby hesitantly.

Charlie became aware of his presence, along with Ruby who was hugging her protectively, and croaked quietly, "Tell me this isn't happening." "I wish I could..." Detective Robert Robertson told them sadly, "Joey confessed to murdering Grant...and I have enough evidence to charge her. I'm sorry."

Charlie burst into another round of tears, Ruby holding onto her desperately trying to keep her from falling apart. "What happens now?" Ruby asked softly.

Before Detective Robert Robertson could answer her, Charlie wiped the tears from her cheeks, even though new tears replaced them seconds later, "I have to see her...I have to find out why...she's lying about all this."

Ruby stroked Charlie's hair comfortingly, confused by Charlie's request and denial that Joey confessed to the murder. Detective Robert Robertson paused gently, "Charlie I'm very sorry...that's the reason why I came here to talk to you... Joey doesn't want to see you...she's requested that you're not allowed to see her right now."

Charlie's tears overflowed, spilling down her cheeks, and she cried out in despair, as Ruby pulled her into another hug.

Oh the tragedy of it all...

Next up - The milestone 50th chapter of this fic which will be huge! And the chapter after that...MASSIVE!!!

Does anyone want to guess what's coming up?