CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jack was starting to lose patience. He was going crazy with worry and was almost at the point where he just wanted to barge into the house and get Martha. And then it happened; his last nerve snapped. He stalked over to McGrath.

"What the hell are you doing? We've been here for over an hour, and you still haven't done anything," he yelled.

"Simmer down Holden," McGrath warned, pointing his finger at Jack. "If you don't lose that temper quick smart, I'll remove you from the property myself. You got me?" he continued

"Simmer down? How am I supposed to do that when Martha is in there with some crazy lunatic?" Jack growled.

McGrath sighed. "Look Jack, I can see that you care a lot about the girl. But losing your temper is not going to help with the situation," he said.

Jack bowed his head. "Sorry boss," he said before walking off.

He headed off to the spot where he had left Alf and Ric; he then noticed that Barry Hyde had arrived and was deep in conversation with Alf.

"Yes, I called Kim and Hayley and told them what was going on. They're still about an hours drive away," Barry said. "I just hope this is over by the time they get back. Hayley doesn't need this sort of stress; especially with the baby," he continued.

Ric looked over towards Jack. "I noticed that you just psyched out at your boss," Ric commented.

Jack nodded. "I'm just worried. I hate the thought of them being alone in there with a nutcase," he said.

"At least Corey is in there with them. I'm sure he'll make sure they're okay," Barry exclaimed.

For some reason Jack didn't feel any better knowing that Corey was in there. He didn't know what it was but something niggled at him every time someone mentioned Corey.

"Alf, you said that Corey was acting strange when you popped around this arvo. Tell me again what happened," Jack asked.

"Well, I came around to drop off some fish for Irene," he paused. "And like I said at the diner, Corey told me Martha and Irene had just left for a walk. Um, the house was completely locked up and the curtains were all closed, so it was pretty dark in there. Corey didn't even invite me in, and it seemed like he was in a hurry for me to leave," Alf continued.

"And you thought that was strange?" Jack questioned.

Alf nodded. "Yeah I did. He seemed quite on edge. Very unlike Corey," he replied.

Jack scratched his chin, listening carefully to what Alf was telling him. "Did you notice anything else?" Jack pressured him.

Alf shook his head. "No. Where are you heading with this mate?" Alf asked curiously.

Jack went to speak but was cut off from a voice behind him. "Yoo Hoo," it said.

Jack spun around and was surprised to see Colleen walking towards. "Colleen, you shouldn't be here," he said.

"I wanted to come and see if I could help with anything," she said when she reached them.

"Oh for gods sakes women, how on gods green earth would you be able to help out?" Alf growled. "You're just here for a sticky beak. In a few minutes you'll be off telling Madge bloody Wilkins what's going on," he kept on.

"Well excuse me Alf Stewart," Colleen huffed. "If you must know, I'm here with Dr Saunders. I thought it would be nice if I brought some Coffee down for the hard working officers, and he offered to help me," she told them.

She then looked up at Jack. "Oh, you poor thing. It must be horrible knowing that Martha's in there with a crazed gunman," she said, patting his arm "I couldn't help over hearing your conversation with Ric earlier at the diner. You told him that you and Martha had reconciled, yes?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah," Jack said hesitantly.

"Hmm, no wonder I saw young Corey leaving Martha's late last night in a strop. She must have broken the news to him then," Colleen told him.

Did I just hear right, Jack thought to himself.

"Wait. What? You saw Corey leaving Martha's last night," Jack asked her.

"Yes, I was closing the diner late last night. It was probably just after ten pm," she began. "He didn't see me, but I saw him closing the door behind him. And then he stalked down the stairs muttering to himself. He didn't look too happy. The he got into his car and speed away," she continued.

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He and Martha had been in her room all night, so they hadn't seen Corey. But Colleen said she actually saw him closing the door when he left the apartment. If Corey was there, it must have been when they were in bed. And then that would mean that Corey would have found out that they were back together before Martha got the chance to tell him herself.

"Oh my god," Jack said out loud.

Alf noticed the worried look on Jack's face. "What's wrong mate?" he asked.

"I was with Martha last night. All night. And we didn't see Corey, so that means that he snuck into the house when we were in bed," Jack told the group.

"What are you getting at?" Ric said.

Jack started walking off. "I'll be back in a sec. I need to talk about the boss about something," he said.

"Jack, wait. What's going on," Alf demanded.

Jack ignored him and kept walking. So many thoughts were going through his head at the moment. This couldn't be about Corey, could it? Jack thought to himself.