Joey continues to stare at Leah, who was almost hidden behind the tower of parcels in her arms.

"Greetings from your fairy god mother," Leah mumbles from behind the parcels.

"My god, did she buy out the whole store?" Joey says as she helps unload Leah's arms.

"Charlie wanted to be sure you were relaxing, including relaxing from cooking, so there's plenty of food here and also some things to help you relax."

Joey picked up one parcel and looked inside. "Aw, they're so cute," she says as she pulls the fluffy bunny slippers out and tries them on. "Ooh," she wiggles her toes. "And so warm and comfy."

Leah grins. "They match your pjs."

Joey glances down at her attire. "I thought of getting dressed, but then I worried that might encourage me to do more than just sitting around doing nothing," Joey replies with a cheeky smile.

"Oh, I like that reasoning, I should try it one day if I ever get time to do nothing."

"It's your business, why don't you just put someone in charge for the day and treat yourself to a day of nothing?"

"I'm so used to being active all day, I'm not sure I could actually sit around and do nothing."

"I'm a bit like that and I'll probably be climbing the walls in a day or two, but this whole taking it easy thing is doctor enforced, so what am I to do."

"Nothing."

"Exactly." Joey opens one of the food trays next and admires the contents. "Oh Leah, you are lucky I'm so taken with Charlie or I'd be stealing you from your husband."

"Sorry Joey, but Darryl has my heart."

Joey had only spoken to Brax a few times and with what she'd heard about him, she wondered what such a lovely woman like Leah was doing with a guy like him. "Leah, your rejection is breaking my heart."

"You only want me for my cooking."

"True." She pops some of the food into her mouth. "But you're worth it," she says after she had swallowed.

"Glad you like it because there's plenty more."

"Charlie's gone a little overboard with all of this."

"Just a little, but I think it's kind of cute how hard Charlie has fallen for you."

"Well I've fallen pretty hard for her as well."

"No, really!" Leah says with a heavy dose of humour.

Joey grins. "I guess we are kind of obvious."

"No, really!"

She barely made it to the basin before she was throwing up. Washing her face, she stares into the mirror above the basin. Pregnancy was not a good look on her and she hated every second of it, but carrying this brat was the only way to ensure her future and she had to keep reminding herself of that to get her through this. He'd already shown signs of tiring of her and he wasn't as overjoyed by her pregnancy as she thought he'd be but he wouldn't neglect his responsibilities and if she struck it lucky and had a boy, then chances were, her son would go to the top as his pride and joy.

All she had to do is hope he never learned the truth. Her stomach heaved again. She could do this, she reminded herself and then once it was born, she could off load the brat onto a nanny. She bent over and threw up again.

Charlie glances at her watch. By now, Joey should have received her gifts. She really did need to say a big thank you to Leah for taking the time to pick up the gifts and drop them off, along with the food. She sighs, wishing she was there with Joey enjoying the goodies.

"Am I boring you Sergeant?"

Robertson had been prattling on for the past half hour so Charlie was tempted to say yes, instead, she shook her head. "My girlfriend had a health scare recently and I'm just a little worried about her."

"Well, we shouldn't be too much longer. Now, where are we on CBJ Industries?" he asks Aden.

"I got a call from a mate of mine earlier, letting me know that she thinks she's close to finding out who is behind it."

"This Braxton guy?"

"His name hasn't been linked to it just yet, but if he is involved in the company, then it's only a matter of time before it is."

"When does your friend think she'll have the information?"

"Within the week."

Robertson nods. "I wasn't too sure of this arson for hire theory but it does seem to have some merit, especially with what you've told me so far." He turns his attention back to Charlie. "Braxton runs a legitimate business, has never been convicted of any crime, yet you seem confident of his involvement, why?"

"The River Boys have a history of intimidation and criminal activity and we've always believed that Brax has been as heavily involved in those crimes as his gang members, most of whom have criminal convictions and in the past, we've even brought him in for questioning in relation to some of those crimes, yet we were never able to prove anything because he let his younger brother and other gang members take most of the risks and if we did get something that could connect Brax to a crime, one of his Boys always seemed willing to step forward and take the fall for him."

"It does seem unlikely that the leader of a criminal gang wasn't involved in the criminal side of things and in my experience, you only get to be leader of such a gang and earn that sort of loyalty through a show of strength and fear and the members usually don't do anything without the say-so of their leader."

"Exactly, only we could never prove Brax's involvement. He seems to have a way about him that seems to lull people into trusting him and becoming extremely loyal to him, even his brother who was well known as an enforcer, seemed to defer and at times, cower to Brax."

"Braxton is no longer part of the gang though, is he?"

"That's what he says, but I know he's still in contact with some of his former gang mates as they eat at the restaurant regularly and while I can't prove anything, I think he's still heavily involved in the gang life, he just let's Brodie Upton be the public leader while Brax pulls the strings from behind."

"So, in Brax, we have a charismatic man who inspires loyalty and trust in some and fear in others."

"That about sums him up."

"You never trusted him though?"

Charlie shakes her head. "There's something I just find very insincere about him that makes me mistrust him."

"Any chance one of the River Boys is our arsonist?"

"We've discounted all of them for various reasons," Aden informs him.

"If this Braxton is involved, with his gang past and with a murder and a suicide now linked to the arsons, it does tend to pose a problem in getting our victims to talk," Robertson says. "Fear is a very good motivator to maintaining your silence."

"Which is why we need to link Brax to this without them and if we do, then they may be more willing to speak out against him."

"What we need, is for something to break this case wide open," Robertson declares.

Angelo sipped his beer. He hated the thought of his wife living in the same house as that woman but once he knew Buckton was still at the station, he had made his way to her house. Only Joey wasn't alone, that Braxton chick was there and so he'd turned around and left. He hoped Joey wasn't doing her as well.

He took another sip as he tried to think of a way to win is wife back.

Now that Charlie was alone with Robertson after he'd sent Graves, she still didn't know her first name and she doubted it was Doogie, on an errand and Aden went to check on some things, Charlie decided it was time to talk to him about his attitude. "In future Detective, any requests for food or beverages will come with a tone of respect, a please and not sound like an order."

Robertson tilts his head in answer. He was pleased to see her standing up like that and he'd make sure his report to the promotion board made mention of that. "Anything else?"

"You obviously have your own way of doing things, but this is my station and I'd like you to remember that and treat everyone with the appropriate respect."

"The Sergeant shoes seem to be fitting you quite well, Sergeant, or can I call you Charlie?"

"Charlie is fine, Robert."

There's a knock on the door and Georgie pokes her head in. "Sorry to interrupt," she says while trying not to laugh at the look of relief on her cousin's face at her interruption. "But the hospital called, Harvey Ryan has been bashed."

"Harvey Ryan, as in one of our arson victims?" asks Robertson.

"Yeah."

"Excellent," Robertson says gleefully. He grins at the matching frowns on the others. "Well, I was only saying earlier that we needed something to break the case wide open and we may have just gotten it."

"Or we just lost a potential witness for good. If this is related to the case, then Harvey may never talk to us now," Charlie points out. "And it will strike even more fear into the others."

"Come now Charlie, try a bit of positive thinking."

After Harvey had ranted and raved and blamed their harassment of him for his assault, he still refused to name the men who did that to him and he'd certainly been worked over. Charlie had winced just looking at him.

Luckily for them though, they didn't need Harvey's statement, because there was a witness who saw two men kicking Harvey while he was down before running away from the assault and this witness had only been too willing to come to the station and make a statement. Charlie grinned. Maybe Robertson was right about positive thinking, for not only had their witness's description of the assailants matched Brax and Brodie, but their witness was an ex-police officer with an excellent record and unlikely to be scared into silence. They couldn't have found a more reliable witness.

Now, while Robertson was applying for search warrants on Brax's home and business, including Leah's diner, which she felt guilty about as she regretted her friend being hurt in all of this, especially after the favour she had had Leah do earlier for her, she and Aden were trying to catch up to Brax after he had left the restaurant suddenly. She was annoyed that they'd missed him by only ten minutes and hoped there wasn't anything more to that than Brax just leaving suddenly because he had to run an errand.

"Wait, I think that was Brax's car back there on the side road," Charlie tells Aden.

Aden turns the car around. "What's he doing out here?"

Or more importantly, what was her cousin doing here talking to Brax, Charlie thought as their car drew closer. Just before she and Aden had left the station to go to arrest Brax, she'd seen Georgie on the phone before she said she was taking a break and rushed out. Now, seeing them here together after they'd both made abrupt exits, she had a terrible feeling she understood why Georgie was here and that just maybe, her cousin still had some loyalty to Brax after all. "Oh Georgie, what have you done," she whispers to herself.