Author's note: I am slightly ahead of my writing schedule so this is breakfast reading for a sleepy-headed LHF!

By the time Cam and Barbara arrived at the harbour the other officers had already gathered around a table under a picnic shelter nestled amongst tall Norfolk pine trees. Someone had bought four large helpings of seafood and chips and the sea gulls were gathering nearby, squawking their demands for a share of the bounty. Offered a choice of Dory or Barramundi or Whiting Barbara simply replied, "the one in batter." This brought laughter from everyone, even Tommy who was leaning casually against the timber upright of the shelter watching the sea.

Davo had issued a strict decree, no work talk over the meal. Most of the talk was about the local football which Barbara soon understood was not soccer but rugby league. Whitey tried to explain the various codes to them but although she feigned interest she was more concerned by the growing cloud on Tommy's face. "Oh look Tommy a pelican is landing. Let's have a look."

He was more than happy to have an excuse to be alone with her. They stood looking out at the harbour with its odd arrangements of two lighthouses, one on the headland to the right and one at the harbour entrance. Joggers ran past on a timber boardwalk that also accommodated groups of women with strollers walking and chatting in the sunshine. Pine trees shades the path which wound up the hill towards blocks of expensive apartments. Yachts, anchored in neat lines, bobbed gently in time with the waves. The tinkling echo of the rigging banging against the tops of the aluminium masts blended with the slosh of the lapping water on the sand to create a peaceful atmosphere broken only by the odd complaining gull and cars accelerating away from traffic lights behind them. The coal ships seemed to be only a few hundred metres from shore but the scale was deceptive. The rising escarpment to the left behind the city made everything feel closer and more intimate. Long ribbons of golden sand stretched north until they blended into the mountain.

"Oooh here comes another one," Barbara said excitedly as a large bird extended its wings to break its speed. It ploughed into the water feet first creating a wash that rippled behind it as it continued to glide to a stop.

Tommy admired the grace of the pelican. It was snowy white with jet black wings. He had seen other pelicans but they had been much smaller and more of a mottled, dirty grey. He surveyed the harbour and counted eighteen birds all with their heads held high, proudly parading around the boats. In the distant corner of the harbour more gathered around fishing boats hoping for a treat. He spotted another one perched on the bow of a small blue dinghy just in front of them then two more on bollards. Another pelican shuffled laboriously up the beach. "It's quite beautiful here," he said absently.

"Yeah, but damned hot. It's not to bad in the shade of these pine trees."

"Norfolk Pines," Tommy answered automatically, "they are unusual because their leaves grow up, not down."

He sounded detached. "What's wrong Sir?"

"I'm worried about Rufus. I had him in sight but he didn't want me to catch him. What makes you think he is going after his father?"

"If he was scared he would have come to you. He trusts me enough to let me know he was okay and he knows I trust you. If he felt unsafe he would have come to you."

"So he doesn't want to be caught yet."

"No, because he has a plan and it can't be about finding somewhere safe. I don't think he'd take on a gang. This feels much more personal so it has to be about his father, especially if he blames him for his mother's death."

Tommy frowned and ran his hand through his hair. "He's still only nine Barbara. He's out of his depth."

"What would you do?"

"Hand myself in."

"No, seriously if it were you and you weren't nine what would you do? He thinks a lot like you do. We might be able to get ahead of him."

"He stole something from that plant that had been there for years. You were right about his mother or someone having given him a plan. I think you're instincts here are better than mine."

"Only because over the years I've learned exactly how you think." She turned and started to walk back to the others.

Tommy stared at her guiltily and wondered if she knew what he was thinking right now and how hard it was for him to fight his urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He thanked his upbringing and the fact that all the Aussie police were staring at them with knowing grins. He sighed and followed her.

As Tommy expected Bazza was the first to speak. "So what were you two off discussin' over there all by yerselves?"

"Pelicans mainly," Barbara replied completely unfazed by his implication, "and this heat. I thought this was supposed to be autumn!" Everyone laughed, even Tommy, who earned a stern look for not supporting her.

"Right," Davo said clearly changing the tone of the gathering and pulling his iPad from the inside pocket of his coat. "I'll dial Fits and Marty in then let's hear what each team found this morning."

Tommy let Kosti outline their encounter with the locals and the narrow escape of Roo then Cam updated the team on what happened at the shopping centre. Davo turned to Bazza, "any leads on the father?"

Bazza became serious and detailed the discussions with workmates and supervisors at the steelworks. "It seems everyone there thinks he's a bonza bloke. One or two remember 'is wife and said she left 'im because she 'ad an affair with some English bloke. Apparently Woods was devastated. Only one of 'is mates seemed to know he had a gamblin' 'abit. He got in deep with loan shark to pay off the gang he owed then sold his 'ouse to pay off the shark. This was about two years ago and this bloke, Dunc MacKendrick, said Woods 'adn't gambled since. Puts a query over what we thought unless it's designed to throw us off."

"Instinct?" Davo asked.

"Gut feel, he was tellin' the truth, at least as he knew it."

"Then how does the child porn ring tie in?" Gibbo asked, "we found these pictures today online." He put his iPad on the table and started to scroll through photos of Roo dressed only in his underpants in various awkward poses.

"Oh my God!" Barbara exclaimed and Gibbo stopped scrolling.

Tommy was standing behind her and put his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there just as Cam, who was on the other side of her, put his hand on her other shoulder. Tommy glared at him and Cam quickly removed his hand but a huge grin split his face angering Tommy more. He tried to refocus on the photos.

"They come from a batch we know were uploaded from the paedophile ring here in the Gong. Vice is close to catching them but if we find Roo his evidence might be what they need to put them away."

"That's quite a burden and potentially dangerous for a nine-year-old," Tommy said with clear concern.

"Do they…get more explicit?" Barbara asked.

"No," Davo assured her, "but there are four other boys in similar photos. I know it could be dangerous but he's out there alone and the gang know it too. Don't forget they tried to kill him. No one here believes that boy in Newtown was an accident do they?" The officers all muttered and shook their heads.

"Roo didn't want us to get him but he wanted us to know he's safe. Barbara and I think he has some sort of plan he's following. He might even be trying to locate his father. He knows now that we know that too so he might go further underground," Tommy said, "the question is how do we respond?"

"Boss," Marty cut in, "we just had a hit on that travel card. It was used on the 1pm train from Unanderra heading to Kiama."

Davo looked at his watch. "How long does it take to get there?"

They could hear computer keys clicking furiously. "Thirty-five minutes," Fits replied, "you'll never get there in time."

"Damn it!" Davo was red-faced and clearly annoyed. "This kid's as slippery as an eel."

"He told the guy at the surf shop that he was going to Kiama but we thought it was a bluff," Cam told his boss.

"It was," Tommy said confidently, "you'll get a message in a moment that he checked out at another station somewhere. He's swapped cards and he's on a northbound train heading back to Sydney."

"How can yer know that?" Bazza snarled.

"Tommy's right I can feel it. He wants us to think he's somewhere else or he wants us to know exactly where he is, I'm not sure which, but he won't be in Kiama." Barbara looked across at her boss and smiled.

"Right. Well it's nearly two o'clock. I think we should head back to Sydney. We've learned a lot today but there's not much we can do here until the kid makes his presence felt again. You two must be jetlagged so the guys'll drop you at your hotel. The rest of us will go back to the shop and start putting this together."

"I'd like to see where the shooting happened," Tommy said, "something might give us a clue."

"Yeah, good idea," Davo agreed, "actually we should all go. Fits, I'll see you when I get back."

Barbara was tired even though she had slept much better than she had hoped on the plane. Cam chatted pleasantly but she had started to drift off. "It's fine Barbara," he said as she jerked her had up, "get some shut eye."

Tommy had not been able to sleep but pretended. He told Kosti he was exhausted and promptly closed his eyes and adjusted the seat to be behind her line of vision. Without distraction he could think. He ran over the details again and remembered to ask about Toderovski's background. Then his thoughts drifted to Barbara. A thousand different thoughts seem to rumble through his mind but the main one was that he needed to tell her how he felt before she became too enamoured of Cam. He was sharing an apartment with her in a picturesque city and away from London with its structures and strictures it would make sense to declare his feelings. He imagined making love to her with the lights of the city in the background but he also understood he might need to move slowly, at her pace. He decided to at least try to hint around his feelings tonight.

With traffic it was almost two hours before all the police arrived at the scene of the shooting. An ominous dark stain was still on the bitumen where Toderovski had tried to run but fell and died. They walked up and down looking for clues. "What links do we have for Toderovski and the porn ring?" he asked.

"Not much yet," Gibbo replied, "our boys are investigating and Fits was running a background check on him. We might know more tomorrow."

Barbara and Cam came up to Tommy. "Spot anything Tommy?" Cam asked him.

"No, I don't know what I hoped to find but it was worth a look."

Davo rang Fits but with no further information and it approaching five o'clock he dismissed the team telling them to reconvene in the office at eight the next morning. "Cam, can you take Tommy and Barbara back to their hotel please. There's no point in two cars trying to navigate the traffic at this time."

"Sure Boss."

"I don't mind," Kosti said, "I thought you might like some dinner Tommy."

Tommy yawned ostentatiously. "Not tonight thanks. I'm very tired and I'd be miserable company. Perhaps Barbara and I can join you another night." He emphasised Barbara's name to leave no doubt in the mind of either woman that he had no intention of being alone in a social situation with Alessa.

Barbara picked up the hint and was amused that Tommy was being so blatant. Normally he would smoothly avoid the situation. She smiled sweetly at Kosti. "Not tomorrow though, Tommy and I have been invited to dinner by Cam and his partner."

Tommy looked up at the mention of a partner. His eyes met Cam's and he noticed the smirk. Cam obviously knew how he felt about Barbara, he only hoped he had not mentioned it to her and frightened her off. "Excellent, well we'll be off. See you tomorrow Kosti and thanks for playing chauffeur today."

Barbara automatically climbed into the backseat of the car to allow Tommy room to sit comfortably. She also wanted to observe the interactions with Cam now that he realised he was not a threat. She had enjoyed seeing him jealous. It had confirmed that he did have an interest in her that extended beyond her being his sergeant.

"Do you still want to go you-know-where tonight Barbara?" Cam asked trying hard to find a discreet way to discuss the suits.

Tommy bristled but tried to sound aloof. "Don't let me stop any plans."

"I don't suppose Davie would be ready now?" she asked, "that way we could get that out of the way then be home early. I am actually very tired now."

"Sure if you don't mind Tommy."

Uncertain what he was agreeing to he muttered a simple, "no, that's fine."

Davie's shop was in a trendy part of Paddington, set amongst a row of terrace houses that had been renovated immaculately. Tommy was at first confused but once inside the shop he understood. His sergeant was actually going to conform and upgrade her image but retain her spirit of frugality. It made him smile and when she looked at him he nodded to let her know he approved. Davie was dressed outlandishly in a floral body shirt and navy flares and spoke with a high pitched and over-exuberant tone making Tommy doubt his taste but he soon realised the man had an image to portray for his clientele and that beneath it lurked a shrewd businessman. He left the shop in the care of his shop assistant with a few well-directed instructions about what situations, clients or sellers needed his direct intervention. "Come through to the back," he said dropping the campy act, "I've put some pieces aside."

Barbara was suddenly mortified to realise Tommy had come in to the shop. She had assumed he would be understanding and go for a walk for twenty minutes but now he was standing in front of her waiting, like the other two men for her to decide between the dark grey and the black suits. She decided on the grey and went into the dressing room. Davie had selected three blouses for her to try. She was drawn to the silky bottle green one which she thought went well with the suit.

Tommy's jaw dropped when he saw her. The blouse highlighted her eyes and the cut of the suit accentuated curves he had never noticed but would now find hard to forget. "Oh yes," the three men said together then started to laugh.

"I'll just change back and we can go then," she said thinking the ordeal was over.

"You'll need the black one too," Tommy said.

Barbara sighed and re-emerged a few minutes later wearing the black with a smoky grey shirt. "Try the red blouse on too," Cam suggested.

Fifteen minutes later Barbara was preparing to pay for two suits, four blouses and a pair of very comfortable low heeled leather shoes. "Oh hang on I left my bag in the dressing room."

Tommy glanced at the register, quickly converted to pounds and knew Barbara would have a fit. He opened his wallet and pulled out three one hundred dollar notes and slipped them to Davie who nodded.

"So how much?" Barbara asked when she returned.

"Three hundred and ten dollars normally," Davie said but I'll give you a discount for being a friend of Cam and Sammy, so two hundred and sixty. That's about a hundred and forty pounds."

Barbara bit her lip. It was money she did not have at the moment but she also understood the clothes were worth a lot more. She had liked how she felt wearing them and she had seen Tommy's face light up when she had put on the first suit. She handed over her Visa card and was glad Tommy had not offended her in front of the others by offering to pay.

As they drove back Barbara mentioned how tired she was and how sore her feet were after a day in heels. "Try chasing a young boy when you're on the wrong side of forty and wearing dress shoes," Tommy replied, "my calves ache."

"You two need a hot bath and a good night in bed," Cam said wickedly and grinned at Tommy who hoped Barbara could not see how red his face had turned. Tommy frowned at him but was beginning to see why Barbara liked him.

Cam dropped them at the hotel with a promise to collect them at seven forty sharp. Tommy carried the bags up to their apartment and straight through to her bedroom. The curtains were still drawn but he knew what the view would be so he pulled them open. One pane of floor to ceiling glass framed the harbour to perfection. "It is a beautiful view," Barbara said from behind him.

"Yes it is. Did you know that you can see it from your bathroom too?"

"No, I was in there this morning there's no window."

Tommy walked into her bathroom and was impressed that it lived up to the pictures. He looked for the switch on the wall and flicked it. The unusual mirror that Barbara had experimented with changed into a window. "You can sit in your bath and watch the ferries come in."

Barbara turned and walked out of the room and across the living area to Tommy's bedroom. He trailed behind her silently wondering what he had said to annoy her and avoiding saying anything that might offend further. She went into his bedroom and came back out. "You have no bath and no view."

"No, I wanted you to have it."

"Thank you," she said with a huge smile that caught Tommy off guard. Her eyes were soft and affectionate. She had none of the anger or affront he had expected. "but I can't have a bath knowing you don't have one to soak in. Why don't you have one first?"

Tommy did not take his eyes from hers. "Why don't we have one together?" he asked softly.