"I didn't kill Trev, Detective."
"Forgive my scepticism Sergeant, but you're hardly in a position to plead your innocence when you feature so heavily in Moreland's notebook, when you have no alibi for the time of his death and when you're engaged to a man who has previously murdered a fellow officer."
"I don't know why Moreland was suspicious of me but Jack's death was a tragic accident, one Angelo has had to live with that every single day for the past two and a half years."
"Tell me Sergeant, how long after he escaped justice were you in his bed?"
"That is none of your business."
"Oh, it's very much my business, especially if I find out anything that ties you to the night Const. Holden died."
"I was taking my daughter to visit her father that night. Check with Grant, he'll tell you that we were sitting down to a meal together at the time Jack was killed."
"I'll do that."
"Detective, you have no right to dig into that case; it was ruled as a tragic accident."
"I'm aware of the official outcome Sergeant, but I find it strange how a highly trained officer could mistake a fellow officer as a perp."
"Jack wasn't supposed to have been there."
"Neither was Rosetta. He was off-duty and out of uniform; he had no right to be trespassing on private property."
"The property was owned by a friend of his; Angelo often checked the security of the place as a favour. I don't know why Jack was there because he was supposed to have been patrolling on the other side of town."
"Perhaps you'd like to explain why Rosetta was armed; it's illegal for police officers to remove their firearms from the station when they're off-duty." The detective stares at Charlie, "There's something you're not telling us Sergeant."
"You know damn well that Angelo was moonlighting as an armed security guard, for which he had a licence to carry a firearm."
"But not permission to work a second job."
"He was reprimanded and he no longer works as a security guard, which you're precious bits of paper there must tell you."
"He lied about his second job at the time, just like he lied about being there that night."
"He panicked ok!" Charlie blurts out. "Jack was his friend and he had just killed him; he was devastated."
"Not devastated enough to confess or to accept his punishment."
"There was no punishment because it was an accident. How many times do I have to say that?" Charlie leans forward in anger, "If you're looking for something that was missed Detective, you won't find it. That night was a series of tragic circumstances that led to the death of a good man, a close friend to the both of us."
"Rosetta doesn't seem too cut up about it; he has his freedom, his job, a beautiful fiancé and from what I understand, the admiration of this entire hick town. Yeah, it really sounds like he's suffering and as for you, I doubt you even waited until Const. Holden was cold before you jumped into his killer's bed. How long have you been in a relationship with a fellow officer Sergeant?"
"Angelo and I got together a few weeks after Jack's death," Charlie reluctantly admits.
"Wow, you never even waited until he was cleared of any wrongdoing before you were forgiving him and screwing him."
"I don't have to justify my relationship with you."
"I must say, I expected more from someone who was near the top of her class at the academy."
Charlie rocks back in her seat, trying to regain her composure while she fumes at the detective. "Do you have a problem with me Detective?"
"You're damn right I do. I can't stand cops like you, cops who think they've done nothing wrong and are entitled to wear that uniform."
"I haven't done anything wrong," Charlie says through gritted teeth, her anger growing with every second. "I'm so glad to see you've got such an open mind about this investigation Detective. Just be sure to keep your prejudice out of this investigation and if you continue with this slanderous line of questioning in regards to Jack's death, I will lodge an official complaint."
"Going to go running to daddy are we? Is he the one that got lover-boy off a murder charge? Tell me Sergeant, how can you sleep with him knowing he killed your friend and colleague and then lied about it?"
"I sleep very well. Angelo is a good man and despite what you think, he has paid dearly for Jack's death."
"And what about the other crimes he's been allowed to get away with?"
"What other crimes?"
"Six months ago, he accessed the private phone records of his last girlfriend, a Belle Jeffries; he then used this information to humiliate her in public."
"Belle lied about them having an affair; she was never his girlfriend," Charlie says, still upset that her former friend had lied about Angelo like that.
"So why did Angelo access her phone records and then call her a whore in front of everyone?"
"Aden was his friend and Roman was like a father figure to Aden so when Angelo thought Belle was having an affair with him, it distressed him."
"Except your fiancé got it all wrong; there was no affair between Belle Jeffries and Roman Harris. I guess in his jealousy, all he saw were a lot of phone calls between Mrs Jeffries and Mr Harris, when Mr Harris was offering nothing more than a shoulder to cry on; his wife Leah confirmed that."
"At the time Angelo didn't know that and it had nothing to do with his jealousy; Angelo has never cheated on me. Detective, I know Angelo was wrong to have accessed her records, but he was just trying to protect the memory of his friend."
"It was illegal and he should have been reprimanded."
"The sergeant at the time didn't feel the need to punish Angelo further; he believed Angelo had suffered enough because of Belle's lies."
"Lies? Did you see what he did to her when he attacked her in her own home, physically assaulting her? He punched his fist through a god damn wall!"
"That wasn't Angelo, even Belle admitted that and withdrew her accusation."
"Only after a visit from your fiancé in which he threatened to finish what he'd started."
"Angelo never went anywhere near her, not after all her lies."
"That's not what Mrs Jeffries said when she made her second statement."
"What? Belle never made another statement," Charlie says in confusion.
"She did, but the statement seems to have disappeared, but the officer who took it, Const. Moreland, noted it in his notebook."
"Well he never came to me with this information."
"Why would he, when he believed you'd just cover it up and were probably behind making the statement disappear."
"I would never do such a thing!"
"According to his notebook, Moreland believed you were actively covering for your fiancé's misdeeds."
"He was wrong. When was this statement supposedly made?"
"15 days after the initial attack. Her second allegation was when Moreland started to get suspicious of his fellow officers, especially when he saw that the statement had disappeared and it was strongly suggested by another officer that he drop it."
"What other officer?"
"You don't need to know that Sergeant; we wouldn't want that officer to meet with an accident, now would we?"
Charlie takes a deep breath, choosing to ignore the accusation. "Belle was a troubled young woman, her husband's death shook her up badly. It was devastating for her when Aden got drunk and drove his car into a tree."
"Were you aware that he was seen arguing with Const. Rosetta the day of his death and that in her second statement, Mrs Jeffries admitted that her affair with Rosetta started not long after her marriage and that only hours before his death, her husband had confronted her, that he had told her he had suspected her infidelity for months and that his so-called friend had bragged to him about it that morning and that's why they were arguing."
"It's all lies. Angelo was his friend and they'd argued a few times because he was the one who was trying to get Aden to accept help for his drinking."
"I guess we'll never know; Mr Jeffries is dead, Const. Moreland is dead, and Belle Jeffries is dead."
"What!" Charlie cries out in shock.
"Belle Jeffries body was discovered in her Sydney flat five days ago; she died of an apparent overdose of prescription pills."
"Look, I'm sorry that Belle is dead, but I'm not surprised that she took her own life; she was a mess after Aden's death and then when no one believed her lies, she left town with nothing."
"Her death is still an ongoing investigation; there was evidence that someone was there that day."
"It wasn't Angelo, if that's what you're thinking."
"No, he was on duty that day, so were you."
"Well, there you are."
"Moreland kept in contact with her, to let her know that he believed her. I just find it a bit of a coincidence that she died only days before Moreland did; looks a little like someone may have been tying up loose ends."
"Looks more like you're trying to blame every single crime on Angelo or me."
"You seem to have an answer for everything, don't you?"
"That's because I haven't done anything wrong and neither has Angelo, so why don't you do your job, get your head out of the past and go and find Trevor's killer."
"I'm looking at his killer right now, or at least the woman who knows who his killer is."
"I don't know anything about his death."
"You're lying Sergeant and if you're not, then you would have to be the biggest mug in the police force to have been duped so badly. The blind faith you have in your fiancé is laughable; he's a murderer, he's corrupt and he's a thug who gets off on bashing women."
"Angelo is none of those things Detective and you clearly have no proof to the contrary. I do find it curious Detective, that you waited until you had turned the recorder off before throwing around these wild accusations."
"I intend to prove every 'wild' accusation Sergeant. This place is a joke Sergeant, you have few arrests made for serious crimes and you have a serial rapist who you have no clue about..."
"There's been no rapes for over 8 months."
"Not because of anything you've done. You either haven't got a clue what is going on here Buckton or you just choose to look the other way."
"I'm not sitting here to listen to anymore of this bullshit." Charlie stands up, her chair sliding back with a loud screech as she leans on the table. "This is my station Detective and whatever you may think of me, I deserve the same respect due to every officer."
"You deserve nothing," the detective spits out, standing up and leaning toward her across the table. "I'm watching you Buckton and when you screw up, I'll be there, ready and waiting."
"You'll be waiting a long time, because I haven't don't anything."
"Get out of my sight Sergeant."
"With pleasure."
Charlie storms out of the interview room, closely followed by the detective. "Joey, what are you doing here?" Watson asks in shock.
"My job," she says, turning her back on Watson and heading back to the interview room.
"You know that bitch?" Charlie asks.
"I should; she's my little sister."
