A little earlier than expected and as promised, some answers are provided, but still plenty of twists and surprises to come.

"Hey Joey."

"I don't have to ask how it went with Dex," commenting on her friend's huge smile as she swans into her office.

"What can I say," Graves says as she sits down with her feet up on the desk, the familiar pose bringing a smile to Joey's face. "I love being married."

"You mean you love the fact that being married makes you feel less guilty about never leaving your bed."

"That too. Come on Joey, whenever you had the time together, I bet you barely saw sunlight after your wedding night."

"You're forgetting that we we're on a yacht for our honeymoon and with no one about, we saw more than enough sunlight up on deck."

"I hope you remembered sunblock," jokes Graves.

"Of course, nothing puts a dampener on your sex life than an all over sunburn." Tapping Graves feet with her ruler until she moves them, "You've been around me too long."

"There are worse people to pick up habits from."

"Yeah, best if you steer clear of all my bad habits though."

"Then there would be no habits to pick up," grinning in the face of Joey's glare.

"I'm not going to be able to wipe that stupid grin off your face, am I?"

Grinning even wider as she shakes her head.

"Well my little Cheshire Cat, you've come back at the right time, because I'm just off to interview a witness."

"oooo, goodie, a witness," rubbing her hands in glee.

Joey stares at her, shaking her head, "If this is how you're going to be every time I let you go home, I think I'll institute a no hubby rule and keep you here."

"Then you'd have to go home and pick up your own things." Graves tosses the bag she came in with onto the desk. "Oh, by the way, Brett arrived while I was picking up this up for you; he was less than impressed to see me there and he is more than a little pissed off with you."

"I know, he called earlier and then hung up when I didn't agree to his requests."

"Joey, you need to sort this out with him or get him out of your life for good," Graves warns her, suddenly becoming serious.

"You know it's not as simple as that."

"Why not?" At Joey's look, Graves shrugs, "Ok, so it's not that simple. Maybe you should just let Georgie loose on him, you know how much they dislike each other."

"There'd be nothing left of him once she was finished."

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing," Graves mutters.

Joey sits there for a few moments. "As soon as I can get home, Brett and I are going to have a nice little chat."

"Can I watch?" Graves asks hopefully.

"Sure, you can share the popcorn with Georgie, now let's just forget about Brett and go speak to this witness."

"Oh god Angelo...harder...Angeloooooooo," screaming out her climax as loud as she could, her cries urging Angelo on as he grips her hips tightly and continues to thrust into her, bringing her again before he joins her. Collapsing onto the bed, she struggles under Angelo's weight against her back before he rolls to her side. "Now I know why I put up with you Angelo, you really do know how to hit the spot," she sighs with pleasure as she rolls over onto her back.

"We've had more than enough practice."

"Oh, if Charlie only knew."

"She never will."

Relaxing as she looks around the room, "At least this place is better than the toilets."

"It's been sitting abandoned for a while now; I think it's been forgotten about."

"The location could come in handy for our business."

"There's a basement," Angelo informs her helpfully.

"Perfect, you've done well Angelo."

"So what's my reward," he leers at her. Pushing him onto his back, she climbs over him, "This is your reward."

Sitting in the kitchen at their witness's home, both Joey and Graves wish they were elsewhere.

"Are you sure she couldn't have left sometime after she came home?"

"I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but she doesn't close her blinds."

"I'm sorry?" Joey asks a little confused.

"Her bedroom and bathroom face my kitchen. Look," pointing to the window, Joey and Graves are afforded a clear view of the house across the road. "Anyway, that night she came home, stripped and showered, then she took her time drying her hair and then laid down on the bed. Probably waiting for her nightly session with Angelo," he sniggers, not aware of the change in demeanour of the women sitting opposite him. Having noticed the binoculars sitting near the box of tissues on windowsill, Joey and Graves cringe, thankful this peeping tom wasn't their neighbour. Finally realising that he may have said too much, he gets defensive. "Hey, I'm a guy; if she wants to flash her tits in the window, I'm not going to look the other way."

Biting down her caustic remark, Joey gives Graves a gentle kick under the table. "Right, well, thank you for coming forward with this information Mr. Bartlett," Graves says, reluctantly offering her hand to him as they stand up.

"I only wish I'd been able to contact you sooner, but I had left for my holiday early the next morning and had no idea what had happened to poor Trevor until I got home last night."

"Well thank you again, you've been a great help," Graves tries to subtly wipe her hand while Joey smirks at her discomfort.

"Always happy to help the police," he smiles at them, his eyes lingering just a little longer than necessary.

"Well, we really should be getting back to the station. Thanks again Mr Bartlett." Graves and Joey leave the house as quickly as possible, still feeling his gaze on them even when they get into the car.

"Quick Joey, hand me that hand sanitiser." Wiping her hands, she shoots Joey a furious glare. "Thanks for that Joey, I just love shaking hands with pervs."

"Would you have preferred that I said something to him?"

"God no, he'd be right on the phone with a complaint against you. 'Always happy to help the police', yeah, right, more likely he pervs on all the neighbours and calls the cops if they so much as let their dog shit on his lawn."

"Don't you just love conscientious neighbours like Mr Bartlett."

"Yeah well, he may be a perv, but he's just managed to clear one of our suspects," Graves moans in disappointment as they drive back to the station. The silence from the woman next to her immediately gets her attention. "Joey, why don't you seem that surprised?"

Joey shrugs as she keeps her eyes on the road, "It was to be expected."

"What!"

"I never really thought Buckton had anything to do in either death."

"What!" Graves repeats, wondering what the hell this has all been about then.

"Buckton's an honest cop, I never really doubted that, but she's got the blinkers on, especially where Rosetta is concerned."

"So what, you've been a complete bitch to her just to get her to open her eyes?"

"If we're to stop what is going on here, we need Buckton to take the blinkers off, because as long as she has them on, she's going to be nothing but a road block." Joey takes her eyes of the road briefly to regard her friend. "She's convinced that hubby-to-be is this amazing guy and that nothing is going on at this station, but the seeds of doubt have been sown and they're starting to show."

"Just because she may be having doubts, that doesn't mean she will ever help us bring him down. She loves him Joey, she's not going to just turn her back on him."

"Have you noticed the tension that is sometimes between them lately?"

"A little."

"Divide and conquer Graves."

"You're playing a dangerous game Joey," she warns her.

"I know, and while I don't expect her to turn on the bastard, her doubts may be enough to distract her and stop her interfering all the time. And pretty soon, Rosetta's going to start to pick up on her doubts and we both know he's likely to blame me."

"Jesus Joey, if Rosetta doesn't kill you, Buckton will if she ever finds out that you've been manipulating her this entire time."

"Graves, this place is a mess, and I know you thought I was being hard on her before by holding her responsible, but she shouldn't be in charge if she's not willing to see what is right in front of her."

"And if at the end of the investigation, she still has them on, you'll force her out?"

"I'll recommend that she steps aside as senior officer, but I have a feeling if it comes to that, Buckton will step aside on her own."

Graves shakes her head in amusement, "Just remember to duck when she finally comes after you."

"I'm kind of hoping she will."

Graves looks at her in surprise, "You actually like her, don't you?"

Joey grins cheekily at her, "I have to admit that I enjoy our little encounters, especially the way her eyes go all frosty when she glares at me like she wants to kill me."

"Hate to break it to you Joey, but she probably does want to kill you. I mean , Jesus Joey, you've been an absolute bitch to her, criticising her, trying to drag her down, and being completely disrespectful to her the entire time we've been here. Shit, if I was her, I'd have killed you days ago."

"I treat her like I do everyone else."

Graves gives up when Joey grins at her. "Joey, do you want to tell Buckton she's in the clear for Moreland's murder or will I?"

"I'll do it."

"Then do me a favour, and remember to tone down the attitude some, you're supposed to be working together to catch this sicko that's out there." Graves shudders in her seat, still appalled after Joey had filled her in on the specifics of the rape and murder.

Lying in bed a short time later, she glances at Angelo, "Shouldn't you be getting back to work?"

"I want to talk about Hugo first."

"I heard about your little love-fest the other day," she snickers.

"Don't call it that."

"Oh please, why don't the two of you just fuck and get it over with so we can all work together without the constant hassles of you two arguing over who has the biggest dick."

Angelo raises his hand as if to strike her, "Go on Angelo, I dare you," she taunts him.

"Fuck," dropping his hand, he glares at her, "If that fag lays so much as one finger on me, I'll fucking kill him."

"Relax Angelo, unlike you, he's actually faithful to his partner; besides, he wouldn't fuck you if you were the last man on earth."

"Why can't we just get rid of him?" He asks with a slight whine to his voice.

"We still need his boat and his contacts, so for the moment, he's useful."

"I still don't like it," he sulks.

"It's not up to you Angelo and from now on, I don't want you fighting with him in public; we can't afford the attention."

"He's the one who's always starting it."

"Oh, for god's sake Angelo, grow up."

"He's such a prick, always having a go at me for shooting his precious cousin, calling me a murderer. I mean, why is he even working for us if he has such a problem with me killing Jack?"

"Hugo's love for money outweighs any family loyalty and as for you, Hugo calls you a murderer because he knows it pisses you off and Angelo, you are a murderer; you did kill my husband after all."

"Only because you wanted him dead Martha."

Martha offers a sad little smile, "It was such a shame that Jack had to die, he was so useful to have around, but he was weak, not to mention stupid, blabbing about how he was suspicious of you."

"Well, he's dead and buried now."

"And I, the poor widow, have forgiven you for his accidental shooting and so has everyone else."

"I wasn't so sure what would happen when you told me to kill him."

"It could have been a problem it you weren't accepted back, but I told you everything would work out and you got what you wanted; Charlie."

"If I'd known all it would take to get Charlie into bed was to shed a few tears and act all devastated after killing Jack, I'd have done it a lot earlier. I still remember our first time," Angelo says dreamily. "She was offering me comfort because everyone was giving me the cold shoulder and the next thing I knew, I was doing her in the loos at work. God it was good; she'd obliviously gone without for a while and was desperate for it, but man was she hot when she came." Angelo can almost feel the sensations of that day as he tells Martha about it. "She actually tried to apologise for losing control and taking advantage of me in my depressed state; it was so easy to use that to guilt her into sleeping with me again. After that, she was mine."

"It certainly was a masterstroke using her to get back into everyone else's good graces. If the stuck-up, straight as an arrow Charlie was happy to fuck you so soon after killing Jack, obviously you weren't so bad after all and worthy of a second chance."

"Martha, you know that's not the only reason I'm with Charlie. I've always wanted her and soon, she's going to me my wife and mother to my children."

"Don't you actually have to fuck her to get her pregnant?" Taking delight in reminding him of Charlie's recent reluctance towards sex.

"I'll have you know Martha, things are getting back to normal between us."

"You deserve a reward for putting up with her."

"You've just never been in love."

"You don't love her Angelo, you think you own her; there's a difference."

"She's mine, body and soul and despite what you think, I do love her."

"Oh obviously, every time you're fucking me or some other woman, you're demonstrating your love for her."

"You don't understand Martha."

"Sure I do; you're a slut who can't get enough."

"Being a slut is something you'd know a lot about," he accuses her.

"The difference Angelo, is that I've never denied who I am; the whole town knows I'm the town bike and I suppose that's one thing I've missed since Jack died, being with him actually made me respectable."

"Only because you were forced to sleep with your boyfriends in secret."

"And girlfriends, don't forget them."

"Why do you have to keep reminding me of that?" he asks disgustedly.

"Because I know how it disgusts you, even though you get off when you watch me with another woman."

"I should be getting back to work."

"Hang on, what about this detective, is she still causing trouble?"

"She's got nothing but a bad attitude. Martha, she has no way to prove I killed Moreland, because I didn't."

"No, I did, but you were with me that night Angelo, that's felony murder for you."

"We're in this together Martha, just remember that."

"You don't have to remind me Angelo; if we're ever caught, neither of us are ever getting out of jail. I just wish I knew before I offed that stupid prick about that damn notebook of his," she mutters. "Do you have any idea what's in it?"

"No."

"Well, it's obviously not enough for them to make any arrests, so I guess we keep going as we have been."

"And if she becomes a problem, we'll handle her like the others."

Martha smiles at his obvious pleasure at the thought of killing Collins. "You really get off on this don't you?"

"So do you," he leans over her, "that's why we're so good together."

"Angelo," Martha pushes him off her, "Get back to work before someone reports you as missing."

"You really are incapable of feeling anything, aren't you?"

"Not for you, that's for sure."

Angelo climbs off the bed and starts putting his uniform back on, "Is it still on?"

"The rendezvous is set, all we have to do is wait until then and then we make the deal."

Returning to the station, Joey and Graves stop as soon as they walk inside, both recognising the woman standing there.

"Somebody's in trouble," Graves sings softly in Joey's ear.

"That's it Graves, no more visits with Dex until this case is over," she whispers back at her.

"Det. Sgt. Collins, it's about time you got back."

"I was interviewing a witness Judge Bellingham."

"A word, Detective, in your office," Morag heads to the office without even waiting for Joey to agree.

Joey and Graves look at each, Joey grinning like a guilty schoolgirl. "Fun, a visit to the Principal's office."

"Just remember Joey, the last time you pissed off Bellingham, she nearly locked you up for contempt of court."

"She was wrong."

"Telling the sitting judge that her interpretation of the law was wrong in the middle of a major murder case, isn't the smartest thing to do, even if she was wrong."

"She was, even she was forced to admit that."

"Bellingham is not someone you want as an enemy; remember who her husband is?"

"Daddy Buckton, Inspector extraordinaire, the man with the golden bullshit. The man who loves to destroy careers and throw his weight around just because he can."

"Detective, I don't have all day," Morag glares at them from across the room.

"Best not keep the dragon waiting."

"Shhhh, Joey, not so loud," Graves warns her.

"Too late, judging from the fire coming out of her ears, she heard," Joey says, just as loudly.

"You really do have a death wish," Graves mutters as Joey strides confidently into her office.

Hearing the raised voices from outside, Charlie rushes into the station, "What the hell is going on?" Charlie demands, stopping short when she sees her father grinning. "Dad?"

"That Charlie, is the sound of this investigation coming to an end," he smiles smugly at her.

"Dad, what have you done?" Charlie asks worriedly.

"Angelo called, said that you were having trouble with some detective. Seems that Morag has experience dealing with this particular detective in court and was only too happy to have a word with her."

"Dad, you can't do this."

"What's the point of being an Inspector if I can't drag wayward detectives into line," he says as if it's perfectly acceptable to push people around.

"You're only here because having me as a suspect in a murder makes you look bad."

"Charlie, enough, we'll talk later," his tone indicating that was the end of it.

"I'm going to put a stop to this." Ignoring her father's furious glare, Charlie heads toward Joey's office just as the shouting stops.