Joey looks up from her desk as Graves enters, "Sorry Joey, the report came back on the police launch; looks like a normal problem."
"Graves, it's too convenient and Rosetta was there before us."
"He was assigned to the police launch for a while, so he knows his way around it." She shrugs, "It wouldn't be that hard for him to sabotage it and make it look normal. The reports also back on the Maru. The engine was faulty and it looks like the fumes reached the girls. Seven girls in that small compartment, they never stood a chance once the fumes got in," Graves says sadly. "What do you think happened out there?"
"If the M.E. confirms carbon monoxide poisoning, then at a guess, I'd say that whoever went to make the pickup didn't react well to finding the girls dead and punished the crew."
"Do you think it was Rosetta and Martha?"
"I doubt that Martha would let anyone else oversee the delivery, but Rosetta was covering O'Malley's shift and there's witnesses who place him in his squad car patrolling."
"There's a but, isn't there?"
"A call came in just before 11pm and Hogan wasn't able to reach Rosetta. Hogan asked him the next day and Rosetta said he'd pulled over for a power nap and hadn't heard the radio."
"Fuck, then he was out on that boat, wasn't he?"
"Most likely. He must have ducked out for a couple of hours, helped kill the crew, tossed their bodies overboard and then went back on duty. He certainly didn't seem that upset or surprised the next day when the girls bodies were being loaded into the ambulance."
"Callous bastard. You know, his report from interviewing the dock workers was so vague I doubt he asked more than a couple of questions and I don't think he even bothered to investigate the crew of The Maru."
"There's one way to find out," Joey says, standing up and heading to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to ask for his report," grinning, "He should be back from cleaning his uniform by now."
"Cleaning his uniform?" Graves asks in confusion.
Joey chuckles at the memory, "I didn't see what happened, but he ended up wearing a couple of plates of lasagne."
"I'm still missing something," Graves mutters as she follows after Joey.
Joey walks over to the desk, standing there while Angelo pointedly ignores her. "Constable, do you have that information on the Maru?"
"What information?"
"You were supposed to find out about the Maru."
"That's none of your business."
"Excuse me?"
Angelo smirks at her, "I said it's none of your business, it's not even your case so you can go and fuck yourself."
"This isn't a pissing contest Constable, we're all cops here and we all want to get the sick cowards who did this to those poor girls," enjoying the way Angelo squirmed under her stare. "You want that too, don't you?"
"You fucking bitch."
"Angelo, that's enough!" Having heard the raised voices, Charlie is shocked at his insubordination.
"Sorry Charlie, but this is not her case."
"We all want the same thing Angelo, now, do you have the information Joey requested?" her use of her first name making Angelo's nostrils flare. With great reluctance, Angelo hands the folder to Joey.
Joey scans through the information, reading aloud. "The Maru was owned by the Thompson brothers, Max and Frank, and Frank's girlfriend, Noelle Carter." Joey holds the folder up in front of his face, "This is all you have?"
"Yes, Detective, that's all."
"Constable, you've had nearly a day and all you've come up with are a couple of names."
"What did you expect?"
"Well gee Constable, how about where the boat came from, what ports they've moored at, you know, anything that may be able to help us identify where these poor girls came from."
"It's a waste of time."
"Doing your job is a waste of time?"
"I didn't mean that."
"How long has the boat been adrift?"
"I don't know," Angelo replies sullenly.
"Didn't you check when they last had radio contact?"
"No."
"What about their phone records?"
"What about them?"
Charlie groans silently at Angelo's surly attitude.
"Constable, have you actually done anything besides sit on your lazy arse?"
"I don't have to listen this."
"Yes you do. I'm still senior to you Constable and you've been deliberately obstructive..."
"I haven't done anything wrong and I'm only obstructive because of you, you fucking useless bitch."
"ANGELO!" Charlie bellows, "My office, now." Like a brooding schoolboy, Angelo sulks to her office. "Detective," using Joey's title to show her displeasure at her also, "You too."
"Charlie," Angelo starts as soon as she's closed the door.
"Not one word Angelo," her tone making him shut up. "That was completely unprofessional and insubordinate Angelo."
"Your attitude is going to cost you your job eventually," Joey adds.
"Joey, shut up." Surprised by Charlie's anger, Joey stays quiet.
Caught in a difficult situation, Charlie does the only thing available to her; her job. "Angelo, go home, I'm suspending you for the rest of the day"
"What!"
"Your behaviour today has been reprehensible and as it isn't the first time I've warned you about it, I can't overlook it. I want you to go home and think long and hard about the type of behaviour that is expected from a police officer."
"Charlie, please."
"Go home before you make an even bigger fool of yourself, that's an order Constable."
Fuming, Angelo storms past Joey, bumping her roughly out of the way on his way to the door. Grabbing her shoulder, Joey glares at his retreating back. "You did the right thing Charlie."
"Shut up Joey. You deliberately bait him every chance you get."
"A trained police officer should be able to handle it Charlie and all I was asking for was the information which he should already have had available."
Charlie sighs, sitting on her desk in front of Joey. "I'm sorry, it's just that those girls are around Ruby's age and all I could hear was you and Angelo arguing."
"That wasn't my intention. I was just disappointed in his lack of effort," challenging Charlie to disagree. "Charlie, how would you honestly rate him as a cop?"
"That's not fair Joey."
"Yes it is. You're not his fiancé at work Charlie, you're his Sergeant; you should be able to answer." When Charlie doesn't answer, Joey continues, "His work on this case has been sloppy and his disinterest obvious."
"Hopefully with the suspension, he'll realise he has to get his act together."
"Do you think that's likely?"
Charlie shakes her head, "He's usually not like this and I know that's no excuse, it's just..." Charlie shrugs, at a loss to explain his behaviour.
"Are you ok?" Joey asks in concern.
"There's just so much going on at the moment."
"When did you last have time off?"
"It's been awhile," Charlie admits.
"Take a day off Charlie."
"I can't, not while there is a vicious rapist out there and someone is dealing in young girls."
"The autopsies aren't likely to be in until tomorrow or the next day, so at least take the rest of the afternoon off."
"I just sent Angelo home and I somehow doubt it'll be very relaxing going home."
"Go for a walk or see a movie, just get away from here Charlie."
"I could take my yacht out I suppose."
"That sounds like a good idea."
"I offered to take you out on it one day, so why don't you join me?" Charlie asks without thinking.
Joey sighs regretfully. "I'd love to, but I'm heading back to the city to see my daughter." Charlie can't hide her disappointment. "I'll take a raincheck."
"You're on," Charlie says happily. "Have fun with your daughter."
"I will." Joey heads to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow Charlie."
"Bye." Charlie rubs her temples, "I can't believe I just sent my fiancé home and invited her out with me. Get a grip Charlie, she's married and she's probably going to be having sex with her husband while she's there," the thought hurting more than she cared to admit. Gathering her gear together, Charlie asks Watson to cover for her, before heading to where her yacht was moored, hoping her time out on the water would allow her to sort out the mess in her head.
Having been unable to resolve her confusion while she was out sailing, Charlie reluctantly heads back home, still furious with Angelo for his behaviour. "What the hell was it about Angelo?" Charlie demands as soon as she's through the door.
"I just don't like working with her," Angelo replies, annoyed that Charlie hadn't even greeted him or apologised for humiliating him at work.
"That's no excuse for sloppy work. You made a fool of yourself and then you were insubordinate in front of everyone."
"It's her fault Charlie, she makes me so mad that I can't think straight."
"Angelo, you're a police officer, you're supposed to be able to deal with people in a calm and respectful manner at all times. Granted, Joey certainly tries anyone's patience and I'm guilty myself of losing it with her, but Angelo, every time you act like that in front of her, it just makes her more determined to prove your guilt."
"Don't you see what she's trying to do Charlie?" He appeals to her, "She's trying to split us apart, keep us unbalanced so she can trap me."
"You have nothing to worry about Angelo, you're an innocent man."
"She doesn't like me Charlie, do you really think she cares if I'm innocent or not?" He complains.
"I hardly think Joey's going to arrest you for a crime you didn't commit just because she doesn't like you. Once she realises there's no evidence of your involvement, she'll move on."
"She's not even looking for other suspects."
"Angelo, we have no way of knowing if she has other suspects or not because we're out of the loop. I know it's not easy, but you just have to hold your nerve and don't let her get to you."
"That's easier said than done Charlie, she's always picking on me."
"And you always respond. Ignore her Angelo and just go about your job."
"I'll try Charlie."
"Now that we've got that sorted, perhaps you could tell me why you were spying on me at the diner."
Angelo curses to himself, having hoped that she'd forgotten about that. Putting on his most concerned face, with feigned reluctance, Angelo admits that he wasn't spying on her, but he was keeping an eye on Ruby.
"Why would you do that when she was with me?"
"Because if you got called away for any reason, she'd be all alone with her."
"You mean with Joey?" she asks, confused about what Angelo was on about.
"There's something off with that woman and you shouldn't let Ruby spend so much time with her."
"They're friends."
"Charlie, I think Ruby has a crush on her."
"Don't be ridiculous. Joey saved Ruby from being raped and she's been there when Ruby's needed someone to talk to, that's all."
"Ruby has us to talk to."
"It's sometimes easier to talk to other people."
"I still don't think it's right for a woman to spend so much time with a teenage girl she barely knows. I just get this bad vibe off her."
"Bad vibe?"
"That she's one of them."
"Them?" Charlie asks in confusion.
"Like her sister."
Charlie feels herself growing more exasperated, "What the hell do you mean, like her sister?"
"She's a dyke."
Charlie stares at him in disbelief before laughing. "Georgina is not gay and in case you've forgotten, Joey is a married woman," stopping herself before mentioning Joey's daughter while Angelo has to stop himself from blurting out that she had already fucked Martha. "So they're hiding what they are for the sake of their careers. We both know dykes aren't welcome in the force."
"I know no such thing Angelo. The Force doesn't discriminate," Charlie says, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with this topic.
"Well it should. We don't want those types here, even your father agrees."
"Angelo, enough, they're not gay and even if they were, there's nothing wrong with being gay."
"It's unnatural Charlie," his voice echoing his disgust.
"Stop it Angelo, I won't have you talking like this about anyone, least of all two of our fellow officers who I consider my friends."
"Since when is she your friend?" Angelo asks, thinking back to how chummy they appeared to be at the diner.
"Maybe friend isn't the right word, but that's beside the point, I won't have you discriminating against anyone."
"Charlie, you don't know this woman, how can you be sure she's not going to take advantage of Ruby, you know how gullible she is."
"Ruby isn't gullible and whatever you or I think about Joey, she is not a child molester."
"You don't know that Charlie, I mean look at the way she's always got her hands all over Ruby."
"Ruby's been hugging her, just like she has me because she's scared and vulnerable. Angelo, I won't hear anymore talk of this and I better not hear one whisper of this outside these walls, is that clear?"
"Fine, she's your daughter, if you don't care that she could be in danger, why should I care."
"Oh for fuck's sake Angelo, grow up," she blurts out in frustration. "I'm sick and tired of you sulking whenever I don't agree with you or things don't go your way."
"I don't sulk," Angelo grits out through clenched teeth.
"You get all snappy whenever I don't have sex with you, you make stupid or vindictive comments whenever someone doesn't do what you want them to do."
"That's because I've had it up to here Charlie," Angelo holds his hand above his shoulder. "I've tried to be supportive and as much as it annoys the fucking hell out of me, I've even tried to understand why you've become such a fucking frigid bitch lately."
"I'm not frigid, I just don't want to have sex with you," Charlie blurts out before she realises.
Keeping a check on his anger, Angelo takes a deep breath, "What's happened Charlie, you used to love having sex all the time but now all of a sudden, what, I'm not good enough for you or something?"
"It's not you Angelo," Charlie assures him, unwilling to reveal the real reason. "I don't know what's wrong with me, I just can't enjoy sex at the moment."
"Look, I'm sorry for snapping like that, but this hasn't exactly been an easy time for me either."
"I realise that."
"How about we just forget about this for tonight and just have a nice quiet night in front of the telly?"
"I'd like that," grateful he didn't ask for more as she goes and changes out of her uniform.
Two days later, unable to deal with the conflict within her and with Angelo's words about lesbians in the Force playing over and over in her mind, along with her guilt for having feelings for a married woman, one with a child no less, Charlie avoids Joey as much as possible. Hating the confusion in Joey's eyes every time she made up an excuse to avoid spending time with her, Charlie keeps reminding herself that she was doing the right thing by all involved, while making a conscious effort to get her relationship with Angelo back on track, even going so far as having sex with him last night. Sighing now at how disappointed she was about last night, not just for giving in, but also because she hadn't enjoyed it one bit, faking an orgasm just to get it over with. Of course, he'd enjoyed all 5 minutes of it and had been smirking all morning, barely able to keep his hands off her and no doubt will be expecting even more from her now, much to her displeasure. And here she was sitting in her office, trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing and feeling absolutely miserable about it. Sighing at the mess she'd gotten herself into and knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Charlie picks up the autopsy reports and heads to Joey's office.
"The M.E. confirmed carbon monoxide poisoning and he's placed their ages between 11 and 15. There was no sign of rape, in fact, all the girls were virgins."
"That's something I suppose," Joey says sadly. "Did the M.E. give a time of death?"
"The girls had been dead for about 16 hours before we found them, the last radio contact with the Maru was about 10 hours before the report came in and there weren't any phone calls from any of the crew since they went out to sea two weeks ago, so if they made any calls, they must have been using pre-paid mobiles."
"So the crew could have been killed anytime after the last radio contact." Joey tosses her pen away in frustration. "As far as their log book showed, the Maru had never left Australian waters."
"Those girls were hardly local, but I suppose it's possible that the Maru picked them up from another boat further out at sea."
"It's possible. The girls are most likely from Europe but so far we've had no luck in identifying them and they don't match any missing persons reports. Interpol's said that there's been an increase in human trafficking, especially of young orphan girls, so unless someone has noticed them missing, we're unlikely to ever know who they were."
"Those poor girls never had a chance."
Joey reaches out to put her hand on her arm in comfort, only for Charlie to snatch her arm away, her rejection cutting deep. "Charlie, have I done something wrong?" Pleased her voice was steady.
"Of course not," Charlie hurriedly assures her.
"Then why have you been avoiding me?"
"I haven't been avoiding you Joey, I've just been busy."
"Are you busy now, I thought we could go have some lunch."
"I'm having lunch with my fiancé," she lies.
"Right."
"You don't have to sound so snide about it," feeling defensive all of a sudden. "I know how you feel about him but I happen to love him."
"I didn't say anything."
"That makes a change, you're usually belittling him every chance you get."
Joey shakes her head in frustration, "He does that all on his own."
"So tell me Joey, how is the investigation into Trevor's murder going, have you managed to find even one shred of proof against Angelo yet?" she asks condescendingly.
"I will find the proof I need," Joey says, more confused than ever by Charlie's behaviour.
"No you won't, because there is no proof. This isn't working Joey, I think it's a lost cause us trying to get along outside of work," her own words stabbing into her heart, along with the sudden chill in Joey's eyes.
"Maybe you're right, as long as you're convinced Rosetta is a saint, there's little point to us even talking about anything not related to one of the cases."
"So you're saying we can only ever be friends on your terms."
"You're the one setting the terms Charlie, you're the one who's been avoiding me," her voice growing colder with every word.
"You hate my fiancé, he hates you; we were just kidding ourselves that this was ever going to work out and while we're talking about this, I don't think you should be spending so much time with Ruby."
"That's up to Ruby, she's the one who seeks me out."
"Well I'm asking you to discourage it. With everything that's been going on, she's falling behind at school and she needs to be studying more to catch up."
"Fine, then if you're finished here, you can the hell out of my office."
Charlie stands up, "I'd still like us to be friends at work."
"Just get out," too confused and hurt by her sudden rejection to listen any more. Charlie leaves her office, knowing she had gone too far in her attempt to distance herself and had only succeeding in hurting them both.
The following day, drained from having to deal with Joey's coldness towards her, Charlie comes home to find a dejected Ruby sitting at her study desk, staring blankly at her homework.
"Ruby, what's wrong."
"Joey said that she was too busy to talk and told me leave."
Feeling guilty for Joey's actions, Charlie tries to explain to Ruby that Joey was a busy woman.
"She always made time before but she made it pretty clear that she was probably going to be too busy to give me any time at all," Ruby says unhappily. "I don't understand mum, she told me I could talk to her whenever I needed to."
"Maybe she just needs a bit of space," hating to lie to her daughter, but knowing how disappointed Ruby would be with her if she knew the truth. "If you need to talk, Angelo and I are here for you."
"Why would I ever want to talk to Angelo?" Ruby asks nastily. "When he couldn't give a stuff about me."
"Don't be silly Ruby. Angelo's made every effort to be there for you, but you've never really given him a chance."
"I did at first but he barely even acknowledges that I exist unless you're in the room and he has to look interested."
"Ruby, where is this coming from?" Ruby looks away, making Charlie sigh. "Ruby, are you blaming Angelo because Robbo was his friend."
"No."
"When Angelo is cleared and Robbo and this rapist are behind bars, the three of us are going away before the wedding."
"What's that supposed to achieve?"
"It'll give us a chance to bond as a family."
"Mum, if we haven't bonded as a family after all this time, a few days away isn't going to help. He resents me mum."
"Of course he doesn't."
"He does, he hates that I take your attention away from him."
Charlie wants to refute it, only to realise that Ruby was partly right; there were times when Angelo did act jealous when she chose to spend time with Ruby and not him.
"I don't want you to marry him."
"Ruby please."
"No mum, I hate him, I always have, I wish you had never met him," Ruby screams out as she rushes from the house.
"Ruby!" Charlie chases after her, only to lose sight of her when she crashes into a jogger and ends up in a heap on the ground.
Feeling as if everything was spinning out of control, Charlie searches frantically for her daughter when she doesn't return, her panic growing with every minute as she worries that Robbo may get her. Driving around for over an hour, Charlie brings her car to a screeching halt when she sees Ruby in the arms of Joey. With her emotions all over the place with Ruby's disappearance, Angelo's words playing on her mind and the image of those poor dead girls who were no doubt destined to be sex slaves, Charlie loses all sense of rational thought as she runs over to them. "Get the hell away from my daughter," Charlie demands, shoving Joey so hard that she loses her balance and falls to the ground.
"What the hell," Joey says furiously, getting to her feet quickly to confront Charlie.
"Mum!" Ruby cries out shocked by her mother's behaviour.
"Keep your hands off my daughter," Charlie advances threateningly toward her.
"Mum, stop it."
"I've been looking everywhere for you Ruby, I should have known you'd be with her." Charlie glares at her, "Always with your hands on my daughter."
Joey stares at her in shock when she realises what Charlie was saying. "You think I'm abusing Ruby?" she asks in disbelief and hurt.
"Every time Ruby is with you, you always find a way to have her in your arms."
"You know what Sergeant, you can go and fuck yourself," Joey spits out, storming away.
"Joey, wait she didn't mean it," Ruby tries to follow after her but her mother grabs her arm. "Why did you say that mum, she would never hurt me."
"You barely know her Ruby and I don't want you around her anymore."
"You can't be serious?"
"Ruby, you've been spending too much time with her."
"She's my friend."
"She's a grown woman Ruby, you should have friends your own age."
"I was nearly raped mum, how are my friends supposed to help me with that when they spend most of their time talking about the latest fashions or boys. Joey understood, she saved me mum and this is how you repay her?" Ruby says tearfully.
"You're in a vulnerable state right now."
"Do you think after what Robbo did, I'd ever let anyone touch me and not fight back."
"Ruby, I've been frantic since you ran away and when I find you, you're in her arms."
"Because I was upset. She had only just found me and talked me into going home before you came barging in and accused her." Ruby glares at her angrily. "I'm the one who hugs her, mum, she just hugs me back."
"Oh god," Charlie feels sickened as what she'd just done finally sinks in. "I'm so sorry Ruby, I'd just worked myself into such a state, I wasn't thinking."
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to."
Charlie looks in the direction that Joey had taken off in, whatever they had left of their fledgling friendship surely destroyed forever now, all because of her insecurities.
Thanks for all of the reviews, next chapter, more of Joey's past is revealed