Chapter One Hundred and Thirty

Hugo stormed across the beach in a bad mood. Martha had come home and told him about the hard time she'd given Angelo. She looked like she'd expected him to be pleased but he was furious. The last thing he needed to do was anger the police, even that numbskull. And he suspected that her anger with Angelo was more about Jack's death than the threats against himself. And that made him feel insecure.


Grumbling a little about still being hungry, and nervous about what Robertson might want to tell them, Charlie and Joey followed the Detective to the police station. Arriving, Charlie felt sad to walk through the foyer and know that she wasn't working for them and potentially, she might not be allowed to work for them ever again. The idea of being found guilty scared the life out of her. And the thought of something happening to Joey terrified her even more. Robertson led them into and interview room and shut the door.

"Don't look so scared," he said. "You're not in trouble. Well, not any more trouble than you already are."

Charlie glared at him and sat down, holding Joey's hand tightly.

"I want you to tell me about Angelo Rosetta."

Joey pulled a face and decided to let Charlie take the lead.

"What do you want me to say about him?" Charlie asked.

"How well do you know him?"

"Well, he's a friend," Charlie ventured. "We met around July last year. Worked together. We were good friends. We had a fling."

She looked down. Joey squeezed her hand to remind her that everyone had a past and it was okay.

"Then everything with Jack happened," Charlie said. "I led the investigation. He got out of jail. I don't exactly know how. And... well, we've mostly been friends since then. Mostly."

"You've had problems with him?" Robertson asked.

"Uh..."

Charlie glanced at Joey who decided to speak up.

"Angelo is in love with Charlie," she said. "He always has been."

Robertson nodded and admitted that he had thought as much.

"What have you brought us here for?"

Robertson pulled enlarged photographs out of a file. He put them in front of them and they looked at them, puzzled. The shot was of Angelo looked in through a window at night.

"What is this?" Charlie asked.

"It's outside..." Robertson began.

"Our room," Joey realised.

Robertson nodded and sat down.

"I took these over two nights," he explained. "It looks like he's been spying on you."

"What the hell...?" Joey said, looking disgusted. "I told you he was a piece of shit."

"Why would he do this?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know but he was pretty aggressive when he got caught," Robertson said. "I just thought it was only right that you knew. It's got nothing to do with the investigation and I'm not really being a Detective here. I'm just trying to do the right thing. If you trust him, if you care about him... well, I think you ought to know what kind of person he is."

"Thank you," Joey said quietly.

Charlie echoed her words. He nodded and told them they could keep the photos if they wanted to.


Angelo headed to the beach to try and clear his head. Martha had had a go at him and he was fairly certain that right at this very moment, Robertson was telling Charlie and Joey all about his night time antics. Sinking onto the sand, he looked out at sea. The last thing he needed was for this to explode in his face. If he messed up one more time, the chances were that he would be kicked off the case. And if that happened, the best he could hope was that he would just be kicked off the force. At the worst, he would be sent right back to jail. Sighing, he spotted Hugo walking along the sand looking equally as stressed out. Angelo glared at him, wishing that he could get inside his head for a moment and find out once and for all whether he really was involved in the human trafficking scheme.


"What do you think he was doing at our house?" Charlie asked.

She was still looking at the photographs and becoming more and more uncomfortable as she continued to clutch Joey's hand.

"I honestly don't know," Robertson replied. "All I can tell you is that the first night I found him, he went off to the city and hooked up with a prostitute."

"That doesn't really need to be connected to..." Charlie began.

"Charlie, he was perving on you," Joey said as kindly as she could.

"Well um... both nights that he was watching you, you were..."

He blushed a little. The girls blushed more.

"He was watching us... have sex?" Joey asked, whispering the last word like she was a naughty school girl.

Robertson nodded. All three of them were embarrassed.

"He watched us make love and then he went off to a hooker?" Charlie asked, needing to clarify.

"That's about the size of it," Robertson confirmed.


When Hugo returned home, Martha was in a good mood. It surprised him considering the way he had flounced out there earlier. The first thing she'd done was kiss him and apologise for interfering. Then she'd admitted to interfering again by turning down an offer to buy the boat.

"Martha!" he exclaimed. "I told you that I wanted to sell it. I..."

"I don't think you need to," Martha said.

"What do you mean?"

"John can get away with this stuff because he's on the council," she said, sitting him down on the couch. "But what if I ran in competition with him? If we could lose him his seat then he wouldn't have a leg to stand on about the boat, would he?"

Hugo's eyes widened in horror. The last thing he needed was for more attention to be drawn to him. Things were getting difficult enough as it was. He didn't need it to get worse.

"Martha, I really don't think that's a good idea," he objected.

Her face fell.

"Don't you think I can do it?" she asked worriedly.

"What? No! Of course I think you can. I just..."

He sighed and sank onto the couch.

"Politics is a murky business," he said. "All sorts of things from our pasts can be brought up. From my past. There are things you don't know about me."

"I think I can handle it," Martha said with a grin.


Charlie and Joey left the police station, confused and armed with photos of Angelo spying on them. They were just grateful that they weren't in any of the shots themselves.

"I am so embarrassed," Charlie admitted.

She drove towards the Diner to finally get the food they'd originally planned on eating before they'd been interrupted. However, this time they were planning on getting a takeaway and heading home to talk in private.

"I'm more angry than embarrassed," Joey said.

Charlie offered her a sly smile.

"I told you he was a bastard," Joey added sourly.

"Well, maybe we should give him a chance to explain," Charlie said unhappily.

She still wanted to believe in Angelo, even with the odds pitted against him.

"He watched us in bed!" Joey squeaked. "Twice! At least!"

"I know..."

"I mean, I know us making love is pretty damn hot but still... we don't need an audience."

They finally laughed. Joey reached out and squeezed Charlie's hand before they pulled up outside the Diner.

"Are you coming in or waiting out here?" Charlie asked.

"I'll wait," Joey said, flicking the radio on.

Charlie nodded, kissed her and headed into the Diner. Joey sat back in the passenger seat and looked out over the beach. She pulled a face when she spotted Angelo wandering across the sand looking very sorry for himself. She forced herself to resist the urge to get out of the car and confront him. However they handled this, she knew she and Charlie had to handle it together. She didn't want to charge ahead without her.


Inside the Diner, Charlie waited for the staff to prepare hers and Joey's orders. Spotting Miles looking utterly miserable on a corner sofa, she decided to approach.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he admitted.

Charlie came to sit beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"I proposed to Kirsty," he said.

Charlie was confused and admitted as much.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

She tried not to smile in his time of need but she couldn't help imagining proposing to Joey one day. She was determined that it would be the most romantic moment anyone had ever thought of and that no expense would be spared on giving her partner the wedding of her dreams. But still, that would be a while away yet. They had only been together seven months and as much as she loved Joey and was invested in a future with her, she didn't want to rush things.

"It would be if she'd have said yes," Miles said.

Charlie silently chastised herself for getting carried away with her own excitement.

"I mean, what with the baby on the way and everything, I just thought... well, you know... I thought it was the perfect time."

"I'm sorry, Miles," Charlie said gently.
"She didn't exactly say no," he said, trying to sound more cheerful. "But she isn't sure at all."

Charlie put her arm around him.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

"You can kiss me again!" he joked.

Charlie laughed and slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Somehow, I don't think either of our girlfriends would be happy with that," she grinned.

He laughed and nodded.

"Is everything going well for you and Joey?" he asked. "I mean, I know there's a lot of crap going on for you but... things are at least good with you and her?"

Charlie smiled.

"Life is pretty much hell right now in every area except my relationship," she said. "It's strange. I'm being faced with a murder charge and yet I'm lucky enough to be with someone who can take all that pain away with just a smile."

"I'm happy for you, Charlie," Miles said. "I know you haven't exactly had the best experiences in the past."

Leah called her name to tell her that her food was ready. Charlie stood and patted Miles on the shoulder.

"I hope things get better for you and Kirsty," she said. "I really do."