Chapter One Hundred and Forty One
On Monday morning, Charlie and Joey both headed to work. On the trawler, there was an obvious tension between Aden and Geoff and Joey wondered what on earth had happened this time.
"That doesn't go there," Aden said sourly when he saw Geoff moving some equipment.
"Well, it makes sense to put it here," Geoff said.
"It doesn't go there!"
"What, like there's a law or something?"
"There are rules!" Aden said, towering over him.
Geoff squared up to him. Joey immediately inserted herself between them, trying to get them both to back off.
"What is with you?"
"He said I'm in love with Nicole!"
"He said I'm in love with Ruby!"
Joey just stared as they both yelled at the same time. She resisted retorting that both of them were right.
"I don't care," she said, pulling rank. "We're here to work. So why don't you both just forget your pity differences and get on with it."
"Well, I will," Aden said, folding his arms across his broad chest. "Because I'm better at this than he is."
"No, you're not!" Geoff yelled.
Joey rolled her eyes and stormed away as the boys got into another argument.
At the police station, Charlie sat at her desk. She looked through to the reception area. Watson was at a desk of her own with her head buried in a case file. Charlie knew without asking that it was Grant's murder investigation. She silently thanked her for all her hard work and she hoped that her colleague and friend would get some kind of recognition for how dedicated she was. Angelo blocked her vision as he hovered in the doorway.
"Are you okay?" he asked, noting her thoughtful expression.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, Charlie nodded and smiled, assuring him that she was fine.
"I brought you this report," he said. "I spent some time down at the docks last night. Didn't see anything technically untoward but Hugo was hanging around at about midnight, looking like he was meeting someone. Kept checking his watch. Nobody showed though."
He stepped forward and placed the piece of paper on her desk. She thanked him. He hung around for a few moments longer than necessary and then left in silence.
At lunch time, Nicole, Annie, Jai, Ruby and Xavier met up with Romeo at the Diner.
"So, spill," Ruby said immediately to Nicole, who did her best to look innocent.
"Spill about what?" Romeo asked with interest.
"Nothing," Nicole said, glaring at Ruby who merely smirked back at her.
Everyone looked between them.
"Fine," Nicole said. "I'm kind of seeing Liam."
"I thought so!" Romeo announced.
"Why?"
"Because he hasn't been around lately," Romeo said. "I've not had any work from him at all. He's obviously too busy being loved up!"
Nicole choked on her drink.
"We're not in love!" she said quickly.
"I bet I know who is though," Ruby said, looking at her boyfriend with a teasing smile.
For one awful moment, Xavier thought his girlfriend might announce that she was leaving him for Geoff. He swallowed uncertainly.
"Oh, are you talking about Gina and John Palmer?" Nicole asked.
Xavier looked even more horrified.
"What about my Mum?" he asked defensively.
"We totally saw them flirting in the hall," Ruby told him.
Xavier pulled a face. This was horrible news.
"Where are we going?" Aden asked when Joey all but frogmarched him and Geoff to the gym.
"Where do you think?" she replied as if he was stupid.
"I want lunch, not a work out!" Geoff complained.
"Why, can't you take it?" Aden mocked.
Joey growled and charged ahead. The boys followed somewhat reluctantly but ready to compete if they had to.
Robertson leant over Watson and studied her work.
"I think you've made a very gallant effort, Constable Watson," he said. "But I'm going to have to take this off you."
He picked up the file. She looked up, outraged and glanced towards Charlie's office but found it empty.
"Why?" she demanded. "I haven't found evidence to clear Joey yet."
"That's because there is no evidence," Robertson replied. "Joey Collins murdered Grant Bledcoe and no amount of trawling through this case file is going to make that change."
"She didn't do it," Watson said firmly.
"I think she did," he told her. "And I think Senior Constable Buckton was in on it too. It just happens that her daughter and the Austin boy have faked an alibi. So it looks like Ms Collins is going to have to face justice all by herself."
"Okay, boys, you think you're both better than each other, you can prove it," Joey said, gesturing to the two weight lifting benches in the middle of the gym.
Aden and Geoff looked uncertain.
"We don't have to do this..." Geoff ventured.
"Scared?" Aden challenged, taking his place on one of the benches.
"No!" said Geoff, following suit.
Charlie grabbed a takeaway lunch from the Diner with Angelo. They headed back to the car to eat back at the station. She was just starting the engine when her radio crackled to life.
"Senior?" said one of her colleagues. "We've got a report of a disturbance."
"Okay, we're on it," Charlie said without hesitation.
The officer reeled off the address. Charlie and Angelo hurried towards it.
Joey sat in a chair with a smoothie watching, along with most of the rest of the gym, as Aden and Geoff struggled to compete with each other. Looking around, Joey smirked as most of the female occupants of the room looked particularly lusty. She turned to Tony.
"It's a real shame that this is totally lost on me," she remarked.
Tony chuckled and nodded. They continued to watch the boys compete. After several minutes, Aden and Geoff glanced at each other.
"Are you doing okay?" Aden asked.
"Just fine," Geoff lied.
He could barely breathe.
"You?"
"Fine," Aden said although he too was struggling.
"Actually, I'm not," Geoff finally admitted.
"Me neither."
"Ready to quit?" Geoff ventured.
Aden nodded.
"Count of three."
Joey grinned as the boys finally gave in. She moved to take the weights that were far too heavy for her, from Aden and into the cradle. Tony did the same for Geoff. Both men, sweating and struggling for air, sat up. Joey looked smug.
"Now, are you going to play nicely from now on?" she asked triumphantly.
"Do you want to hang out after school?" Xavier asked as he and Ruby grabbed their next lot of books from their lockers.
Ruby hesitated but remembered what he had done for her and her family.
"I thought maybe we could go to the movies or something?"
"Yeah," Ruby agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "Yeah, that would be nice."
She smiled. He smiled back. They headed into class together.
Later that day, Charlie and Angelo arrived back at the station, pleased to have foiled a burglary. Watson stood up as soon as Charlie entered.
"Are you alright?" the Senior Constable asked.
"Um..." Watson faltered.
She looked behind Charlie who turned around and saw Joey enter the police station looking pale. "Joey, what are you...?"
Robertson stepped up.
"Thanks for coming in without a fuss," he said.
Joey glanced between Robertson and Charlie.
"Joanne Collins, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Grant Bledcoe."
Okay, so with that ending, this chapter probably wasn't very ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas but you must know me well enough by now that I would never send our Joey down for a murder she didn't commit. I promise! Love, IJKS xxx
