Thank you everyone for your lovely get well wishes. I was feeling really down yesterday at missing the show so you really cheered me up. It will take a few chapters for Joey and Charlie to cheer up but the mystery of Grant's death will be resolved soon! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter One Hundred and Forty Four

Charlie was up and out of the house before anyone in the Bay, let alone the house, was properly awake. She was glad not to see Robertson's car in the car park and raced right past Watson, who looked dead on her feet, and into the cells. She found Joey curled up in the corner of her cell, clutching a threadbare blanket and weeping quietly. Unlocking the door, Charlie hurried inside and pulled her girlfriend into her arms.


Detective Robertson breezed onto the school grounds later that morning. He approached Xavier at his locker and asked him again if he had lied about Charlie's alibi. The teenager firmly denied it but each time Robertson approached him, he seemed to look and feel more shaken. Robertson was sure he was getting to him and that he would crack soon. And while he wasn't entirely sure what would happen when he did, he hoped it would give him the break in his investigation that he so desperately needed.


Aden sat down to breakfast just as Ross and Morag entered the kitchen. He'd seen them briefly the night before when they had asked to stay the night but now he was desperate for answers, sure that their arrival would be linked to Grant's murder investigation.

"What's happened?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Joey's been arrested," Morag said unhappily.

"What?" Aden almost yelled, rising a little from his seat. "How the hell did that happen?"

"That's what I'm trying to work out," Morag said. "The evidence is more circumstantial than anything. I don't believe for a second that she's guilty but I'm not quite sure how to get the charges dropped yet."

"She would have confessed if she'd done it," Ross added. "Granted, I don't know her that well but I know she loves Charlie and if she'd have killed Grant, she would have owned up to it and not let Charlie go through all the trauma of being suspended and everything."

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, hoping he could hold onto his faculties for most of the day, despite the stress he was under.

"Poor Joey," Aden said.

She was his best friend and he loved her. He wished he could take her place somehow.


Hugo left Martha and went down to his boat shed in order to start work for the day. He froze when a shadow fell over him. It was Detective Robertson.

"How can I help you?" he asked politely.

"You can impress upon your brother that he could be facing jail time if he continues with this false alibi for Senior Constable Buckton," Robertson told him.

"Jail time?" Hugo asked worriedly.

He didn't believe Xavier and Ruby's story any more than anyone else did. But he hadn't realised that it was quite as serious as that.

"Yes, and I'm talking months, not weeks or days," Robertson said. "If he's covering up for a killer, then he's in trouble."

With that, the Detective walked away.


Still looking half dead, Watson approached the cells and warned Charlie that Robertson had just pulled up in the car park. Charlie sighed and reluctantly let Joey go, kissing her a couple more times in order to say goodbye.

"I'll come back when I can," she promised. "And I'll be with you in court."

Joey nodded and hugged her, whispering that she loved her.

"I love you too," Charlie said. "We're going to get through this together, okay?"

Joey nodded and watched her go but she didn't believe it for a second. Charlie could support her as much as she was able but at the end of the day, Joey was facing jail all alone.


Having decided to skip school due to circumstances, Ruby had a late breakfast with Leah. Their automatic topic of conversation was Joey and they wondered what would happen at the bail hearing. Ruby could hardly bear the guilt of everything being her fault. If she had never contacted Grant in the first place, none of this would ever have happened. And if she hadn't tried to save Charlie, perhaps Joey wouldn't have ended up in such a mess. Leah tried to reassure her but Ruby was already starting to panic that if Joey ended up in jail, Charlie would hate her forever for putting her there.


At lunch time, Hugo hurriedly caught up with Xavier.

"I'm going to ask you one question and God help you if I don't get an honest answer," he said.

The blonde boy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked stubborn. He already knew what it was about.

"Did you and Ruby lie about Charlie's alibi?"

Xavier swallowed a few times. The pressure was already too much and Ruby hadn't even been around today to reassure him.

"Yes," he finally said.

"Then we are going down to the police station right now to tell the truth," Hugo said, grabbing him by his collar and beginning to drag him away.

Xavier squirmed free in irritation and protestation.

"I'm not dropping Charlie in it!" he said. "Ruby would hate me!"

"Ruby's using you!" Hugo said, exasperated. "You're not doing jail time because of some misguided attempt to hold onto your girlfriend!"

Xavier glared at him and then sighed in defeat. He let Hugo lead the way.


Aden was sitting in the Surf Club, having lunch with Nicole and talking about Joey. The whole of Summer Bay was talking about Joey. Most people seemed to agree that she wasn't capable of murder. But Colleen's musings had driven Aden out of the Diner completely. The waitress was largely on Joey's side but her clucking and analysis had been driving him crazy.

"What's going on?" he asked, noting the microphone nearby.

"Oh, Liam's doing a gig here today," Nicole explained.

Aden pulled a face.

"No wonder you were so eager to switch locations," he said sourly.

"He's my boyfriend," Nicole said. "I wanted to support him."

"He's a bas..."

Aden trailed off, remembering that he had promised to play nicely. He did, however, glare when Liam appeared on the makeshift stage, pulling the strap of his guitar round his neck.

"Hello everyone," he said. "I'd like to thank you for coming and this first song... well, it's dedicated to Nicole."


Charlie brought in Joey's one smart suit in from home and she'd given her as much privacy as she could in order to get changed for the bail hearing.

"I'm so sorry, Joey," she said quietly.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

They gazed sadly at each other and kissed through the bars. Behind them, Watson cleared her throat.

"Court has been postponed," she said. "We've got some new evidence."