Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Three

It was late and Charlie was exhausted. From the moment that the boat and the bodies of all those poor people had washed up, time had been going excruciatingly slowly. All Charlie wanted to do was go home to her beloved girlfriend, curl up and forget about the day. Instead, she was stuck at the station with Angelo, going over the human trafficking case with a fine toothcomb. They had failed to catch up with 'Clint Eastwood' and Angelo was more than a little furious about it. He'd started blaming Watson until Charlie had stepped in and given him a firm dressing down. Then he'd started on her, she'd retaliated and finally resorted to pulling rank just to shut him up. Watson had since gone home to her mother and Charlie was trying to focus and not fall asleep.


"Are you feeling any better?" Joey asked when Ruby reappeared in the lounge in her pyjamas.

She looked a little green around the gills and had thrown up a couple of times already. Sinking onto the sofa beside her step-mother, Ruby was only grateful that Geoff had left before the spewing had begun. She didn't think that was a terrible good start to a relationship.

"Thirsty," she complained.

She stood up and headed into the kitchen, returning with no less than three bottles of water. Joey frowned as her step-daughter began to glug them down one by one.

"I lost fluid," Ruby pointed out, between gulps. "I need to top up."

"You do that a lot," Joey said.

"Don't start," Ruby said. "Geoff is always going on at me about that."

Joey remained worried and silently vowed to keep an eye on her. Ruby finished the last of her water, sat back and smiled.

"Now," she said. "I am absolutely desperate to tell you all about the wonder of Geoff!"


"He could have been the best thing that happened to this case since the start," Angelo complained. "I can't believe we let him go... twice."

He slammed a fist on the desk, making Charlie jump.

"Look, you're getting worked up," she said. "Let's call it a night, okay?"

"No!" Angelo snapped. "Charlie, this case needs to get moving. Now."

"Well, getting bent out of shape about it at this precise moment in time isn't going to help," Charlie said reasonably. "Let's just finish for tonight and start again in the morning."

Angelo opened his mouth to protest but remained quiet. He sighed heavily and sank back in his chair.

"I guess that's the difference between you and me," he said.

Charlie was all set to be offended in case he was implying that she didn't have as good a work ethic.

"You've got someone to go home to and I don't," he finished, standing up and heading out of Charlie's office.


"He's just so beautiful," Ruby swooned. "Don't you think he's beautiful?"

"Well, he's not really my type," Joey smirked. "A bit young. And a bit... male. And not Charlie."

She grinned. Ruby grinned back. She still thought it was cute that Joey and Charlie were still so besotted with each other.

"Well, I think he's beautiful," she said. "And he's so lovely. He's such a nice guy. He's so caring and kind and... oh, he's funny! He's so funny! I never thought I could ever feel like this about anyone but Xavier but I do. I really do."

She smiled happily. Joey giggled.

"Well, I do think he's lovely," she agreed. "And I'm glad he's making you happy. You deserve a bit of joy after everything."

Ruby smiled.

"We've really been through it, haven't we?" she said.

"You could say that," Joey said with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry for all the mistakes I made," Ruby told her. "But I'm so happy that Charlie has got you, Joey. I can't imagine us getting through all of this if you hadn't been around. You kept us both together. Thank you."

Joey blushed and mumbled that she hadn't really done anything.

"You did," Ruby said firmly. "And you've done so much for Charlie. I've honestly never seen her happy like this."

They both smiled.

"Hang on," Ruby said, getting up. "I need more water."


Charlie had just about packed up for the night and was looking forward to going home at long last, when the phone rang. She listened to the officer take the call, not wanting to leave it if was important.

"There's been an assault down on the coast road," the officer said, hanging up.

"Okay, I'll go," Charlie said.

Angelo stood up, offering to go with her.


The Diner had been closed for the remainder of the day and Leah had been anxiously waiting for the repairman to come and fix her freezers. She'd long since sent Colleen and Irene home and she was feeling more than a little irate about the whole thing, not to mention concerned that she might have made people sick.


Charlie and Angelo were just leaving the hospital when they spotted Miles sitting anxiously in the waiting room. Charlie immediately headed over, worried about what might be wrong. He promptly burst into tears. The police officer hugged him and he explained that he and Kirsty had been having dinner at Tony and Rachel's house when Kirsty had suddenly collapsed in agony.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Charlie said gently, although she had no certainty of any such thing.

"I'm just waiting for Rachel to explain what's happened," Miles said, wiping his eyes.

Angelo hovered anxiously. All three of them looked up when Irene appeared with two coffees. She sat down on Miles' other side. Nobody had any idea what to say.


Leah finally arrived home, exhausted and unhappy. She found Joey and Ruby on the sofa, drinking water and deep in conversation about how amazing Geoff and Charlie both were.

"Hey," Joey greeted when she spotted Leah. "You look like you've had a horrific day."

Leah followed into a chair and closed her eyes before explaining about the freezers.

"Is that why you were serving questionable food today?" Ruby asked, looking unwell again.

Leah nodded and then looked guilty.

"Did I make either of you sick?" she asked.

"Me," Ruby said, putting her hand up.

"And I um... had some problems," Joey said quietly, feeling rather embarrassed.

"I am so sorry," Leah said. "And I am so getting sued!"

Groaning, she leant back in her chair, closing her eyes again and willing the day away.


Angelo reluctantly waited around while Charlie supported Miles and Irene. Finally, Rachel appeared, looking rather ashen and sad. Miles stood up immediately.

"What's wrong? Is Kirsty okay?"

"We don't quite know what's making her sick," Rachel ventured. "But we're doing tests and we're working on that. What we can say is that she seems to be doing well now and I don't think she's in danger anymore."

Miles sank against Charlie in sheer relief. She dutifully held him up.

"What about the baby?" Miles asked.

Rachel didn't need to speak. The look of grief on her face told Miles everything he didn't want to hear.


Much later that night, Leah lay alone in bed, tossing and turning and fretting over what had happened that day at the Diner. Miles stayed all night with Kirsty, finally falling asleep resting on the side of her hospital bed. Rachel had gone back home to Tony and baby Harry, very grateful for the life she had. Geoff had clung round the toilet bowl, emptying his stomach and feeling glad for the first time that Ruby no longer lived with them. Irene hovered over him, offering comfort and glasses of water. Angelo sat on his sofa, watching late night movies, drinking beer and feeling like a failure. Watson wriggled uncomfortably in the spare bed of her mother's flat, wondering if the promotion that Charlie had bestowed on her might actually bring her out of the rut she'd fallen into. Ruby lay restless in bed, struggling with insomnia. Charlie and Joey curled up in each other's arms, grateful for sleep.