Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty Four

The sun had barely risen when Miles sat alone on the beach, gazing out at the horizon. He smiled when he saw Rabbit skipping merrily across the beach towards him. He just hoped that she would never fade away.


Angelo was already hard at work by the time Charlie arrived, a little late from her shift after a particularly delicious night with Joey.

"I've got news about the Jeffries case," Angelo told her.

She paused on her way to her office and came to lean on the reception desk where Angelo put the phone down and offered her his full attention.

"Justin was the person who collected Larry from jail," he explained. "Whatever happened and whoever's fault it might be, the chances are that the blood belongs to Larry and that he's out there somewhere, wounded or dead."


Elijah stepped back as Leah and VJ held hands, crouching in front of Vinnie's grave in tears. They laid flowers, reading the gravestone together.

"Do you think he remembered me?" VJ asked, aware that he had only been a baby the last time he'd seen his father.

"He remembered you," Leah assured him. "Of course he did. He loved you so much."

She turned back to Elijah who nodded.

"You two were the most important people in his life," he said softly. "You were the last thing he ever talked about. He loved you. There can be no doubt about that."


Having sent Angelo ahead to the woods in order to get started on their search for Larry, Charlie and Watson headed over to see Aden and Justin. They had to knock several times before Aden unwillingly opened the door.

"Aden, we need you and Justin to come with us," Charlie said.

The looked of panicked guilt in his eyes was unmistakable.

"We believe your father was involved in Justin's accident," Charlie explained. "We need you to both help us search for him. But you also need to be prepared for the worst."


"Why so glum?" Joey asked when Nicole appeared at the bait shop looking utterly miserable.

For a girl who had no interest in fishing, the bait shop was really becoming a favoured haunt.

"Aden," Nicole sighed. "Britt. Life."

Joey nodded and headed past her clambering onto the boat that Alf had asked her fix up in between her normal work. Nicole sank onto a step beneath while Joey worked and listened. For a moment, Nicole couldn't help but study her. In shorts that showed off lovely legs and a skin tight sleeveless top that complimented the rest of her body, even Nicole couldn't deny that she was hot.

"You were complaining," Joey nudged when Nicole didn't speak.

The teenager blushed as she was brought out of her thoughts.

"Have you seen Aden at all over the last few days?"

"Nope," Joey sighed. "Haven't seen him at all. And I'm guessing from that face that you haven't either."

"No," Nicole sighed. "And I still don't know what to do about Britt stealing my designs."

"You should call Morag," Joey suggested. "She's a legal genius. She'll be able to advise you on where you stand."

Nicole nodded, agreeing that that was a good idea.

"Do you think she can solve the Invisible Man problem too?" she wondered.

"Alas, she's good but she's no miracle worker," Joey said. "He'll come back when he's figured himself out. And we can berate him for being a little shit while he apologises profusely and does whatever it takes to win us back."

She grinned, making Nicole laugh.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll go tough on him and he won't make the same mistake again!"


Aden trudged through the too familiar woods with Charlie and Watson on either side of him.

"I don't know what you're hoping to find," he said sourly.

"The truth, preferably," Charlie said, a little colder than she expected. "Your father."

Aden sighed.

"Why would he even come back to the Bay after everything that happened here?" he asked, aware that in a few more steps, they would stumble across a hastily dug grave.

"Maybe to try and make things right?" Watson suggested.

"Is that...?"

Aden hurried off to his left. The police officers followed quickly.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"I thought I saw something," Aden lied.

They continued walking, thankfully aware from where Larry's body lay. Aden had distracted them sufficiently. He just hoped he could keep it up.


In the afternoon, Nicole returned to the bait shop where Joey was still working hard on the boat.

"I have no chance against Britt," she complained immediately.

Joey paused and then hopped down from the boat. She headed into the shop to grab a drink from the fridge. This particular job was thirsty work.

"What did Morag say?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Copyright law is a grey area," Nicole explained. "Putting a case together against her isn't going to be easy. She said there was probably no point. All I can do is chalk it up to experience and be more careful about who I show my work to in future."

"That sucks," Joey empathised. "But on the other hand, I have complete faith in you. I know you're going to make it big with this design stuff. Just think of this Britt woman as a bump in the road. She doesn't have the power to ruin your life."

Nicole nodded and managed a smile.

"What about Aden?" she asked.

Joey grinned.

"You just leave him to me," she instructed.


Having sent Watson off on a different search, Charlie paused and turned to face Aden.

"I know you're hiding something," she said, getting right to the point. "So why don't you do us all a favour and tell the truth."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

He could barely look her in the eye. Charlie wasn't just a police officer. She had become a very close friend thanks to her relationship with Joey, the woman he considered to be his best mate in all the world. Lying to everyone made him feel sick. But the alternative would undoubtedly be worse.

"Aden, what is the deal here?" Charlie snapped. "Whatever you've done, whatever Justin's done... it doesn't matter, okay? We'll work through it. But I can't help you if you won't be honest with me."

"There's nothing to say!" Aden snapped. "I don't know anything more than you do."

He rubbed his eyes as images of Larry's grave invaded his brain.

"Either you and Justin have got in over your heads or you've miraculously turned into an arsehole," Charlie said.

He stood up straighter, a little taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"You have been unapproachable for weeks," Charlie said. "You've hurt Joey and you've hurt Nicole. Whatever else is going on here, you need to sort yourself out."

They stared at each other for several long moments before Aden had to look away.

"Do you have anything to tell me?" Charlie asked Aden's back.

"No," he replied stiffly. "I'm just an arsehole."


Driving back to the Bay, VJ gazed out of the window. He felt sad but also happy in some ways. For the first time, even though he was gone, he felt close to his Dad. And that was something he had been longing for all this time.

"Thank you for helping us," he said sincerely.

Elijah looked surprised but smiled into the rear view mirror.

"You're welcome," he said. "I wish I could have done more."

"You've done more than enough," Leah said gently, placing her hand on his arm.


Aden and Justin allowed Watson to drive them home. Standing by their squad car, Charlie and Angelo were both frustrated.

"Did he tell you anything?" Angelo asked.

"Nope," Charlie sighed.

Her mood was rapidly depleting and she couldn't wait to get home to Joey, the woman who never failed to make everything better.

"What about Justin?" she asked. "Anything?"

"Nope," Angelo said. "But I don't think it'll take long. He's clearly troubled by something. I'm sure he'll be ready to unburden himself any day now."

"Let's just hope it's to us," Charlie said, climbing into the driver's seat of the car.

Angelo moved round to the other side and strapped himself in.

"And that it's not something awful," the Sergeant added grimly.


Next time... Charlie interrupts Angelo arguing with Alf, Aden has a strange reaction to Justin's confession about Larry and Angelo goes too far with Martha...