Chapter Three Hundred and Eleven

The following morning, with Charlie off out to work early, Joey saw a still very quiet Ruby off to school and then walked down to the bait shop. She pulled out her phone when it rang and smiled when she saw Aden's name flash up.

"Hey, stranger," she greeted warmly. "How's life in the big city?"

"It's pretty cool," he greeted. "I've managed to rent an apartment and I'm looking for work. Justin's back at the army base but I get to hang out with him and his friends when they're off duty. They're all pretty nice. I miss you though."

"We miss you too," Joey said. "When are you coming back?"

Aden chuckled.

"Not for a little while yet, I'm afraid," he said. "But you and Charlie are more than welcome to come out and visit me."

"As soon as I have access to both our diaries, we can arrange it," Joey said eagerly. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in your new home."

"Well, it's not much yet but I was thinking of having a party at some point soon and having a few of you come to see the place," Aden said. "Would you be up for that?"

"Have you ever known me to turn down a party?" Joey smirked.

She opened up the bait shop as she listened to her friend chuckle at the other end of the line.

"How's Nic?" Aden finally asked.

Joey sighed and sat down on the steps outside the bait shop.

"She's okay," she said. "I mean, she's missing you and the whole thing has been really hard for her but she seems to be coping."

"Good," Aden said. "I'm so glad that I said goodbye to her properly instead of just walking out. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I'd have done that."

"Well, then it's a good job I muscled in on your conversation then," Joey said affectionately.

"As always," Aden agreed. "You know the best for me much better than I do."

"And don't you forget it."


Martha woke with a start and her heart lurched even more when she realised that Hugo's lap had provided her with a pillow. Memories rushed into her brain as she realised the whole thing had not been a dream. Hugo really was back in the Bay. He was really here. And although he looked rather different, he still felt like the same man she had loved.


"All set?" Charlie asked when she met up with Angelo in the reception area of the police station.

He nodded, looking even more grave than usual.

"Let's go and catch a killer," he said, leading the way out.


Joey had not long hung up from Aden when Nicole showed up at the bait shop looking distinctly unhappy. I spoke too soon, Joey sighed.

"Hey," Nicole greeted glumly. "Can I bug you?"

"You never bug me," Joey said. "You can keep me company if you like though."

Nicole smiled, looking genuinely happier.

"What's up?" Joey asked, as if she really needed to.

"I'm just having a bad Aden day," Nicole admitted.

Joey nodded in empathetic understanding.

"Have you heard from him at all?"

Joey looked a little awkward, telling Nicole everything that she needed to know.


Hugo hid in the back room when he heard a loud rapping on the front door. True to their word, Angelo and Charlie had come back to interrogate his family. He just hoped he wouldn't sneeze this time.

"Hello," Gina greeted with vague warmth when she opened the door to the police officers.

Martha and Xavier remained on the couch, trying to look nonchalant.

"Is now an acceptable time to talk?" Angelo asked.

"Well, no, but I suppose the more I put you off, the more you'll follow me around like a stalker."

Charlie cringed and Angelo glared, both very aware of the reference. If Joey had been there, she probably would have found the comment amusing so Charlie made a note to remember it.

"Can we come in?" Angelo asked.

"If you must," Gina said, stepping aside and gesturing for them to sit on the sofa.

"How are you doing, Martha?" Charlie asked kindly.

She might be on duty and they might all be keeping secrets but there was no way she was prepared to neglect her friend, who looked like she had hardly slept.

"Just stressed about this whole thing," Martha sighed.

"Has anyone heard anything from Hugo?" Charlie asked, directly at all three family members.

"No," Gina said, taking the lead. "We're in the dark as much as you are."

Angelo eyed her suspiciously.

"Would you let us look around in order to prove it?" he asked.

"I would have let you last night... if you'd had a search warrant," Gina replied. "And the same goes for today."


Nicole had dissolved into tears in Joey's arms. The bait shop manager wondered if in her quest to work in the fishing industry and then work in a restaurant, she had missed her calling as a counsellor.

"I know it was the right thing to do," Nicole said, hiccupping a little. "I just... wish we could have worked things out."

"I know," Joey said softly, rubbing Nicole's back. "And if it's meant to be, then I'm sure you'll find a way to get back to each other. And if not, then the right guy will be just waiting for you."

Nicole sniffed and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm starting to think there's no such thing," she sighed.

"Of course there is," Joey said. "I didn't think I was ever going to end up with the right person and then bam, Charlie appears and I couldn't be happier. And the same thing will happen for you too."

"In the couple of years I've been living here, I've gone from one disaster to the next, Joey," Nicole said unhappily. "There was psycho Elliot, messed up Trey, that whole, stupid debacle with Sid, Geoff and I were a complete nightmare, as were me and Liam and then Aden..."

She trailed off and wiped her eyes. Joey kept her arm around her.

"Do you need me to share my pre-Charlie romantic mishaps?" Joey asked.

"Are any of them funny?"

"Hilariously tragic," Joey confirmed.

Nicole plastered a smile on her face.

"Go for your life," she requested.


Arriving back at the police station, Angelo was immediately on the phone to organise surveillance on both Gina's house and the farm where Martha lived. He was more convinced than ever that the family were hiding Hugo and he was going to find him if it was the last thing he did. This whole case had been his mission for a year now and he was damned if he was going to fail to close it once and for all.


Charlie escaped the police station and Angelo's foul mood as soon as she could. She had to empathise with him though; the situation with Hugo was frustrating to say the least. While she believed her colleague was, as usual, at risk of going over the top, she did agree that Gina, Martha and Xavier were likely to be hiding Hugo.

"Hey, sweetheart," she greeted with both warmth and relief when she saw her girlfriend waiting for her at a corner table in the Diner.

"How did it go?" Joey asked, kissing her and handing over a menu.

Charlie sat down and sighed heavily.

"Fruitless, really," she complained. "But Angelo and I are both convinced that Hugo's hiding out at Gina's. Martha and Xavier were there too so I'm sure they know exactly what's going on – which only fuels my belief that Ruby does."

"Are you going to talk to her?" Joey asked.

"Do you think I should?"

Joey nodded reluctantly.

"Just don't go in hard, okay?" she said. "Don't make her panic and clam up."

Charlie nodded.

"Will you help me?" she asked. "I feel like my brain's about to explode with the stress so I'm unlikely to be reasonable for the foreseeable future."

"Great," Joey smirked.

Charlie grinned and squeezed her hand.

"Anyway," she said. "How has your day been?"


"No way!" Xavier yelled rather too loudly. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Sitting beside him on the beach, Ruby looked wounded. Her boyfriend ran his hands anxiously through his hair and apologised.

"I just... how could you even think that telling Charlie about Hugo would be a good idea?"

"She's my mother!"

"She's a cop!"

"But she would only ever want the best for..."

"For the man who nearly killed her?" Xavier interrupted. "She'll send him straight to jail."

"Isn't that where he belongs?" Ruby asked bluntly.

Xavier looked annoyed.

"Look," she said gently. "I know he's your brother and I know you love him. And I'm sure he's telling the truth about being sorry but at the end of the day, he did a lot of bad things. Apologising isn't going to make up for that. Maybe testifying against other associates would have but... I'm sorry. He broke the law. He killed people. He nearly killed a lot more. And I don't think that keeping him hidden under the noses of the police is going to help anyone."

Xavier's eyes turned a shade darker than Ruby had never seen before. His anger almost made him look angry.

"If you dare open your mouth to Charlie or Joey or anyone, I swear I will never speak to you again."


Still in the Diner, Charlie and Joey watched Miles first light up and then visibly deflate while talking to Gina. When the headmistress left the venue, Charlie waved her friend over.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Well, the good news is that Michael has deemed me fit to teach again," he said, sinking into a vacant chair at their table. "And the bad news is that I have to appear at a P&C meeting to plead my case. It looks like everyone knows all about what's been happening this year. It's pretty embarrassing. Right now, I don't know if I even want to face the kids again."

Charlie put an affectionate hand on his and smiled her encouragement.

"Michael would never have deemed you fit to teach if you weren't capable," she said. "You're fantastic at what you do. Ruby's always going on about you being her favourite at school. You'll get back on your feet. It'll just take a little bit of time."


At home that evening, Charlie and Joey endured a somewhat mute meal with Ruby who looked like she was constantly on the verge of tears.

"Ruby, if there's something you need to talk about then now's the time to do it," Charlie ventured.

"What do you mean?"

"If there's something on your mind?"

"There's nothing on my mind," Ruby lied.

"Nothing to do with, say... Xavier?" Charlie asked. "And his family?"

Ruby coloured, debating over whether to tell or not. She remembered the venomous warning Xavier had given her earlier on the beach.

"No, there's nothing," she said quietly. "Nothing."


Next time… Charlie and Angelo argue about Hugo, Charlie and Joey plan a holiday and Nicole and Romeo comfort one another over their heartbreak…