Sorry this is a bit late. I'm still not quite myself! But I do hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx
Three Hundred and Forty Two
"Angelo, please call me back," Martha said urgently when she got the police officer's voicemail. "That man you brought to the house… Detective Eaves… He's a dirty cop. He was involved in the people smuggling and he's very dangerous. Angelo, please call me as soon as you get this message. I'm scared."
She hung up, frustrated with not being able to talk to Angelo properly.
"He'll call," Hugo assured her, taking her into his arms. "He'll call."
The police station was chaos. Killer's corpse had been taken off to the morgue and Detective Eaves had refused hospital treatment. He sat in the interview room with his hands clasped together on the table top.
"What happened?" Charlie asked.
She was seated in front of Eaves and beside Angelo who looked just as on edge.
"He went for me," Eaves said. "I had to defend myself."
"By shooting him?" Angelo asked incredulously.
"Like you're one to talk," the Detective snapped. "I've read up on you."
Angelo clenched his jaw and bowed his head. He was on the case of his life right now; the last thing he needed was for Jack's ghost to invade his brain.
"Anyway," Charlie said. "Did you really have to shoot him? Dead?"
"Yes," Eaves replied firmly. "I didn't have a choice."
Ruby arrived home, having spent a good long while walking aimlessly through town, trying and failing to collect her thoughts. The moment she saw Joey, she burst into tears. Abandoning the laundry, Joey hurried over to her, gathering her into her arms.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked worriedly.
"Xavier and I broke up," Ruby sobbed.
Joey held her close and stroked her hair, encouraging her to regulate her breathing.
"Hugo, don't!" Martha begged.
She had been frantically following him around the house as he packed up all his belongings.
"I have to!" Hugo snapped. "That guy is going to come after me and he is going to kill me. I am not waiting around for that to happen."
"What about me?" Martha asked desperately. "Do you think he's going to go easy on me when he shows up here and finds you gone? Do you think he's going to let me survive the night?"
Hugo finally paused, looking utterly deflated. He sank onto the edge of the bed, looking up and into Martha's eyes.
"I don't know what to do, Martha," he admitted.
"Angelo, your phone's beeping," Charlie said, meeting him in the reception area.
Eaves was still in the interview room, waiting for a police psychologist to arrive and clear him for work.
"I'll get it later," Angelo said distractedly. "I doubt a message on my phone is going to be more important than what we're dealing with here."
Charlie shrugged. A missed call or an unread text would drive her crazy if she didn't deal with it immediately but then she supposed everyone was different.
"Look, can you wait around with Eaves, please?" she asked. "I'm going to head over to the farm to see Martha."
"Don't you want me to come?"
"No," Charlie said. "I think if she's going to open up and start being honest then the best way to go is to be gentle. I need to try and get her onside as a friend."
Angelo nodded but didn't look happy.
"Look, I'll see you later, okay?" Charlie said.
"Eaves is pretty keen to get down to the farm as soon as he can so I guess we'll follow you," Angelo replied.
Charlie nodded, patted him on the arm and headed out to her car.
"Nothing has actually happened between you and Liam though?" Joey checked a little nervously.
Home alone with her step-mother, Ruby had poured out the whole story of her breakup with Xavier.
"No," Ruby said. "I don't think Liam even knows that I like him. The only reason he knows I'm alive is because of the singing. I don't think it's anything more than that to him."
Joey nodded thoughtfully.
"And how does that make you feel?"
Ruby laughed and told her she sounded like a therapist.
"Which isn't surprising, really," she giggled. "You spend your life advising people!"
Joey chuckled and nodded.
"How does it make you feel though?" she persisted.
"Sad," Ruby admitted. "I… I like him so much, Joey. He's so perfect."
"Nobody's perfect," Joey interjected.
"Like you don't think Charlie's perfect!"
"She's not," Joey said slowly. "She's just… perfect for me."
"Name three things you don't like about her," Ruby requested.
Joey chewed her lip thoughtfully. She tapped her finger on her knee.
"That's not the point," she said eventually. "And anyway, we were talking about you…"
Eaves was pacing the interview room impatiently.
"Can't we just go?" he asked Angelo. "We're wasting time."
"If Hugo's still at the farm, he's unlikely to be going anywhere," Angelo replied.
Eaves sighed heavily and flung himself into a chair.
"This is ridiculous," he complained bitterly.
"Okay, he's gorgeous," Ruby said. "He's creative and that's really sexy. Plus he's funny and he's kind. He's got that whole bad boy thing going on but it's okay because he's reformed. He's… perfect."
Joey was about to answer when her phone rang.
"Charlie?" she said eagerly when her girlfriend's name flashed up on the screen.
"Hey sweetheart," Charlie replied.
"You're on your hands-free," Joey realised. "Does that mean you're on your way home?"
"Unfortunately not," Charlie sighed on the other end of the line. "I'm heading over to the farm."
"Again?" Joey asked. "How many times can you search the place?"
"I'm going round to try and win Martha over," Charlie told her. "The only way we're going to get Hugo is if someone starts co-operating with us."
"I shouldn't expect you home any time soon then, hey?" Joey sighed.
"I'm really sorry," Charlie apologised. "I'll make it up to you."
"Just stay safe, okay?"
"I will."
Hugo and Martha both froze when they heard a car pulling up on the drive. Headlights shone through the curtains and they both dreaded who would be behind the wheel.
"Let's just get through this," Hugo said, clutching his girlfriend's hand. "And then we'll go. Me and you. We'll leave Summer Bay forever."
Martha smiled.
"I'm glad you've finally come to your senses," she quipped.
They both jumped when they heard the knock on the door, even though they were expecting it. Glancing at each other, neither Hugo nor Charlie moved. The knock came again.
"Martha?" came a female voice through the door. "Martha, it's Charlie. I really need to speak to you. It's important."
"The message I left Angelo," Martha realised.
"Let her in," Hugo instructed. "I'll hide in the other room."
"You don't think she's going to get into trouble, do you?" Ruby asked worriedly. "Last time she tried to deal with Hugo, she nearly died."
"She'll be fine," Joey said, although her voice wavered a little.
She was as worried about Charlie as Ruby was. All they could do was hope that she would come home soon and that this time, she had the backup of her colleagues.
"How about we go to the Diner?" she suggested brightly. "I can't be bothered to cook and being out and about might distract us from worrying about Charlie!"
Ruby grinned.
"Sounds good!" she readily agreed.
"Martha, I really need to talk to you," Charlie said, when her friend finally opened the front door.
"Is it about Eaves?" Martha asked. "Did Angelo pick up the voicemail?"
Charlie looked confused.
"I'm here about Hugo," she explained. "What about Eaves?"
"He's a dirty cop," Martha explained a little frantically. "He was involved in the human trafficking. He isn't here to catch Hugo, he's here to kill him."
Next time… Charlie comes face to face with Hugo while Angelo learns the truth about Detective Eaves…
