Thank you to the anonymous reader who is reading and reviewing this story. I really appreciate the time you are taking to read this story still. Thank you. And thank you for your ideas for other stories. I am listening. And I am hoping to post up new stories still at some point. I have a few on the go at the moment. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety Three

Robertson knocked on Charlie's office door the next morning and strode into the room.

"I'm sure you've heard but we're scaling back the investigation and Graves and I are heading back to the city tomorrow morning," he said, getting right to the point.

"Yes, I had heard," Charlie said. "Why the sudden turnaround?"

"We're not getting anywhere, quite frankly," Robertson lied. "We don't have a body. We don't know what happened to him. Alf is my number one suspect but without any further evidence, we have no way of proving it. And the sequin we found in Penn's room throws that whole theory into disarray anyway. The whole thing is impossible to solve."

Charlie eyed him suspiciously. There was more to this than met the eye.

"So," Robertson said brightly. "I'm very sorry to leave you with an unsolvable case but I am sure you won't be sorry to see the back of me."

"Well, I can't say it's been a pleasure," Charlie replied.

"Quite," Robertson said. "Well, until we meet again."

He held out his hand. She reluctantly shook it. Then he left.


Ruby had been granted the day off and she was not budging from the sofa. Normally, she knew her parents would have pushed her to go to school but today, they had seen how awful she looked and felt and given her compassionate leave.

It was lunch time and she was still not dressed. She had watched a lot of daytime TV and eaten a lot of junk food. Joey had stayed home too and kept her company and it had actually been quite a nice day, considering the circumstances.

She jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"It's just Leah and a VJ," Joey said. "I told you they were popping over. Remember?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby said. "I'll go to my room."

She sloped off and closed the door while Joey opened the front door to her friend.

"Hey, Leah," Joey greeted. "Hey VJ."

In his school uniform, having been picked up from school to visit Joey, he hugged her.

"Hi, Joey," Leah said.

She had called the previous evening, having struggled to talk to her son properly about Elijah. Knowing how much VJ adored Joey, she hoped that he might listen to what she had to say about the situation.

"How are you both?"

"I'm okay," VJ answered. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you," Joey said, smiling.

She busied herself with getting them drinks while her guests sat down.

"Daytime TV? Really?" Leah questioned.

"Ruby's off school," Joey explained.

"Oh, I see," Leah said. "Is she ill?"

"Heartbroken," Joey explained.

"Are you heartbroken, Mum?" VJ asked when Joey came to sit down with them. "About Elijah?"

"I'm sad," Leah said, glancing at Joey. "Because Elijah and I loved each other very much, as you know. But he and I aren't angry with each other. We care about each other very much still."

"Then why aren't you in love anymore?" VJ wanted to know.

Leah looked at Joey.

"Veej, sometimes even when you love someone, it's just not possible to stay together," Joey explained.

"Why not?"

"Because other things get in the way," Joey said.

"Like what?"

"Like, your Mum has her life over here," Joey said. "And Elijah has a very special job to do over in Africa. And when you're living your lives very far apart, sometimes, it's not always possible to keep a relationship going properly. Sometimes it is and sometimes, you just drift apart. And that doesn't mean that anyone has done anything wrong. It just means that you don't quite fit together anymore."

"But I like Mum and Elijah together," VJ protested sadly. "I don't want my Mum to be alone."

"Hey, your Mum is not alone!" Joey chuckled gently. "She's got you!"

"That's right!" Leah agreed. "How could I be alone if I have you? You're all I need."

"But other people have boyfriends and girlfriends. Don't you want one?"

"Only if it's the right one," Leah said. "And Elijah and I must not be meant to be together. I thought we were and when we were together, it really was something special. Something I will never regret. But now… we've had to say goodbye."

"But I liked him," VJ said.

"So did I."

"And me," Joey said.

"Can I still be friends with him?" VJ asked.

"Of course," Leah said. "I'll still be friends with him too. He's a nice man. And I know he's had a big effect on your life."

VJ nodded.

"So, how are you feeling?" Leah asked.

"A bit sad but… better," VJ said. "I think I understand better now."

Ruby appeared all of a sudden from her room. Joey was surprised to see her dressed and her hair not in a messy tangle.

"You're… human," she remarked.

"What else would she be?" VJ asked, making the others laugh.

"Charlie just called and said she was picking me up and not taking no for an answer," Ruby explained. "She said she had a plan."

"Well, I wouldn't argue with that," Leah remarked.

"Nope," Ruby, Joey and VJ all replied.

They heard a car beeping outside and Ruby opened the front door. Charlie was outside in her patrol car.

"I think you're about to get arrested!" VJ laughed.

They watched Ruby leave. Then Leah's phone rang. She looked puzzled.

"Robert?" she said curiously.

Joey tried and failed not to pull a face.

"Do you have time for me to see you?" he asked politely.


Out in the car, Ruby strapped herself in.

"What are you up to?"

"We're going to deal with Alex once and for all," Charlie told her.

Ruby blanched.

"What do you mean?" she asked worriedly.

"Nobody messes with my daughter and gets away with it," Charlie said, continuing to drive down the road. "Ruby, we are Bucktons. We do not get left huddled up at home, hiding away because of some guy. We kick arse. Okay?"

"Charlie, I don't think treating a girl like crap is a criminal offence," Ruby pointed out. "You can't actually do anything about it."

"Oh, I can," Charlie said.

She had found out exactly where he was going to be ahead of time and now, if her information was correct, he should be just around this corner.

"Aha!"

She switched her siren on, nice and loud.

"Oh my… this is awesome!" Ruby admitted.

She had never been in Charlie's patrol car before. Especially not with the siren on. Ahead of them, the learner car pulled over to the side.

"Follow me out Constable Buckton," Charlie winked.

Ruby grinned and climbed out of the car. Charlie walked up to Alex's car, where he was waiting in the driver's seat with the window down.

"Hello, Alex," she greeted.

Ruby hung back but was within hearing distance.

"Oh, it's you," he said. "What's the problem?"

"You're the problem, actually," Charlie said. "I believe you spoke to my daughter like she was something you stepped in yesterday."

He laughed.

"You can't pull me over for that!"

"I just did," Charlie said.

"Look, your little girlfriend already had a go at me for that…"

"And now it's my turn," Charlie said.

"So neither of you carry a handbag," he mocked.

She leant down into his window.

"Do you think it's a good idea to start having a go at me?"

"You're having a go at me!"

"I'm a police officer," Charlie said. "There are a million reasons I could find to book you."

"So, what do you want?"

"I want you to apologise to my daughter," Charlie said. "That's all."

He snorted.

"I said, I want you to apologise to my daughter," Charlie repeated.

"Fine," he snapped. "I'll text her."

"No, she's here now. I want you to apologise to her now."

She gestured for Ruby to come over.

"I apologise and you leave me alone?" he said.

"Yep," Charlie said. "And then you go on with your life and think carefully about how you treat women in the future. Have a little more respect."

He sighed heavily, looking at Ruby.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. Or spoken to you the way that I did."

Ruby looked at him and then at Charlie. Then back at him.

"No, you shouldn't have," she said.

Then she went back to the car.

"Good," Charlie said. "On your way."

She tapped the top of the car and left.


Leah had dropped VJ back at school and then gone to meet Robertson on the beach.

"So, this is a pleasant surprise," she said.

"People don't often say that when they see me," he remarked, his voice ever cheerful.

She chuckled.

"I like you," she said honestly.

"I like you too," he said. "Which is why I am sad to have to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"There isn't enough evidence to keep the Penn Graham case ongoing," he explained. "So I'm leaving it in Charlie's capable hands to monitor. Should anything else come up, I'll come back of course but until then, I'm afraid it'll just have to remain unsolved."

"That must do your head in!" Leah laughed.

He laughed too and admitted that it was indeed frustrating.

"So, there's nothing more to keep me here," he said. "I'll have to get back to life in the city."

He looked out to sea and then back at here.

"Unless… there is a reason for me to stay?"

She felt sad at the hope in his voice.

"You could stay and be my friend," she said.

He sighed and nodded.

"I supposed we could be friends on the phone," he conceded. "You could even visit me sometime and be friends. Or I could come back and visit you and be friends."

"We could," she agreed.

"Great!" he said brightly, standing up. "Well, as ever, it has been a pleasure."

"It has," she chuckled. "I'm glad we managed to see each other. However briefly."


Ruby's head was spinning as Charlie drove her back home.

"I can't believe you put him in his place, just like that," she said. "You're like Super Cop!"

Charlie snorted.

"You just made him apologise," Ruby said. "I mean, I don't even care if he meant it or not. You just made him do it. You made sure he knew who was in charge. You made him respect you."

"That's my job," Charlie said. "To stand up for people who aren't in a position to stand up for themselves."

"Nobody respects me," Ruby said sadly.

"I respect you," Charlie corrected her. "Joey does. Claire does. Plenty of people do. So get that thought out of your head."

Ruby smiled at her.

"You were so cool," she said.

"I was just protecting you," Charlie said. "Not really as a police officer though. More as your mother."

Ruby reached out and squeezed her hand.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Charlie said. "With all my heart."

She expected the teenager to push her away but she didn't.


That evening, up at the farm, Sid was expecting Marilyn over for dinner and to stay the night. Twenty minutes before she was due to arrive, he sat Indi and Dex down to talk.

"Listen, guys, you like Marilyn, don't you?" he ventured.

"Yeah, she's nice," Dex said vaguely.

"She's okay," Indi said, equally as vaguely.

Both of them had better things to be doing than having a heart to heart with their father.

"Well, she likes you both a lot," Sid said. "And you know she's having a hard time right now with losing her friend and with all this prediction stuff…"

They both nodded. They thought she was a little bit odd, if they were honest. Nice but odd.

"So… do you think you could be a bit more… welcoming when she's here?" he requested.

"Welcoming?" Indi asked, pulling a face. "What do you mean?"

"Like… a bit more chatty?"

"Dad, we're teenagers," Dex said. "We're not chatty."

"You spend your lives on social media," Sid pointed out. "All you do is chat."

"That's different," they said in unison.

"Look, please can you try?" he begged. "Make her feel a bit more part of the family?"

"Okay, fine," Indi said, sighing. "We'll chat. We'll welcome. Okay?"

"Great!" Sid said.

"I mean, we like Marilyn," Dex agreed. "She's nice."

"Nicer than you are!" Indi joked, making Dex laugh in agreement.


Ruby felt very lucky to have the parents she had. Not only had Joey supported her so strongly the day before and looked after her all day today, but both of them had indulged her the night before and let her have the next day off school. Then today, Charlie had challenged Alex on his behaviour and made him apologise. To top it off, tonight, Joey had cooked them all a lovely dinner, one of Ruby's favourites, in order to treat her. She felt very spoilt. These were definitely the people to have around when you were heartbroken.

"Thank you for looking after me," she said. "I really mean it. I wouldn't have coped with the last few days if it hadn't been for you."

"That's what we're here for," Joey said.

"So, now I just need to work on not getting myself into that situation again," Ruby sighed.

"Well, nobody can really help who they fall for," Charlie said reasonably. "But perhaps when there are genuine warning signs… you could listen to them? Listen to the people that care about you like us and Claire and Nicole?"

Ruby nodded unhappily, knowing they were right.

"I just want to fall in love so desperately," she said. "I want to be with someone and be loved by someone."

"But you have so much other love in your life without romantic life, Ruby," Joey said. "You're not lonely, are you?"

"I know I shouldn't be but…"

Joey squeezed her hand gently.

"I just look at you and Charlie and how complete you are…"

"But look how long it has taken for us to find each other, Ruby," Charlie said. "You're still at school. You've got so much time to find a long term relationship. You've got so much life to live before you settle down with someone. And if you get so focussed on that, you're going to miss out on the rest of the life that's going on around you."

"Neither of us was looking for a relationship when we found each other," Joey added. "I certainly wasn't. It was just the right thing at the right time. It wasn't forced. It wasn't searched for. It was natural."

Ruby nodded.

"And when you do find someone, be a little more cautious," Charlie suggested. "Don't throw yourself in with your whole heart, as endearing as that quality is. Be careful. Be sure that they feel the same way about you. Be certain that they aren't someone who is going to be unkind to you."

"And be careful that they're suitable for you," Joey added. "That you've not just fallen for the idea of them, like with Liam or because they were someone that you were spending a lot of time with like Alex and he was putting the moves on you just because he could."

"Don't let people take advantage of your heart," Charlie emphasised.

Ruby nodded.

"I hear you both," she said. "I'm listening and I hear you. I promise."


"Well, that's us ready to go," Robertson said to Graves the following morning.

"It's a shame we never got to the bottom of this one," Graves replied unhappily.

She too, didn't understand why they were walking away all of a sudden. She hadn't been working with Detective Robertson for that long but she had certainly never known him to leave a case unfinished. Like Charlie, she was suspicious of his reasoning.

"Well, perhaps one day something else will turn up."

His phone burst into life.

"Detective Robertson," he answered.

Graves listened to him talking monosyllabically on the phone.

"Well, I was only saying a second ago that something might turn up," he said when he hung up the phone.

"Has it?" she asked.

"Only Penn Graham's dead body."


Next time… The Penn Graham investigation is back on, Angelo feels the pressure and Robertson has Alf in his sights…