Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety Four

It was early that morning when Charlie and Watson met along with most of the rest of the force down at the site where Penn Graham's body had washed up on the beach. John Palmer had been doing his morning rounds on behalf of the Surf Club and Council when he had spotted a large mass on the beach, which had been of interest to a lot of birds. He'd walked down to investigate what it was and he'd nearly thrown up at the site of the dead body in front of him. It had taken several moments to recognise Penn, having been battered and decomposing in the sea for weeks now. But it was him, he knew.

Once he had recovered himself, he had immediately called the police.

"What's happening?" Charlie called.

Robertson turned.

"Penn Graham," he said, nodding towards the screens that were up around the body.

Crime scene investigators were crawling all over the place.

"Washed up on the beach this morning," he told her when she and Watson came closer. "John Palmer called it in."

He nodded towards John, who was stood on the sand a few feet away, looking pale. An officer was stood with him, pad and pencil in hand, looking impatient, wanting to get a statement.

"Maybe you can get the information we need," Robertson said. "I don't think your colleague is doing very well."

"There is such a thing as patience and tact," Watson said, heading across to take over.

Charlie nodded and approached the screens.

"Any more idea as to what happened?" she asked.

"Well, I don't think he slipped and fell," Robertson remarked.

Charlie peered at the mess behind the screens. She had seen many a sight in her time but this made her feel ill. She steadied her stomach, wanting to save face in front of Robertson.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Now we find his killer, of course," Robertson replied.


Watson took John over to her patrol car and sat him down in the front seat.

"You must have had quite a shock this morning," she said. "Are you feeling okay?"

She reached into the backseat and pulled out her backpack, fishing out an unopened bottle of water. She offered it to him and he gratefully accepted.

"John, are you feeling okay?" she asked. "I know you have a heart condition. If you're not feeling well after the shock, I can take you to see a Doctor."

He gulped the water down.

"I'm okay," he assured her. "Thank you. It was just… well… you know."

"Yeah," she said. "I haven't even seen him and I can imagine."

"And then your colleague was badgering me about what I saw and…"

"Well, we obviously need to know but in your own time, John," Watson said. "Not now."

"Thank you, Watson," John said. "You're a good girl."

"Let me take you home, okay?" Watson said.

"I'm still at the hotel right now," John said unhappily.

All he wanted was to go home to Gina.

"Hotel it is," Watson said. "Strap yourself in. And if I can call anyone, just let me know and it'll be done. Then when you feel you can, I'll come over and you can tell me what you saw. But just when you're ready, okay?"

"Thank you," John said. "Thank you."


Charlie was anxious. She was angry and frustrated too. Robertson had just been about to leave and the Penn's body had shown up like a bad penny. It was like even in death, he couldn't stop causing trouble and trying to curse their town.

She knew for sure that Robertson was going to start taking the case far more seriously than he had been. And she knew he was going to be gunning for Alf. She was scared and she was stressed. She was scared for Alf and she was scared of the consequences for herself and Joey if in some bizarro world, Alf were to be arrested or, heaven forbid, convicted of Penn's murder.

Charlie knew he wasn't guilty. She knew he wasn't capable of murder or violence. But realistically, as a cop and not a friend, she also knew that he was the only person with a link to the victim. Apart from Nicole, he was the only one with a solid motive. She knew that he was in big trouble. And she knew that with a body, Robertson would not let it go until someone was behind bars.


Joey had been stopped no less than four times on her way to work that morning. Once by Irene, once by Leah, once by Colleen and once by someone she didn't even know. Everyone wanted to know if it was true – had Penn Graham's body really been washed up on the beach that morning? She maintained that she didn't know.

Once inside the restaurant, Angelo, surprisingly the first to arrive, tackled her.

"Is it true?" he demanded urgently.

"Oh, not you as well!" she said.

"Is it?"

"I don't know," she said.

"You're dating a cop," he said.

"A cop who left at dawn this morning," she said. "I don't know."

"Probably to go to a dead body," he said anxiously.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked suddenly.

He looked guilty.

"Angelo?"

"I didn't do anything," he said quickly.

She raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"I didn't!"

"You're not winning me over," she told him.

"Joey, I couldn't kill anyone," he said.

She continued to look at him.

"That was different."

"Different to what?"

"To whatever happened to Penn," he said quickly.

"What happened to Penn?"

"I don't know! Joey, you're really stressing me out."

"Angelo, calm down," Joey said kindly. "I know when you're hiding something, okay? And you're hiding something. So why don't you just tell me what it is. It can't be that bad."

Angelo sighed heavily.

"We had a meeting…" he said.

"A meeting?"

"Like a… a vigilante meeting, I guess," he said. "We wanted to run Penn out of town. And the next thing we knew, he was dead."

"Who was part of this meeting?"

"Me, Alf, Sid and Miles."

"And did anything come of it?"

"Nothing that I know of."

"Then chill," Joey said. "You did nothing wrong, okay?"

Angelo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Okay?" Joey said.

"Okay."

"Now, get to work," she instructed. "I'm going to call Charlie and find out what's going on. There are more important people that this affects than me and you."

He nodded, thinking of Alf. Penn had planned to come here and ruin his life and this might not be the way he had intended but he might have just succeeded.


Charlie picked up her phone quickly.

"Jo," she said, walking away from her colleagues, further up the beach.

"Charlie, what's happened?" Joey asked urgently.

"Penn Graham's body has just washed up on the beach," Charlie said. "He must have been in the water for weeks."

"Shit."

"Yeah…"

Charlie let out a breath.

"I'm guessing it doesn't confirm an accident from the sound of your voice?" Joey asked hopefully.

"Well, it's going to take a lot of examination but… well, it's not looking good," Charlie said.

She moved even further away, aware that Robertson was still around.

"I'm sure the rumours are already spreading but go and speak to Alf, okay? Don't let it be a shock."


John sat in the lounge of his hotel suite and was grateful that Gina had been able to come and see him. He hated to admit it but he felt very shaken at what he had seen and he need support. He made a mental note to commend Constable Watson for how good she had been to him. She was exactly the kind of officer you needed when you were in a situation like that.


Joey had abandoned Angelo at work and gone over to Summer Bay House. She found Alf sat at the table and came to sit beside him.

"It's true then?" he said. "About Penn?"

"Yes," Joey said. "I spoke to Charlie."

He sighed heavily.

"Is it awful?"

"It sounds it," she said. "I mean, she didn't go into detail but…"

"What am I going to do, Joey?" Alf asked. "Robertson is going to come after me now and he's not going to stop."

Joey reached out and held his hand.

"You are going to stay strong," she said.

It was almost an instruction.

"You didn't do this," she said. "So you are not going to go down for it. They can't find an innocent man guilty."

Alf looked at her.

"You know you haven't once asked me if I did it."

"Of course I haven't," she said.

He smiled. For a moment, he looked comforted. Joey gathered him into her arms and held him close. He really was the father she had longed to have. Undetected, Roo hovered in the doorway from upstairs. Jealousy welled up inside her. She had been trying to support him all morning, since Colleen had first phoned to spread the rumours about the body on the beach. But there was no way that she could comfort him the way that Joey could. No way on earth.


Robertson approached Charlie, startling her out of her conversation with a colleague. They had all been on the closed beach all morning. Photographers had been snapping away, trying to get their pictures on the front of the papers and lots of people were trying to get a sneak peek as to what was going on.

"So, who did you call first?" he asked, catching her off guard. "Joey or Alf?"

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"When you went off to make your call? Was it Alf to warn him or Joey to ask her to warn him?"

"I didn't make a call," Charlie replied honestly. "Joey called me."

"Oh, I see," Robertson said. "And you told her to go and warn Alf."

"I don't have to repeat my private conversations to you," Charlie informed him.

"Of course you don't," Robertson agreed. "But just remember, this is a murder investigation now. Everyone is a suspect. Professionalism is expected at all times."

"Probably a good idea for you to remember that too," Charlie replied.


Joey was still with Alf when Robertson came knocking on the door. They had both expected him. It was actually as surprise that he had waited so many hours. Graves came along as his little sidekick.

"Ah, Alf," he greeted. "I'm sure you've heard the news. I'm sure you were expecting me. I was certainly expecting to see you here, Joey. In fact, I have a mind to sit down and have a chat with you too at some point soon. You're one of the only one of Alf's nearest and dearest I haven't interviewed. And in the current circumstances, we can't leave any stone unturned."

He looked more seriously at Alf.

"You understand," he said. "We're not messing around anymore. It's not about little chats now. This is a murder investigation. It's a body washed up on a beach. It's the body of a man who hated you. It's the body of a man who had a grudge against you. He's dead and you had both a history with him and a motive. I'm sorry Alf because I like you and I understand that you are a well loved member of this community but you are my number one suspect."

Alf swallowed hard, staying close to Joey.

"So I would like you to sit tight, make sure you don't go anywhere any time soon and we'll be in touch to arrange a formal interview," Robertson said. "And I need you to tell me everything about Penn Graham, his mother, his so called reign of terror on Summer Bay. Where you were on the night of his death. The threats I've heard that you made against him. Everything. Okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Alf said.

"Good," Robertson said. "Well, I'll be in touch."

He and Graves left. Alf sank down in his seat. Joey sat beside him.

"It'll be okay, Alf," Joey tried.

Roo appeared in the room, having overheard everything.

"How is it going to be alright?" Alf asked desperately. "He's practically found me guilty already."

"Come on, Dad, only a court can do that," Roo said, sitting at the table with them.

"Really helpful, Roo," Alf said sourly.

"You know what I mean," Roo said defensively.

"She means that Robertson can't do anything to you because you didn't kill Penn," Joey said. "You didn't do anything to him."

Roo tried to smile but it came out as a scowl. Why did she always have the right words? It wasn't fair.

"That's exactly what I meant," she said.

Alf sighed heavily.

"I hope you girls are right," he said. "I… I don't want to go to jail."


It had been a long day for many people in Summer Bay. Charlie and Joey fell into bed with each other, exhausted and stressed. They cuddled up close.

"What a crappy day," Charlie sighed.

"I don't envy you," Joey said, stroking her girlfriend's face.

"How's Alf doing?"

"Pretty broken."

"Listen, I know the next few days, weeks, months, however long, aren't going to be easy," Joey said. "But I'm here for you, okay? We're in this together."

"That's all I need to know," Charlie said.

They kissed.


Next time… Ruby and her friends have a night out, Claire stands up for Dex and things are awkward between Liam and Bianca…