To TheJDSgames, I don't know whether it's a good thing or not that I have been writing this story over three decades! Sometimes I curse myself for my need to complete a story! But I really do want to see this one through to the end. Thank you to anyone and everyone who has read this story all this time. You are all amazing. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty Nine

Charlie woke up a little groggy, as if she had been drinking heavily the night before. She hadn't. She'd been working hard and then abandoned in the middle of nowhere by Will Smith. Then she had had quite a late night with Joey, with whom she was currently entangled.

Yawning, she carefully extracted herself from her sleeping partner and threw on some underwear and a t-shirt. She wrapped her dressing gown around her and padded into the kitchen to make some coffee. She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was go back to bed. But she had work to do. She had a case to solve and a suspect to find. Will would never have run away if he didn't have something to hide. If his departure wasn't an admission of guilt then she didn't know what was.


Bianca woke up in the tent she shared with Liam, the love of her life. She turned to her left and gazed at his unshaven, rugged face and smiled lovingly at him. Every morning, she woke up grateful that he had saved her from a life of misery with Vittorio. They had had the most amazing few weeks together, travelling around Europe, celebrating their very first Christmas together. And these few couple of weeks back home had been fantastic. Their bubble had not burst.

However, she then turned to her right. In a separate sleeping bag, lay her younger sister, April. She had arrived back in Summer Bay, having pretty much been abducted by their mother on her wedding day. Having already left the venue, Bianca had known nothing about it until recently, although she had been worried. Contact with her sister had been few and far between, not to mention vague. Now, as glad as Bianca was to have her sister back with her, their living arrangements were more than a little snug. The romantic setup she and Liam had didn't exactly lend to three.


Charlie brought coffee back to the bedroom. She stood in the doorway and smiled affectionately at her partner, watching her stretch, squeaking as she began to wake up.

"What are you looking at?" Joey mumbled, realised she was being observed.

"Just you," Charlie said, stepping further into the room and kicking the door shut. "Thinking about how cute you are in the mornings."

Joey blushed and smiled.

"I brought coffee," Charlie said, handing her a cup and climbing into bed.

"I should really be waiting on you," Joey pointed out. "You're the one that got kidnapped last night."

"I'm fine," Charlie said dismissively. "Plus, you took care of me pretty well last night."

She grinned naughtily and stole a kiss.

"Well, I got a good deal out of it too!" Joey quipped, stealing a second kiss.

Charlie leant back against the pillows, putting her arm around Joey, who snuggled against her chest.

"I suppose I have no chance of convincing you not to go into work today?" Joey sighed.

"I have to," Charlie said. "I have to try and find Will. But I promise not to overdo it."

"Well, I'm going to hold you to that," Joey warned.

They kissed tenderly.

"I was so scared when we couldn't get in touch with you last night," Joey admitted.

"I'm sorry, Jo," Charlie apologised. "If it helps, all I could think about was getting home to you."

"It helps," Joey said, kissing her again. "I guess this is what it's like to be in a relationship with a cop. Always putting yourself in danger for the safety of others!"

Charlie chuckled.

"Well, I'm not as reckless as I used to be!" she told her. "Now that I have such a happy life with you and Ruby. I never ever want to lose what we have."

"Nor do I," Joey said.

She wrapped her arms around her, kissing her again.


Ruby was already up when Charlie and Joey emerged for breakfast.

"Morning," the teenager said. "I'd ask how you slept but well, I heard."

She pulled a face. Charlie and Joey both cringed.

"I mean, I am glad that you're home safe and I am glad that you're in love and all that crap but hearing my parents at it… well, it's gross, okay? Keep it down, would you?"

Charlie and Joey mumbled embarrassed apologies.

"Breakfast?" Joey offered, trying to back out of such an awkward conversation.

"Yes please," Charlie accepted quickly.

Ruby also accepted.

"So, what are you up to today, Ruby?" Charlie asked.

"I have a study date with Romeo," her daughter told her.

"That's very organised and studious of you," Joey remarked.

"Well, it's my final year of school and I want to take it seriously," Ruby said. "I want to make a success of my life."

She looked suddenly earnest, making eye contact with both of her parents.

"I want to make you both proud."

Charlie walked over and hugged her daughter.

"We'll always be proud of you, Ruby," she told her.

"Ugh! Charlie! I know where you've been!" Ruby protested.

Charlie broke away, laughing.

"And the moment's lost!" she said, shaking her head.


"Oh, Charlie, I was really hoping you'd change your mind about coming in today," Watson sighed when Charlie walked into the police station in uniform.

"I have to resolve this case, Watson," Charlie said.

"But you were up half the night last night!"

"So were you!" Charlie pointed out.

"But I wasn't picked up and left in the middle of nowhere!" Watson argued. "Go home, woman!"

Charlie laughed and shook her head.

"We need to find Will," she agreed. "And we have a whole team of cops out there looking for him. You don't need to be involved, Charlie. Not today."

"I concur," said a male voice behind her.

Charlie turned around to see Robertson approaching them. For once he looked kind instead of smug.

"You had a tough night last night, Charlie," he said. "You shouldn't overdo it today."

"Honestly, I'm fine," Charlie insisted. "I want to work. I want to get to the bottom of this case."

"It's up to you," Robertson said, rifling through some files on the desk. "But be careful. I don't want you to end up in trouble."

"You almost sound like you care," Charlie commented.

He looked her in the eye.

"I do care," he said.

Then he strode into his office. Charlie and Watson exchanged confused glances. Charlie shook her head.

"Anyway," she said. "Where are we at with Will? And what's happening with Alf? Has Morag petitioned for the charges to be dropped yet?"


Charlie had worked the morning, promising to stop at lunch time and take the rest of the day off. She drove over to the restaurant to see Joey.

"Oh, look at you two, hard at work," she said, approaching Ruby and Romeo who were at a table, books spread out in front of them.

"I told you we were getting a head start," Ruby beamed.

Charlie kissed the top of her head.

"Good girl," she said.

"Um… hello?" Romeo said.

Charlie kissed the top of his head too.

"Good boy," she laughed.

He grinned at her. His study dates with Ruby were definitely making him feel happier and more confident about returning to school, especially now that he felt he was already losing Indi to her new life at University – and she hadn't even started yet.

Charlie left them to it and approached Joey, who finished her shift and took her into the office. They fell into each other's arms.

"You know, I think I should get kidnapped more often!" Charlie remarked.

"Um, no!" Joey objected. "I think that is a terrible idea!"

Charlie wrapped her arms around her.

"But the kisses are amazing!" she purred, nuzzling Joey's neck.

Joey leant her head back, closing her eyes. She could feel her body tingling. Then she collected herself.

"No!" she stated firmly. "The kisses may continue. But no more kidnapping."

Charlie grinned from where she sat, perched on the edge of Joey's desk. She wrapped her legs around Joey, pulling her closer. She kissed her again.

"Okay," she promised. "No more kidnapping. As long as the kisses continue."

Joey kissed her, running her hands through her hair. They broke apart when Angelo knocked, entering the office without waiting. He blushed when he realised that he had interrupted them.

"Sorry!" he said. "I'll come back."

"Don't worry," Joey said. "We were just…"

"Making out," Charlie replied honestly.

"Yeah, I saw," Angelo remarked. "I was just checking the weekend roster."

"Go for your life," Joey said, taking Charlie by the hand and offering her some lunch.


Bianca pounced on Charlie and Joey the second they emerged from the office. They took a table in the corner.

"You look strung out!" Joey remarked.

"Have you ever tried living in a tent with a man and a teenager?" Bianca asked.

"Definitely not," Joey said. "That sounds horrific. Especially the man part."

Charlie laughed and put her arm around her girlfriend.

"Well, image the two of you and Ruby in a tent," Bianca said. "But worse. Liam is grumpy that his paradise is being invaded and April is just grumpy."

"No WiFi?" Charlie asked.

"And no Xavier."

"Oh yes," Joey said. "We heard about that."

"And I'm just stuck in the middle," Bianca complained. "Figuratively and literally."

"I have to say, it doesn't sound great," Joey empathised.

"But what can I do?" Bianca wondered. "I can't kick her out. That would be so incredibly selfish. She's just split with Xavier. She's had the worst summer ever, running away from our mother. She's so lost. I'm supposed to be a good sister and be there for her. I'm supposed to be supportive. But…"

"But you were really enjoying playing pop up tent with Liam," Joey smirked.

Bianca blushed. Charlie laughed.

"Well, yeah," Bianca admitted.

"Listen, the chances are that April won't want to stay with you for very long anyway," Charlie said reasonably. "No WiFi. No space. A lovey-dovey couple around her when she's just become single. No way will she stick around. She'll have moved in with Irene again by the end of the week."

"Is it wrong that I hope so?" Bianca asked.

Her friends reassured her that it wasn't.

"Anyway, what's new with you two?"

"Not much," Charlie said.

"Uh, except that Will Smith abandoned you in the middle of nowhere last night, took your phone and your gun and then skipped town!" Joey corrected.

"Well, apart from that," Charlie agreed.

"What?" Bianca squawked. "I've been twittering on about my tent and you had that happen last night?"

She shook her head, aghast.

"It's fine," Charlie said. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Bianca asked worriedly. "I mean… are you sure?"

"I am absolutely sure," Charlie promised. "And Watson is meeting us here for lunch to go through the case again to see if we can find something we missed."

Joey looked surprised. Charlie hadn't actually told her that.

"She is?"

"Oh!" Charlie apologised. "Yeah. We thought between the three of us we might be able to cover some new ground and find something we might have missed."

Bianca waved the police officer over when she spotted her walking through the door. Watson smiled and approached.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to leave," she said. "I'm sorry for what you went through, Charlie. And I'm sorry I waffled on about my insignificant problems without asking how you were first."

"You really didn't…" Charlie tried.

"But we'll talk properly soon," Bianca said. "Maybe over some wine?"

Charlie and Joey accepted immediately.

"I hope you guys are able to make some progress."

She waved and headed out the door. Watson took her place.

"I hope I didn't chase her away?" she said, placing a folder on the table.

"Yep," Charlie said. "One look at that thing and she ran a mile!"

Watson chuckled.

"I'm thinking about following her…" Joey said. "You know, you didn't actually consult me on this…"

"Come on," Charlie coaxed. "Do you want to play cops?"

"Charlie! That's just for me you and at home!" Joey cracked.

Watson immediately put her hands over her ears.

"Seriously, don't want to know, guys!" she protested, making them both laugh.


An hour later, Charlie, Joey and Watson had a nice spread of food to pick at and some soft drinks while they discussed what they knew about the case. The police officers were careful not to mention anything that Joey wasn't technically allowed to know but with everything that had been reported in the press and all the conversations she had had with Alf, she pretty much knew the case inside out anyway.

"It's the sequin the bothers me," Charlie said thoughtfully.

"The sequin?" Joey said.

Charlie squirmed. She really had tried to be so careful.

"Okay, so there was a sequin in the hotel room," Watson whispered. "Sshh."

Joey made the motion of zipping her lips shut.

"Why does it bother you, Charlie?" she asked.

"It doesn't fit," the Sergeant explained. "If Alf's the killer, which obviously he isn't, but if he was, then how does the sequin fit? If Will's the killer, how does it fit?"

"Maybe it doesn't?" Watson said. "Maybe he just got laid before it all kicked off?"

"There was no physical evidence of that," Charlie reminded her.

Joey pulled a face, feeling uncomfortable. Charlie held her hand under the table, knowing why.

"But even if he had been with someone that night, his death has been publicised, why wouldn't that person come forward?"

"Because they were guilty of something?" Joey suggested.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully.

"Shandi!" Joey suddenly said.

Both officers looked at her.

"If you think Will killed Penn or was involved in his murder and it's the sequin that's the anomaly in the case, what about Shandi?" Joey said. "She was dating Will at the time. What if the sequin belonged to her?"

Charlie kissed her.

"I think you might be a genius," she said.

"Hey, maybe there's room for you on the force," Watson remarked.

"I'm quite happy here, thanks," Joey assured her.

"It definitely wouldn't be a leap for Shandi to have been involved," Charlie said, running with the theory. "She was dating Will. She skipped town almost as quickly as she arrived…"

"What's this about Shandi?" Angelo asked, approaching the table with stealth.

"Do you have to creep up on people?" Charlie snapped.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I just brought you some olives. You looked like you were out."

The truth was, he knew they were working on a case and for some reason, they had included Joey who had nothing to do with the police at all. He didn't think it was fair at all. If they were going to involve any civilian in their sleuthing, then surely it should be him, the person with an actual police background?

"Thanks," Joey said.

"So… um… you're looking for Shandi?" he asked.

"Maybe…" Charlie said cautiously.

"Well, I mean, I might be able to help you find her," he said, winging it.

"Really?" Watson asked hopefully.

"Yeah, well I picked her up initially. I helped her with her car," Angelo reminded them. "I might be able to find something from that day. If you want?"

"That would be great," Charlie accepted.

Angelo hesitated, hoping still that they might include him in their discussion. They didn't. He cleared his throat and then headed out of the restaurant and down to his car.


Angelo reappeared ten minutes later with a receipt from the tow truck they'd had to call out when he had found her broken down on the side of the road. Despite the fact that she had dumped him almost the second they had arrived in Summer Bay, he still looked back on their brief moment in time together with happiness.

"I paid the company," he told them, handing the receipt over. "But Shandi had to put her own address down. So… hopefully you'll be able to track her down here?"

"That's really helpful," Charlie said. "Thank you, Angelo."

He smiled hopefully. But, still not welcomed into the conversation, he shuffled off back to the bar.

"I feel bad," Watson said. "He so obviously wanted to join us."

"I know," Charlie said. "But this isn't a family gathering. Well, we are family but you know what I mean. We're not just chatting. This is a serious discussion. It's important."

"I guess the cop instinct never completely leaves you," Joey said. "Imagine if you guys lost your career and then a big case like this came up and you were shut out of it…"

"Yeah, I get it," Charlie said. "But hopefully neither of us will ever lose our careers."

"Certainly not the way he did!" Watson remarked.

She frowned.

"Now I feel like a bully again."

"Have an olive," Joey offered.


By the next morning, Watson and Charlie had a plan. Between them and Joey, they had a rough timeline of what they thought may have transpired on the night Penn Graham had died. They had no proof but they certainly had an idea. So this morning, the two colleagues intended to head to the address Angelo had found in a bid to track Shandi down and get some answers.

"Oh!" Joey said, studying her phone. "You were absolutely right, Charlie. April moved back in with Irene last night."

"Damn, I should have put some money on it or something," Charlie replied.

Joey chuckled.

"How come she's back with Irene?" Ruby asked.

"No WiFi," her parents replied in unison.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"That'll be Watson," Charlie said. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Joey said, kissing her goodbye.

She dashed out of the house amid Ruby questioning what she was doing.

"They're just doing more with the Penn Graham investigation today," Joey said. "They've got a new lead."

Ruby looked concerned.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Joey said, hoping she sounded convincing.

The truth was, she was a little nervous about Charlie and Watson confronting Shandi. Normally, she was perfectly confident but after the other night, her nerves were on edge. She knew Charlie could handle herself and she knew she and Watson would take care of each other but she just couldn't help but fret.


It was a good hour and a half's drive to Shandi's house and Charlie and Watson just hoped that their trip would come to fruition.

"Ready?" Charlie asked when they pulled up outside the house.

"Yep."

They climbed out of the car and walked up the path together. The lawn was neat and tidy, not the type of house they expected of the chaotic woman they had met in Summer Bay. Charlie knocked on the door. It opened a few seconds later by a pale woman with mousey brown hair.

"Hi, I'm Sergeant Charlie Buckton with Yabbie Creek Police Station," Charlie introduced herself. "This is my colleague Senior Constable Georgina Watson. We're looking for Shandi Palmer."

"I'm Shandi Palmer," the timid woman said.

"Uh… sorry?"

"I'm Shandi Palmer," the woman said more confidently. "How can I help you?"

Charlie and Watson exchanged glances. Of all the eventualities they had discussed, this wasn't what they were expecting.

"Um… do you recognise this woman?" Charlie asked, digging a photograph of the Shandi that they had met out of the small wallet she was carrying.

"Yes, that's my friend, Daria," Shandi said, rolling her eyes. "What the hell has she done now?"


Next time… Charlie and Watson interview and then hunt down Daria plus the police get a lead on Will…