Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Three

Joey was quiet over breakfast. She seemed quiet most of the time these days. She was in a lot of pain, Charlie knew. And the trauma of confrontation had affected her deeply, as had the destruction of the restaurant. She remained focussed on rebuilding the place and was taking it on as a project, which seemed to have improved her mood. But Charlie was worried. She knew Ruby was too. They appeared to have lost Alf at a critical time, although he had phoned several times already and Joey had plastered a smile on her face every time. She hadn't wanted him to know that anything was wrong. She had wanted him to continue enjoying his travels.


Sid and Marilyn had hardly slept. Dex had not returned home the night before. It just wasn't like him. He never stayed out and if he ever did, he would always have told them where he was going. They had contacted all of his friends, prompting Charlie to call Sid and tell him that she had seen Dex earlier in the day filming some of the River Boys. She had warned him not to but she didn't know if he had heeded her advice or not. She had told him to contact the police, which he had done. Now he, Marilyn and Indi just had to wait and hope that Dex would return safe and sound.


"Are you going to help look for Dex today?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'll head into work early and see what's happening," Charlie replied.

She had hardly slept, worrying about what the River Boys had done to him.

"Poor kid," Joey said. "Do you think the River Boys have really done something bad to him?"

"I hope not," Charlie said. "But he was hanging around them yesterday. I warned him to back off. But you know what he's like when he gets his head stuck in an idea."

"He's been absolutely obsessed with that video camera recently," Ruby said. "He's been really annoying."

"Well, hopefully it's not got him into trouble," Joey said.

"What are your plans today, Jo?" Charlie asked.

"The builders are arriving to give us a quote on the work at the restaurant."

She suddenly looked stricken.

"You are going to be there, aren't you?"

"Of course," Charlie assured her. "Two o'clock. I'll come and pick you up."

Joey thanked her. Charlie squeezed her hand. She remained worried.


Dex felt broken. He was exhausted and in pain. He was dehydrated and he wasn't sure he would make it home. He had been walking all night. He had been dumped miles from home and abandoned. The River Boys had only looked back to laugh at him. He felt utterly humiliated. Humiliated and bitter. He could kick himself for not listening to Charlie. He had just thought she was being an overprotective adult. He should have known, as a cop, that she knew what she was talking about. He felt so stupid. And he was in so much pain.


Romeo had abandoned breakfast to rush over to see Indi and her family in the wake of Dex's disappearance. He had offered to go round the night before but Indi had reassured him that she was okay and hadn't wanted to call him out so late at night.

"Is there any news?" he asked as soon as he arrived.

"Nothing," Indi said, hugging him tight.

She had been dismissive of her Dad's concern at first. But as time had gone on, she had become genuinely worried about her brother. His disappearance really was out of character.

"Dad's phoning the police station again now to see if there's any news or anything we can be doing," she explained. "He's hoping that Charlie will be on shift today. Or Watson. There was nobody we really knew last night. I don't think they would even have paid us any attention if he hadn't insisted that Charlie had told us to call."


Joey remained at home while Charlie dropped Ruby at school and headed into work. She arrived at the same time as Watson and filled her in on Dex's disappearance. They eagerly took over from the night shift who hadn't made much progress on finding the teenager. Charlie was not impressed.

"Why haven't you tried to find him?" she asked.

"We sent a patrol car round," Constable Jarvis said vaguely.

Watson tried not to smirk as she saw the officer squirm.

"I specifically asked Doctor Walker to contact you for help."

"Looking for a teenager?" Constable Jarvis asked. "He's probably hiding out or something."

"Did you even listen to what you were told about him?" Charlie asked, shaking her head.

She dismissed him and then called Watson over to help her kick start the case. Constable Blake, who had helped significantly with the Penn Graham case approached anxiously.

"Sid Walker just phoned?" he said.

He blushed, not having meant it to come out as a question.

"He was hoping for an update about his son," he said.

"Could you call him back and tell him that we're sending out multiple patrol cars right now please?" Charlie said. "And also tell him that I'm heading over to the school to talk to his classmates to see if anyone knows anything about his whereabouts?"

Blake nodded and hurried off.


Colleen arrived at the Diner for her shift in a fluster, having been hassled and jeered at by a large gang of tattooed men on her way in. She was ranting to Leah and Irene about it when Charlie arrived for an ill-timed coffee.

"Sergeant Buckton!" Colleen almost shouted.

Charlie froze.

"What have I done?" she asked.

"It's what you haven't done that's the problem," Colleen accused.

"Colleen, none of this is Charlie's fault," Leah said, standing up for her friend.

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked.

Irene set about making the police officer's usual coffee order. Charlie thanked her quietly, noticing. John appeared behind Charlie, eager to join in the conversation.

"Those River Boys!" Colleen snapped. "They hassled me again this morning as I was arriving for work. They're awful."

"I do know that, Colleen," Charlie said. "They've destroyed my business, if you haven't noticed. They've broken my girlfriend's wrist."

"And yet they're still here," John said behind her.

Charlie felt suddenly ambushed.

"You can't be that concerned if you're not getting them out of here."

"Pipe down, John!" Irene snapped. "How dare you tell Charlie she's not bothered about what's happened? They've trashed the restaurant and injured Joey. Of course she's damn well bothered!"

"Thanks, Irene," Charlie said, accepting her coffee.

She handed over her cash, which Irene refused.

"There are criminal gang members ransacking our town," John argued. "Why aren't the police doing anything about it?"

"We can't stop them existing," Charlie said. "As much as we'd like to. The only thing we can actually do is stop individual crimes. And we are doing that. All I can advise is to keep vigilant."

"Well, that's not good enough," Colleen said.

"Colleen, if you feel harassed, you need to report it," Charlie said. "Officially. Not like this."

"Maybe I will," Colleen said grumpily.

She stalked off into the kitchen.

"But as an aside, it looks like Dexter Walker might be missing," Charlie added. "If anyone sees him, please report it to the police."

Irene, Leah and John promised they would. Charlie offered money for her coffee but again it was refused.

"I think you deserve it," Irene said.


Back in her car, Charlie sat and took several breaths. Tears formed in her eyes. She rubbed her temples. She told herself over and over not to crack under the pressure. She reminded herself that Joey needed her to be strong and to look after her while she was struggling.


Dex didn't know how far he had walked or how far he had left to go. The sun was burning hot. He hadn't drunk anything for hours. He was exhausted and in pain from the beating he had taken. He felt utterly broken. He just hoped that someone was looking for him.


Charlie was stood in front of Dex's classmates, including Ruby, April, Romeo and a boy she suspected was the younger brother of the Braxton boys. Xavier was still in critical condition in hospital. She couldn't help but suspect that this new boy may have some idea of what happened to Dex. It wasn't fair to accuse him just because of his surname but it seemed suspicious that someone with a connection to the River Boys had started at the school and now a student was missing.

"So, if any of you have any idea what has happened to Dexter Walker…" she said.

She looked around the room and then settled her eyes on Casey. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She noticed. He looked away and fiddled with the pen on his desk.

He had hardly slept the previous night, worried about what his mates had done to the weird kid with the camera. He was even more worried now he knew he had gone missing. He knew what the River Boys were capable of. He had lived around them all his life. He wanted to start afresh here in Summer Bay. He didn't want to get involved in any trouble.


At home, Joey couldn't settle. She had cleaned the house from top to bottom, which it turned out wasn't that easy with a broken wrist. But she couldn't sit still. She began to pace the house, watching the clock and hoping that Charlie would come home soon. She couldn't cope with how anxious she was feeling.

The more she paced, the more she struggled to breathe. The struggle for breath became worse and worse. She stopped pacing, leaning hard on the back of the sofa, as her head began to spin. She closed her eyes, feeling like her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She felt dizzy and sick. She gasped for breath. She couldn't control it.


Charlie was on her way back from the school to the police station. She had a couple of hours until she needed to collect Joey and go to the restaurant. She was still worried about her. She had sent her a text to check in and received a very brief, non-Joey like reply.

She pulled over when her attention was drawn to a group of around nine men, hanging around a picnic area that was usually frequented by families. They were draped over benches and the grass was covered in cans and rubbish. Their music was deafening.

She climbed out of the car and called for them to turn the music down, which they did. One of them, whose name she couldn't recall, although she did recognise him from previous arrests, stood up and walked towards her.

"Do you guys think you should be here?" Charlie asked.

"Not harming anyone," he replied.

"This place is intended for families," she told him.

He shrugged.

"We're a family," he replied.

"I meant parents and kids," she said.

"Well there aren't any here now."

He shrugged again.

"Probably because of you guys hanging out here."

"Maybe it's first come, first serve," he suggested.

Another couple of guys sat up and peered at her.

"Hey, aren't you the hot, lesbian cop?" one of them called.

She cringed inside but didn't show it. The first guy smirked at her.

"Are you?" he asked.

"Are you going to move on from here?" she asked.

"Nah, I don't think so," he said.

"Well, at least turn the music down and be respectful of others if they want to spend time here," she told him. "You don't own the place. And clean up after yourselves when you leave."

She nodded towards all the rubbish on the ground.

"Littering is an offence," she informed them.

She turned back to her car. She gritted her teeth when a couple of guys followed her.

"So, how long have you been gay?" one of them asked.

"Your girlfriend's pretty hot!" another one said.

"Why don't you bring her down here? Put on a show for us?" another one suggested.

She turned back before she got into the car.

"Would you like me to arrest you for harassment?" she asked.

They wolf whistled as she drove away.


Dex waved his hands in desperation before collapsing on the road. The patrol car stopped abruptly. Watson and Blake jumped out in a hurry.

"Dex?" Watson said urgently, checking him over.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Blake asked.

"It'll be quicker to get him there ourselves," Watson said, instructing him to help her get Dex into the back of the car.

She jumped into the front seat, radioing through what had happened and asking someone to phone Sid and let him know.

"I'll call," Charlie replied. "Thank you both!"

She pulled over again and dialled Sid's number to let him know that his son had been found, even if it didn't quite seem like he was safe yet. She redirected her own plans to go to the hospital before she had to meet Joey. She felt guilty that she hadn't done more for Dex when she had the chance and she wanted to make sure he was okay.


Joey had nearly passed out. Thankfully, she had managed to regulate her breathing and was now sat on the sofa with a glass of water. She didn't understand what had happened. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. She had been feeling weird for days. She didn't like it. She felt like stress was overwhelming her at the moment. She didn't feel like herself at all. She just wanted to bounce back. Everything just felt horrible.


Charlie met Watson at the hospital. Sid was already there and hovering over the Doctor as she checked Dex over. Indi and Marilyn were waiting outside.

"What happened?" Charlie asked anxiously.

"The River Boys dumped him out in the bush," Watson explained.

Charlie shook her head in disgust.

"I think he'll be okay," Watson said. "I hope so anyway. He was dehydrated and they've obviously laid into him before they dumped him but… nothing life threatening, I don't think."

Charlie was relieved but she felt sad for Dex. He didn't deserve it.

"Why did they do it?"

"The camera," Watson told her. "Like you said."

Charlie shook her head. She hovered in the doorway when the doctor left. Sid noticed her and invited her in.

"How are you doing, Dex?" Charlie asked quietly.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Charlie," Dex said weakly. "You were right. You were trying to look out for me."

Charlie squeezed Dex's hand.

"It's not your fault, okay?" she said. "Just please stay safe and get well."

Dex nodded, although he was in a lot of pain.

"I'll come back and visit you when I can," she promised. "But call me if you need anything. Either of you."

Sid and Dex both thanked her as she left the room.


Joey was relieved when Charlie arrived back home, ready to go to the restaurant to speak to the builders. Charlie was pleased to let her know that Dex had been found and taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries and dehydration.

"What happened to him?" Joey asked.

"The River Boys happened to him," Charlie said grimly.

Joey felt her breathing waver again. She fought it. Charlie came to sit beside her.

"Are you okay, Joey?" she asked. "You look a little pale. Are you feeling sick?"

Joey plastered a smile on her face and squeezed Charlie's hands.

"I'm fine," she lied.

She had already decided not to tell her partner about the earlier incident. She had worked out that it had been a panic attack. She had never had one before but she knew what they were.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked worriedly. "We could cancel if…?"

"No!" Joey protested. "I wanted to get moving on the restaurant."

"Okay," Charlie agreed. "But then I really want you to come home and rest. Now that Dex has been found, I can probably take the rest of the afternoon off. We could spend a bit of time together."

Joey smiled and kissed her.

"I'd like that," she said.


That night, Dex lay in his hospital bed, feeling utterly humiliated. He was also in a lot of pain and discomfort. He dreaded what people would be saying about him. He worried that the kids at school would be laughing at him. He sighed heavily and attempted to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about the River Boys moving into the Bay and destroying their happy home.


Charlie and Joey had had a successful meeting with the builders who were set to start work on the restaurant the next day. They'd then had a nice afternoon together, although Joey still wasn't herself. They'd stopped off on the way back to see Dex, who seemed to be doing okay, despite being hurt and shaken by what had happened to him.

"Joey, please talk to me," Charlie begged.

"I am talking to you," Joey replied. "We've literally just been having a conversation."

"I mean… about how you're feeling."

Joey sighed and snuggled up to her on the sofa.

"I'm okay," she said. "My wrist is just hurting, that's all."

"Well, should we get it checked out again?" Charlie worried.

Joey was dismissive. Charlie frowned. She just wanted Joey to be okay.


Next time… Charlie worries about Joey, Ruby bonds with Casey and someone's life is in danger as a fight breaks out on the beach…