Chapter Five Hundred and Eighty Six

"This is all your fault," Casey said coldly, as he sat uncomfortably, in handcuffs, in the back of the patrol car, next to his brother.

"Shut up," Heath snapped. "Don't you know they're listening to everything we say?"

"No," Casey hissed back at him. "Unlike you, I've never been arrested before!"

"Well, I'm happy to be with you while you pop your cherry!" Heath said with a smirk.

Casey glared hatefully at him. In the front of the car, Charlie and Watson listened to them both.


Ruby burst through the front door, her heart pounding. She glanced around and the carefully checked every room in the house. Relieved that nobody was home but desperately worrying about Casey and about the fact that Charlie was probably leading the charge at the party, she threw herself onto the couch. Digging around in her pocket for her phone, her heart surged all over again when she didn't find it.

"Shit!" she said, jumping up.

She had left her bag at the house.


The police station was utter chaos. It was full of River Boys and rowdy teenagers, many of them worse for wear, confused and somewhat frustrated. Some were bordering on aggressive. Charlie and Watson knew it was going to be an exceptionally long shift.

"How long are you going to keep us here?" Heath demanded impatiently from where he was waiting to be processed.

"Until it's your turn," Charlie said. "If you don't want to spend time here, why don't you learn to behave yourself?"

All the while, in the back of her mind, she kept picturing having to turn up at his family party the following day. She was also desperately worried about Ruby. Casey had been at the party. He was sat quietly next to Heath. And where Casey was, Ruby almost certainly had also been. She stopped and looked down at her daughter's boyfriend.

"You okay?" she asked, attempting to be kind.

"Can you call Brax?" he asked.

She nodded, returning to the front desk, where Watson was drowning in forms.

"You're worried about Ruby," her colleague said without even looking up.

"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "There's no way on earth that she wasn't at this party. Not with Casey there."

"Call her," Watson instructed.

"I said I'd called Brax for Casey," Charlie said.

Watson offered to do it, instructing Charlie to call her daughter and put her mind at rest. Charlie nodded and headed into her office for some privacy, ignoring Heath and several River Boys calling out to her.


Ruby jumped when the landline rang. Nobody ever rang the landline. She was about to pick it up when she realised that it would most definitely be Charlie. She would have worked out most of the story by now and have attempted to call her mobile. Not getting through, she would have tried the landline. Shaking her head, she sat back down on the couch. She was trembling. Panicking. How on earth was she going to explain what had happened?

The ringing ceased. Then it started again.

Once it had stopped, Ruby stood, pacing the length of the lounge. She found her way into the kitchen, opening the fridge. Then she opened the top cupboard. Standing on a chair, she rummaged around at the back. Yes! She knew there would be something in the house, something her parents would have kept hidden from her. She wasn't much of a chef so there wasn't much chance of her finding it. Not unless she was searching for this particular bottle of Amaretto hiding in the darkest corner of the kitchen.


"Of course, Charlie," Joey said. "Of course. I'll go right away. Please don't worry."

Charlie thanked her profusely and hung up, heading back into the din in reception while everyone they had arrested was being slowly processed and booked in.

"All I'm saying is that I didn't know having fun was a crime," Heath said, leaning on the counter, as Blake took his details.

"It's not so much the fun as the doing it on property you broke into," Blake explained diplomatically.

"Hey, I was invited!"

"And who invited you exactly?" Charlie asked.

He shrugged.

"Can't remember."

"Well, we'll be taking your phone so perhaps that'll give us a clue," Charlie said.

"You can't take my phone!" Heath protested.

"You've been arrested," Blake pointed out. "We can take all your property for as long as you're held in custody and longer if you're charged."

Heath glared at him and then at Charlie.

"So, do you want to save us some time and tell us who invited you?" Charlie asked.

"Nah, I don't want to save you anything. Or you," he added, turning to Blake. "You jobsworth."

Blake continued his work.


Ruby was sat on the sofa, shaking when Joey burst through the door. She turned tearfully to look at her, aware that she had already clocked the bottle on the table in front of her. They both froze for a moment. Joey looked at the bottle and then at her step-daughter. She closed the front door quietly and then came to sit beside Ruby on the sofa. She put her arm around her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Ruby burst into tears.


Heath had been placed in a cell, mostly to keep him quiet and to stop Charlie or Watson from throttling him. He was grating on everyone's last nerve, as were several others in his gang who had been placed in other cells. Casey remained on the bench in reception, looking white as a sheet. He looked up frantically every time the door opened, both fearing and longing for his eldest brother to appear.


"Charlie's going to be so angry with me," Ruby sobbed.

"The amount of things you and Charlie have been through," Joey said. "Whatever you've done, you'll get through this. It's okay. Okay?"

She felt Ruby nod reluctantly against her shoulder.

"But I need you to be honest with me," Joey persisted, moving so that Ruby had to look at her. "Did you drink any of this?"

"No."

Joey studied her face.

"I swear," Ruby said.

She was telling the truth.

"Okay," Joey said, letting out a breath. "Okay, well, let's tip it away. We shouldn't have even had it here. I'm sorry. We got complacent."

She stood up with the bottle, taking Ruby into the kitchen. She nudged Ruby into tipping the liquid away, knowing it was something she needed to do for herself. Then she took her back to the sofa.

"I need to call Charlie," she said.

"No!" Ruby protested.

"I just need to let her know you're safe," Joey said calmly. "She's so worried about you."

Ruby groaned, resting her face in her palms.

Joey pulled out her phone and called her fiancée.

Charlie answered her phone on the first ring.

"Joey?"

"She's at home," Joey confirmed.

"Is she okay?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"She's tearful but she's okay," Joey said. "I don't have the full story yet but I'll stay here with her and make sure she's alright. Don't worry about anything, okay? Just do what you have to."

She heard Charlie sigh heavily.

"Was she at the party?" the police officer asked.

"I would assume so but I haven't got that far," Joey replied.

"Keep me posted?"

"Promise."


Charlie hung up just as Brax walked through the door. She saw Casey jump to his feet, looking like a jangle of nerves.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Brax asked his brother.

"It's all been blown right out of proportion," Casey protested. "It was just supposed to be a few of us and then Heath turned up and…"

"I might have known," Brax said, nodding.

He approached Charlie at the reception desk.

"So, exactly what grounds have you got to arrest a kid?" he demanded.

"Breaking and entering," Charlie replied without missing a beat. "Criminal damage. That sort of thing."

"And why my brother?"

"It's not just him, don't worry," Charlie said.

"I don't suppose you arrested your daughter as well, did you?" Brax asked.

Charlie swallowed anxiously.

"She wasn't there," she said.

"Like hell, she wasn't," he said. "You know full well that wherever Casey goes, Ruby goes too."

"Well, she wasn't at the property when we arrived."

Brax leaned in uncomfortably close and took a deep breath in.

"You stink of police corruption, Sergeant," he told her.


"So, there was a party, right?" Joey asked, when Ruby's tears has subsided. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Ruby took a deep breath. She looked worriedly at Joey but nodded.

"It wasn't meant to be a party," she said. "Casey had this massive tip from some rich guy who mentioned his house was going to be empty. We were just going to hang out there – a few of us. But then Summer invited her boyfriend – a River Boy. And he brought more River Boys. And it just spiralled from there. We tried to shut it down. We tried to control it. But you know what those guys are like. We couldn't. And I guess someone called the police and…"

She shook her head.

"What happened next?"

"We all ran," she said. "I'm so worried about Casey. He got me through the fence and I fled. But I don't know what happened to him."

"He was arrested," Joey confirmed.

Ruby jumped up and began pacing, ringing her hands.

"That's not fair!" she said.

"He did start this, Ruby," Joey pointed out.

"No," she said. "He didn't. It was my idea, Jo. He didn't even want to have the party. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't."

"Well, I'm afraid he's in a lot of trouble," Joey said honestly.

"What am I meant to do?" Ruby said. "If he's in trouble then I should be in trouble too. I should go to the police station and confess."

"Look," Joey said, pulling Ruby to come and sit beside her again. "The station is absolute chaos right now. There's no point you throwing yourself in there as well. Half the party has ended up there."

Ruby worried for her friends that may have been arrested but especially for Casey.

"Sit tight and we'll talk to Charlie when she gets home," Joey said. "We can decide what to do together."


"I mean, this isn't exactly the best way to make a good impression tomorrow," Brax said, confronting Charlie said.

"I'm just doing my job," she replied. "This wouldn't have happened if your brothers hadn't broken into a property to have an illegal party. If anything, I'd say your family aren't making a good impression on me."

"How exactly are you going to prove that either of my brothers are behind any of this?" he asked. "Surely it's not illegal to attend a party?"

"Heath has been further arrested for assaulting a police officer since his arrest," Charlie said.

He had punched Blake when he'd been escorted to his cell.

"I mean, no great surprise there, I suppose," she said. "As for Casey, almost every person we've interviewed has told us that Casey was hosting the party."

"On his own?" Brax queried, although Charlie could tell he was rattled.

He was wondering how he could get his brothers out of trouble this time.

"They didn't mention anyone else."

"And you're going to take the word of a bunch of drunks, are you?" he asked. "That's evidence?"

"We're still gathering all our evidence," she said. "And we were waiting for you to turn up, as his responsible adult before we interviewed him."

They were interrupted by a hurried man in a suit approaching them, looking agitated and concerned.

"I got a call to say my house has been broken into," he said urgently.

Charlie frowned and informed him that that was indeed the case. She asked him to take a seat, promising that she would be with him as soon as possible. He looked around for somewhere to seat, noticing a young man who was trying not to be noticed.

"You!" he said. "You were at my house today! Did you do this?"

Charlie and Brax looked at Casey who wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"Did you break into my house?" the man demanded.

"I'm sorry," Casey apologised.

Brax was frustrated by his confession; professionally Charlie was pleased to have something to go on but personally, she was disappointed. She had come to like Casey. He was good for Ruby. Why did this have to happen?


Joey had run Ruby a bath. She didn't know whether to be furious with her or to feel desperately sorry for her. She was leaning towards the latter, having seen her in such a state and she was desperately worried that she could have been too late to stop her for drinking. She had sent Charlie a message, asking her to call when she had a moment. Then she picked up the phone and dialled Claire's number

"Hello?"

She knew she was still working. Joey had abandoned her with Romeo and Scott when Charlie had phoned her in a panic.

"Hi," Joey said. "Listen, I'm not angry, I'm just worried. Please can you tell me if you knew about this party."

She heard the background noise of the restaurant fade and a door click shut. She suspected Claire had let herself into her office, as staff had permission to do when required.

"Joey, I…"

"I'm not angry," Joey repeated. "I just need to know everything you know."

"They were planning it on the beach today," Claire said. "Hannah and I felt uncomfortable about it so we made our excuses. I said I had work, which I why I came in and took a shift; Hannah came to keep me company. We didn't want to go."

"How did the party come about?" Joey asked.

"Casey had had some big tip from work," Claire said. "The guy who gave it to him was packing up to go away for a few days, showing off about some business trip or something. I mean, to be fair, who tells a random teenager that their house is going to be empty?"

Joey nodded even though Claire couldn't see her.

"They happened upon it being a good idea to have a party," Claire continued.

"Whose idea was it?"

"Um…"

"Claire?"

"It was Ruby's idea," Claire admitted.

Joey sighed.

"Joey, it was just meant to be a handful of people," Claire said. "I haven't heard from Ruby all day. Has something happened?"

"It spiralled," Joey said. "Casey's been arrested."

"What?" Claire said, aghast. "He didn't even want to have the party!"

"He didn't?"

She heard Claire hesitate.

"I really need the full picture," she begged.

"Ruby was really excited," Claire admitted. "You know he'd do anything to make her happy."

"As would we all," Joey said.

"Yeah," Claire sighed.

"So, it was Ruby's idea. Casey reluctantly agreed. But it was only meant to be what, two, three, four people?"

"Something like that," Claire said. "A handful. Really something very small. I don't know how it would have got out of control like that."

"The River Boys," Joey explained.

"Right," Claire said unhappily.

She was more relieved than ever that she and Hannah had decided not to go.

"Is Ruby okay?" she asked.

"I don't know," Joey admitted. "She wasn't at the house when the police came so she's okay in that respect but she's upset about Casey. She's feeling guilty, I think."

"I'm really sorry, Joey," Claire said. "I should have said something before. I should have let you know about the party before it even happened. I'm sorry."

"Claire, you're not her keeper," Joey said firmly. "She's nearly an adult and she needs to learn to make the right choices. You don't need to keep picking up after – or before – her."

"That's what Hannah said," Claire admitted. "I've been stressing about this all day, worrying about her running into trouble. Hannah and Scott kept telling me that she isn't my responsibility."

"They're right," Joey said. "I mean, obviously I'd love it if I always knew what was going on with the kid. It would make my life a lot easier. But equally, that's not your burden to carry. And I really think you need to know that."

She heard Claire exhale slowly then thank her quietly.


Charlie disappeared to her office the first moment she could in order to call Joey; she was desperate to find out what was going on with her daughter.

"Hi," Joey greeted.

She sounded tired.

"Hi, Jo," Charlie said. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, I've concluded that Ruby was definitely at the party and it was her idea – not Casey's."

Charlie sighed and sat down.

"I was hoping you weren't going to say that," she admitted.

"She also thinks she left her bag at the party," Joey added. "Sorry to make things worse."

"Shit."

"What's happening over there?"

"The owner of the house has identified Casey and most of the partygoers have pinned everything on him," Charlie said. "He's likely to be in big trouble. Brax is kicking off about it. I don't really know what to do. The owner wants to press charges. But Brax has made it clear that if Casey is in trouble then so is Ruby and he'll find a way to prove it. And now if Ruby's bag is still at the house, he'll be able to do that pretty easily."

"Shit," Joey agreed. "Listen, I don't want to stress you out more but…"

She hesitated.

"What is it, Jo?"

"When I arrived home, Ruby had a bottle in front of her."

"Alcohol?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"We got lazy, Charlie," Joey said. "We should never have had anything hidden in the back, thinking she couldn't find it."

Charlie rubbed her temple with her free hand.

"She didn't…?"

"No, she didn't and we tipped the drink away," Joey assured her. "We talked a lot and I've put her in the bath. We need to go gently on this when you get home, Charlie. She's been really, really stupid but she's also really fragile."


Next time… Casey faces the consequences, things escalate between Ruby and her parents and Brax wades in…