Episode 8041

Extended Summary

Alf meets up with Justin by the beach and notes Martha’s after him to get one of Leah’s recipes. Justin tells him that Leah’s gone to see her mother-in-law who has been taken ill. Alf asks after Andrew and Justin tells him about Andrew going back to live with his mother, saying he misses him but knows it’s the right thing for him.

At the police station, Cash explains to Rose that the taskforce heard from Tegan, Andrew’s sister, after she saw Theo’s page and laments the fact that she thought she’d found her brother only to find that the police had lost him again. Tegan is stuck overseas in a work contract and told them that Esther disappeared shortly after Andrew and she hasn’t heard from her in over ten years. He says the task force reprimanded him for not doing a proper ID check and insists he needs to tell Justin himself, suspecting the woman was from the cult.

At the coffee cart, Marilyn finds a paper with her on the front page left on one of the tables. John asks if she’s got her wedding invite from Jett, saying he got his yesterday. Marilyn says she hasn’t checked her mail yet. John asks about her behaviour yesterday and she apologises for snapping at him. Still suspicious, John says he’ll have a coffee and muffin to eat there. Later, John draws Marilyn’s attention to a smartly-dressed man, Dylan, who has been watching her, suggesting he’s an admirer. Dylan gets up and leaves, leaving a newspaper on the table in the same manner as the other one.

Alf runs into Justin outside the surf club and asks if he’s seen John. Justin checks his phone and finds he has several calls from Cash. At the police station, Rose gets off the phone and tells Cash the taskforce have no idea where Vita Nova are. Justin turns up and Cash takes him through to the interview room. As Rose watches through the window, Cash tells Justin that the woman who claimed to be Andrew’s mother lied.

Justin is furious that the fake Esther has disappeared with Andrew. Cash admits he checked the ID and says that the address on it was an empty property. He says Andrew isn’t a priority with the taskforce since he’s seventeen and left of his own volition. Justin says he was tricked and angrily points out that Cash gave him back to the people that kidnapped him. He pushes the table aside and grabs Cash by the shirt. Rose comes hurrying into the room, with other officers congregating outside the doorway. Cash quietly tells Justin to remember where he is and Rose reminds him he’s on a good behaviour bond. She convinces Cash to leave them alone. Later, Justin admits to Rose that he blames himself as much as Cash, saying he looked Andrew in the eye and convinced him to give the woman a chance, and let him go with her. He says he promised to keep him safe.

Alf drops by the coffee cart and finds John, who says he’s already read Alf’s list of jobs twice. Alf says a third time wouldn’t hurt. He gives Marilyn an envelope which John realises is Jett’s wedding invitation. Alf asks about her friend in Yabbie Creek and Marilyn says she just needed a shoulder to cry on. After Alf’s gone, John notes Marilyn has lied to either Alf or him.

Later, Marilyn tries to claim it was a new friend before admitting to staying at Irene’s, John still isn’t sure why she lied to Roo and Alf. Marilyn gets a text from a journalist from a city paper, wanting to do a follow-up interview. John tells her she’s famous now. Marilyn says it’s making her uncomfortable.

Justin is on the phone to Leah near the surf club, telling her that everything’s fine and to stay with her mother-in-law. He tells Alf about Andrew’s mother being a fake. He feels bad for letting Andrew down and also for ignoring his counselling and taking it out on Cash. At the police station, Rose tries to reassure Cash. Marilyn comes in and asks Rose if there’s any news on her case. Rose says the CEO of Stunning Organics is on leave and no-one knows where he is. Cash comes back from a phone call with the task force and says the woman was Margot Dafoe, the leader of Vita Nova, and he’s been taken off the case.

John turns up at the beach house and asks Marilyn about the door being locked. Marilyn says that Irene’s away. John knows something’s wrong and offers her his services as a friend if she wants one. Marilyn plays the voicemail message and confirms that she’s spoken to the police. She says she’s staying there to keep Alf and Roo safe and isn’t going to do the interview. John agrees that it’s her choice. Someone throws a brick through the window with a note saying “No more interviews or else.”

At home, Cash gets a phone call from Eden. He says he’ll tell her about his shift when he sees her and to have fun. Rose turns up to check on him. Cash says he should have confirmed Margot’s story about the name change. Rose says he did things by the book and she’d have done the same thing. Cash says Andrew isn’t a priority for the taskforce and he has to make sure he doesn’t get lost. He meets up with Justin by the beach and tells him he intends to look for Andrew. He says Justin spent more time with Margot than he did and he’ll have more chance of finding him with Justin’s help.

John boards up the window and wonders how they know about the interview. Marilyn thinks someone must be spying on her. John offers to stay with her but Marilyn says she’ll tidy up and get the window replaced and doesn’t need to be baby-sat. John points out that the people know where she’s staying but reluctantly leaves her. At the Parata house, Justin recalls that Margot mentioned staying at a motel and taking Andrew to a park. He slowly realises that everything she said was generic and she didn’t even know the name of his bear. Cash assures him they’re going to get him back.

At that moment, Andrew is in the cult’s compound out in the bush, with a PA voice repeatedly saying the group is only as strong as it’s weakest member. Margot oversees him moving a tyre and gives him a drink. He asks why he’s being punished. She says he told outsiders about them and no-one can know about their way of life if they’re going to survive. Andrew says he understands and is sorry. Margot says she doesn’t believe him and to go again. Andrew looks around at other young people working out and starts moving the tyre again.