Episode 8269

Extended Summary

Alf and Roo are walking by the beach and see more people with the “RIP Stevie” t-shirts, then the hawker selling them and calling them limited edition. Alf tells him to get lost, which he does but not before calling Alf “Grandpa” and saying they have cars now. Alf also moves on as Harper appears. Roo comments that she wanted to go to the court to support Tane but he refused. Harper gets a call from John.

At the Diner, John is sat with Dana. Rose stops by the table to give her a brief pep-talk, saying she just needs to tell the truth. Harper turns up and John hands over to her. Harper says she doesn’t want to go either but they have to and they’ve gone over what the prosecutor’s going to ask.

At the surf club, Alf talks to Roo. Mali and Kirby about tourists turning up to see where Stevie died. Kirby suggests they’re paying their respects. Alf points to them flogging merchandise and taking photos. He thinks things should all get back to normal and points out Mali would usually be taking classes on the beach now. Mali says it’s just happened and Roo says things will get back to normal eventually. Alf thinks the place is turning into a morbid theme park. Tane comes through and heads into the gym, ignoring Kirby’s greeting. Mali follows him in and again offers to go with him before saying he’s not alone.

Mali joins Kirby up in Salt and admits Tane isn’t great. Kirby asks if he wants her to call in students whose lessons were cancelled before saying it seems too soon for her. Mali says he can’t go to the beach: It’s what his culture call Sorry Business, you can’t disturb the spirit until the community have said goodbye. Normally, an elder would perform a smoking ceremony. Kirby suggests he arrange it. Mali doesn’t want to lie to Alf in the meantime.

Outside, Tane and Marshall get in the car, with Marshall noting Tane going after the shooter gave them another couple of days to prepare. Felicity suddenly gets in the back of the car, announcing she’s going with them. Tane tries asking where Cash is. Felicity says he’s in the city asking questions about Stevie and tells Marshall to get going.

The judge starts the case, announcing Tane has been charged with kidnapping and declined to enter a plea. The prosecutor calls Dana as a witness. She says Tane was great with Poppy. The prosecutor asks about Tane becoming aggressive, mentioning the altercation with the journalist. Marshall tries to question the relevancy but gets overruled. Dana says she wasn’t there that day so Marshall calls it hearsay. The prosecutor asks if she knew about the AVO, then says she let Tane in anyway. He suggests she felt sorry for him and he manipulated her. Dana tries to argue but admits Tane took the child while she was busy with other patients.

Alf has met with Rose, who says she was the first witness. He points out the hawker to her. Rose approaches him and asks if he has a permit to sell them. He claims it’s in the car. Rose says she can go with him to check or he can just leave. The hawker protests that he’s just trying to make money to pay the bills. Rose asks if he has permission to use Stevie’s image, because fines for breach of copyright could add to his bills. The man leaves, defeated. Alf notices another young man taking flowers down the beach.

The prosecution calls Harper. Dana passes her, saying she messed up. Harper says she’s got it. After she’s sworn in, the prosecutor asks her how she found out where Tane was keeping the baby. Harper says she doesn’t recall. The prosecutor points to her statement where she says Tane called his housemate. She continues to insist she doesn’t recall.

At the Diner, Alf thanks Rose for her help. Leah and Marilyn agree since they stopped serving anyone wearing the t-shirts. Alf also asks Rose about moving the memorial. Justin protests it’s only been there a couple of days. Alf suggests moving it somewhere private and Rose says it shouldn’t be a problem. Later, at the surf club, Alf talks to Roo, John, Justin, Mali and Kirby about moving everything. Most of them agree but Mali is reluctant. After the others have gone, Kirby learns Mali hasn’t been able to get hold of an elder and tells him to tell Alf.

Harper continues to insist she recalls nothing despite the prosecutor pointing out she remembered two days ago. The judge warns her she’ll be found in contempt of court. Tane stands up and tells Harper to tell the truth. The judge warns him he’ll also be charged with contempt but he continues to tell Harper not to do this. The judge tells Harper to answer.

Mali and Kirby hang back as Alf directs Roo, John and Justin in removing the tributes from the beach. Alf comes over and Mali explains he can’t go down there because Stevie’s spirit is still there until they help her move on, calling it a cultural thing. Alf says he wouldn’t ask Mali to do something he’s not comfortable with. He suggests Mali find somewhere for the memorial.

The prosecutor argues that Tane still refused to bring Poppy back when he knew her mother was looking for her and had to be convinced. Harper says he was worried for her safety and made his own decision to come back. The judge invites the defence to cross-examine. Marshall is handed a note and asks for an adjournment to consult with his client.

At the Diner, Dana tells Leah that the prosecutor started asking things they didn’t cover. Harper arrives and says Dana’s not the one who’s messed things up for Tane: Sonia has refused to testify. At Salt, Marshall tells Tane and Felicity that he suspects Sonia couldn’t cope with the pressure and attention. Felicity suggests subpoenaing her but Marshall thinks forcing her on the stand won’t help. Tane says she was meant to be their secret weapon and goes to get some air. Felicity says this is her fault, telling Marshall about lying about wanting children and still taking the pill and the marriage breaking up as a result. Marshall asks her to get Tane back to court since he has things to do.

Alf comes into the surf club to see Mali and apologises for making him uncomfortable. Mali says not everyone understands their cultural stuff and Alf says he’s willing to give it a go. Mali recalls Stevie helping him out on his socials even though she barely knew him. Alf says he thought moving the memorial and getting rid of the dropkicks would make things better but it still doesn’t feel right.

Harper has joined Felicity in the gallery at the court house: Neither they nor Tane know where Marshall is. Marshall arrives in a hurry and calls Tane to the stand. Tane reminds him he said this was a bad idea. Marshall says they have no other option.