Return to the Bay

[sevenpuddings]

I love vindictiveness! Bring on catty Maddie and Cassie more often. I never considered making them hate one another... well, going from best friends to hating one another... but YAY, that was so brilliant.

Particulary loved the Maddie/Cassie stuff (if you couldnt already tell) but I also loved the Kirsty/Kane and the Dylan wanting to be like Shane. Can't wait for more SKYKAT!!!!

[Jazer]

Oh cool thanks SKYKAT for another great chapter.

I already know who the person that Mamma Rose knows so don't worry about it LOL. I really hope they do find Selina and Tasha soon.

Great sence with Maddie and Cassie, is it just me or hasn't there been any catfights between teenagers on H&A for the last few years.

Can't wait to read the next one!!

Thanks,

Jarad

[ldscott]

Brilliant chapter!

Please post again soon

[Skykat]

Oh cool thanks SKYKAT for another great chapter.

I already know who the person that Mamma Rose knows so don't worry about it LOL. I really hope they do find Selina and Tasha soon.

Great sence with Maddie and Cassie, is it just me or hasn't there been any catfights between teenagers on H&A for the last few years.

Can't wait to read the next one!!

Thanks,

Jarad

You think so do you?...

[Jazer]

Oh yes I do. lol

Thanks,

Jarad

[I love music]

See, what baffles me is that you were actually thinking of abandoning this fic...?

I think the general standard of the fanfics on this board is very, very high anyway but this is particularly excellent stuff with great pace and a very realistic dialogue. Keep writing, you've got me intrigued, particularly with the Phillilps' and Jesse stories! )

[Skykat]

Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who's still reading and reviewing it's really appreciated. A special thanks to Jess (sevenpuddings) who has been assigned as my proof reader. This was an incredibly rushed chapter and I'm ashamed to say my sentence structure was appaling and I was also really unsure about it but she's corrected my errors and convinced me it wasn't as crap as I thought so thanks a lot.xxx

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

“Right okay listen in everyone. This is who we’re looking for. Now, it appears that Selina Matheson was the target, not Tasha Andrews. He has a history of mental instability so it’s of paramount importance that we find Selina and Tasha. PC Roberts can you carry on with the traffic and location reports but re-focus your attention primarily on finding this man? PCs Grey, Jackson I want to know everything about him, especially what he has been doing, who he has been seeing in the past few years. I want his mental state checked out and also anything at all you can find that might suggest why he’s after Selina Matheson. PC Fitzgerald I need you to wade through all the old cases from this era here when Selina Matheson was involved with the cult, I think this is our key to cracking this. Holden I want statements, get back to the Believers Farm, quiz anyone and everyone to find out if they know this man. Go over the statements from Irene, Stephen and Pippa Ross about the incidents at the time and have a crack at locating Shannon Reed and this guy Alex, I can’t remember his surname but it’s in the files and see if they can shed any light on this. Right get cracking but remember we’re in a race against the clock to find these girls, there’s something I need to check out but I’ll be back within the hour,” Peter instructed. Everybody stood up and headed off to attend to their duties except Jack who collared Peter.

“Where are you going off to for an hour, surely you’re needed here?” Jack asked.

“It’s a prior appointment Holden. Do I have to remind you it’s none of your business?” Peter replied.

“But what if there’s a development?” Jack demanded.

“Than you phone me. Later Jack.” Peter abruptly left the Station and got in his car. The drive proved to be a short one and within fifteen minutes Peter was in a dingy prison holding cell.

“All yours Detective Baker,” the Prison Officer said, pushing the prisoner into the room and slamming the door behind him.

“Peter?” Jesse looked up in shock, “what am I meant to have done?” he demanded.

“Nothing, I’m actually here because you may be able to help me. Please sit down,” Peter offered, as Jesse sat reluctantly. “What do you know of Gus Philips in here?” Peter asked.

“Not much,” Jesse replied guardedly.

“Right well, that’s a lie because I know for a fact you’re on the same wing and that you’ve subjected him to a vicious beating so don’t give me this crap, nothing you say in here will go any further than this room. Let me lay the cards on the table for you. This is an unofficial investigation, at present there’s only me involved and I’m only involved because Kirsty and Kane asked me to be,” Peter explained.

“They came to you?” Jesse asked, surprised.

“Yes they were worried, they had been receiving messages and threats from Gus. Do you know anything about this?” Peter asked.

“A little,” Jesse replied guardedly.

“Look Jesse I’ve reasoned with you here, I’m trying to help Kirsty and Kane and nobody will get into trouble as a result of what you say. Please help me out,” Peter pleaded, Jesse took a deep breath and nodded.

“A week or two ago I became aware that Gus was plotting something with regards to Kane, I kept my ear to the ground but couldn’t find out much, Gus and I aren’t exactly on friendly terms,” Jesse replied.

“So you don’t know any more than that?”

“I didn’t say that. Look Gus was blackmailing my cellmate, he was due for release and Gus threatened him that if he didn’t do this job on the outside that he’d harm his mother,” Jesse explained.

“So he’s responsible for the warnings and threats?” Peter asked.

“Yeah but you can’t take any action against him, you promised me nobody would get into trouble. Sutty’s a good guy, Gus had him running scared. I begged him not to harm Kirsty and Kane, I even offered to sort the problem out for him but Sutty insisted that Gus just wanted him to deliver a warning, that there’d be no harm done to Kirsty and Kane. I know he delivered the warning because he phoned me the other day he said that Gus was insisting that the warning is no longer enough, he wants Sutty to kidnap Kirsty. Sutty bailed on it, he called me and asked for help, he doesn’t want to go through with it,” Jesse explained.

“Why would Gus want Kirsty kidnapped?” Peter demanded.

“He wants Kane to do something for him, I don’t know what. He’s threatening Kirsty to make him do it,” Jesse explained.

“And that’s all you know?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, like I say I wanted to help Kirsty and Kane. You promise me that Sutty isn’t going to get into trouble over this?” Jesse begged.

“I promise, I do need to speak to him though how can I contact him?” Peter asked.

“No idea, he threw his mobile into the sea and moved his mother out of the country. As far as I know he’s lying low,” Jesse explained.

“So how did you get to speak to him?”

“He rang the prison and impersonated Joel Nash, my daughter Rachel’s guardian. It was the only way we could speak privately,” Jesse explained.

“Right well if he phones you again will you please convince him to contact me. I have to know what he knows,” Peter asked.

“I’ll try but no promises, he hates cops.”

“Fair enough. I know Gus wanted Kane to complete a transfer of funds so the plan is to follow it through and find out what Gus is up to, I suspect he’s trying to set Kane up again but now that I know everything you've told me there’s no way I’m going to let that happen. Can you see if you can find out any more for me from in here?”

“I’ll try but like I said, I’m not Gus’s favourite guy in here right now,” Jesse replied.

“I appreciate that. Just one more thing Jesse, what was your plan to stop Gus from hurting Kirsty and Kane?” Peter asked.

“Truthfully?” Jesse looked Peter square in the eyes, “I was going to kill him.”

“You’re kidding me right?”

“Sure I am, I’ll keep him alive until your job’s over,” Jesse replied, his voice not giving anything away. “Can I go now?” he asked and Peter let him out of the room. He watched his retreating back, deep in thought, he had a bad feeling about this, a really bad feeling.

“So what’s going on Cass?” Ric seated himself on the grass beside her and nudged her for an answer.

“Mattie hit me!” Cassie told him.

“Yeah I know that but I want to know why,” Ric told her.

“Because she’s a nasty, vindictive…”

“The way I heard it, it was the other way round,” Ric replied.

“She came crying to you did she?” Cassie sneered.

“No I ran into Dylan. He liked you, you know? But your behaviour this afternoon has put him off. Why did you say those things about Mattie?” Ric asked. To his surprise Cassie burst into tears.

“Why doesn't anybody want me?” she sobbed.

“Oh Cassie, of course people want you but you have to stop pressing the self-destruct button,” Ric told her.

“I just got so jealous, Mattie has Lucas but Dylan was all over her, I haven’t got anyone since you dumped me for Belle. What’s wrong with me?” Cassie sobbed.

“There’s nothing wrong with you and I didn’t dump you for Belle, you and me split up because you couldn’t trust me. Because we had drifted apart, don’t blame Belle for this,” Ric replied.

“It was still Belle’s fault, she got her claws into you,” Cassie snapped.

“No Cass it had nothing to do with Belle. You have to start taking some responsibility for your own actions, you’re behaving like a loose cannon. What you said to Sally before was out of order, I know she’s had her problems the past few months but she’s going through enough without you dumping on her,” Ric told her.

“She’s barely acknowledged my existence over the past month, she’s just like everyone else, she doesn’t care about me,” Cassie moaned.

“Not everything is about you Cassie, have you stopped to think how Sal might be feeling? Stop being so selfish, Sally loves you although you’re not doing much to earn it at the moment. For God’s sake Cass people care about you but you keep pushing them away,” Ric told her.

“Do you care about me?” Cassie demanded.

“You know I do,” Ric replied. Cassie smiled a weak smile and then taking him by surprised she kissed him. To his regret Ric found himself responding, but then suddenly he pulled away. “No Cass!”

“Why not, I thought you cared about me? What’s wrong with me?” she demanded, tears surfacing again.

“Nothing’s wrong with you it’s just that you and I are over Cassie, too much has happened and I’m kind of seeing Belle right now,” he told her, guiltily.

“So you were cheating?”

“No, we only got together yesterday, I never picked her over you. I have to go but you should think about what I said. I’ll see you at home.” Ric took off, running as fast as he could away from her. What the hell had he kissed her back for? And why did he still feel the urge to do it again? Cassie watched his retreating back and grinned to herself, a sudden realisation hit her that she wanted Ric back. Belle Taylor had better watch out because Cassie Turner could steal boyfriends too. Standing up she brushed herself down and headed in the general direction of the Beach house.

After their initial confrontation Selina’s captor had tied her hands and feet together and left her alone in the darkened room. She was aware that the effects of the drugs were wearing off because every now and again when she moved she felt a sharp pain where the ropes burnt into her skin. There was a noise at the door and he returned, Tasha in his arms. He dropped her down onto the floor in the corner but she did not move.

“She’s not dead is she?” Selina tried to say but no words would come out. Her captor was alternating between muttering to himself and shouting obscenities at her. It appeared she was going to die, she needed to pay for something, she was a filthy whore, the taunts went on and Selina could do nothing about them. She pushed desperately against the bonds that restrained her but to no avail, the drug that held her body captive continued it’s hold on her and Selina felt increasingly frustrated. None of this made sense, she had got on well with him, she did not understand why he was doing this and his muttered ramblings failed to shed light on the situation. The only thing that made sense was that he was mad, crazy, and that he was still plagued with mental illness. If only she could speak she might be able to get through to him, to remind him of the good times but it was out of the question, her body was immobilised. She could not even cry for God’s sake! Her mind was tormenting her just as much as he was, she almost wished she was still unconscious, that would be better than this; anything would be better than this prison she was entombed in. Despair overwhelmed her, the thought of what these drugs would be doing to her baby made her want to weep. She couldn’t lose another baby, life wouldn’t be that cruel and Selina doubted she could cope if it was. How would she manage if she lost a third child? If that was to happen she might be better dead. What about Stephen? He had been through so much, they had been through so much to be together and they were happy now. The move back to the Bay had meant so much to both of them and now it was ruined, spoilt. She missed Stephen terribly, she thought she could probably cope with whatever he had in mind if Stephen was with her, holding her but he wasn’t and she had to accept that she might never see him again. The mere thought burned a hole in her chest, she felt as if she was being suffocated. There was so much she wanted to do, to say but she was trapped, imprisoned. She racked her brains desperately to remember what had worked last time, what had bought him through this madness but she couldn’t remember, her mind was blocked. Other thoughts were tormenting her, Stephen, her baby, Irene, Tommy, Maddy, the thoughts were endless. How long had she been here? She had no idea, it seemed like forever though and nobody had come for her. Had they even realised she was missing? Her mind was tormenting her but thinking was her only option in this situation. Her mind was the only weapon available to her but she had no way of using it. She tried to kick frantically, that had worked last time but it wasn’t working now. She felt exhausted, the need to sleep overwhelmed her but there was too much going on for her mind to let her. This was a nightmare, it had to be, the question was when would she wake up?

“I can’t believe this, Peter can’t honestly think that he has anything to do with this, can he?” Pippa asked.

“That’s exactly what he flamin well thinks! I can’t believe it though, he wouldn’t do this!” Irene exclaimed.

“Did you manage to get hold of Shannon?” Stephen asked of Pippa.

“Yeah but she couldn’t help much, her and Sel haven’t really kept in contact and all she knew was what happened last time and we all knew that,” Pippa replied.

“I just don’t understand this, what could he possibly want with her? All the things I’ve heard, this just sounds so out of character,” Angel remarked.

“Tell me about it,” Irene muttered.

“We don’t know for certain yet that he has anything to do with this, lets not jump to conclusions. All that Peter said was that he had been seen with this Mamma Rose woman, there’s no proof that the two are connected,” Barry reminded.

“You’re right darl, I just don’t understand. How can he possibly have anything to do with that flamin’ loonie? None of this makes any sense!” Irene sank onto the sofa, her head in her hands.

“Come on Irene, try and take your mind off it, she’ll be okay,” Barry soothed.

“Easy for you to say. I just can’t take this in,” she replied.

“No me neither, it’s so surreal. I can’t think of any reason why he would want to harm Selina but then we don’t know for certain she’s in danger,” Angel reminded.

“Of course we flamin’ do! Selina would have called if everything was alright. That girlie knows me too well, she knows I’d only worry about her,” Irene replied.

“Have to agree with Irene, Selina always called if she was running late, she wouldn’t leave us like this, not for so long,” Stephen agreed.

“We have to stay positive,” Pippa urged.

“Pretty hard to do that Pip,” Stephen replied.

“No it’s not. He wouldn’t hurt her, he just wouldn’t,” Irene replied.

“But he once tried to hurt you,” Stephen reminded.

“He was sick,” Irene replied.

“Well what’s to say he’s not sick now? What if he’s had a relapse, forgotten to take his medication?” Stephen suggested.

“Oh Gawd I hadn’t thought of that. He wasn’t that bad though, he wouldn’t harm anyone, he just heard voices,” Irene replied.

“He tried to smother you with a pillow because of these voices,” Stephen reminded.

“Hello everyone,” Jack entered the house through the open back door.

“Jack is there any news?”

“Yes, it appears he’s not been seen for several months now and the last people to see him have told us that he seemed to be showing signs of mental instability. Talking to himself, hearing voices, obsessing over things, it seems likely that his schizophrenia has returned,” Jack replied.

“Oh Gawd!” Irene exclaimed, “I know him though, he won’t hurt Selina,” Irene insisted.

“I’m afraid that wasn’t all Irene. You mentioned Teri Garner when we talked to you earlier, we’ve checked up on her and it appears she’s been murdered. The suspect matches his description. I’m sorry Irene but it looks like he might have murdered her and if he has his reasons for taking Selina make sense. He used to hear his father’s voice, it seems likely that he’s trying to get revenge for his father’s death. Teri Garner, Selina, the two people responsible for Saul’s death, it’s too much of a coincidence,” Jack explained.

“No way! This is crazy!” Irene insisted.

“I’m sorry Irene but it looks like Joey’s the one who’s crazy,” Jack replied.

**

So was it who you thought then?

[sevenpuddings]

Loved it... twice. Seriously, it's drama filled and uses all different types of characters, as opposed to two or four... it's a brilliant fan fic Kat, and I'm not just saying that because I get to read the chapters before anyone else

[Jazer]

OMG is Joey Rainbow, I can't believe it. I really thought it was Saul but I guess I was wrong.

Great work SKYKAT and I can't wait to read the next chapter.

Thanks,

Jarad

[ldscott]

I had a feeling it was going to be him, as Saul is dead, but i still can't get over the shock!

It was a brilliant chapter, well done for keeping us guessing til the very end

Please post more when you have it!