Australian Television: Water Rats: episode guide: series 5

Water Rats: episode guide

A Day To Remember

Episode 5.01 (116)
February 22, 2000
Written by Denise Morgan
Directed by Peter Andrikidis

There is mayhem on the harbour when a helicopter crashes into the water near a sightseeing boat. A major rescue operation is launched, the new detective on the team, Alex St Clare, proving her worth. Leaking petrol and the poor condition of the boat hampers the rescue, particularly of a couple trapped below decks. The mystery of why the helicopter crashed is revealed when the pilot's body is retrieved, a bullet wound to the head. Clearly someone else was on board the helicopter, and is now either dead or passing themselves off as a passenger on the boat. To identify them, Christey and Alex question survivors at the hospital whilst Blakemore will make subtle enquiries to the grieving families as she performs numerous death knocks. Amongst the survivors at the hospital, Alex talks to a woman she rescued from the water, Hilary, and a man who is revealed to be the boat's deckhand. Reilly learns that a woman matching Hilary's description was seen boarding the helicopter that morning, but it's too late, she's checked herself out of hospital. Whilst tracking down her address, a call comes through for Alex from a woman — it's Hilary. Still sounding dazed and confused, she refuses to give her whereabouts or explain why she was on the helicopter but alludes to personal problems — her heart has been broken by someone. The detectives assume she was having an affair with the pilot, Colin Frayne. This angle is fervently dismissed by her husband, Patrick, who has been very concerned by his wife's disappearance. He too alludes to some recent personal problems and the copious amounts of medication in the house lead Christey to conclude that Hilary is obviously unstable. Alex, having formed a bond with the woman over the phone, is not so sure. Hilary calls Alex again and this time, pushed for information, reveals that it was not Colin who broke her heart, but her husband. He hired Colin to kill her. Patrick vehemently denies the accusation, and Christey concurs that Hilary is not to be believed. Finding a news clipping at Colin's house detailing Patrick and Hilary's wealth, Reilly hits on the idea of a kidnapping gone wrong.

The detectives explore the various theories in an attempt to unravel the truth. A final clue sets them on the path of discovery which reveals the killer. It's also a terrible day for the other water police. Time is running out to save the couple trapped below the deck on the sinking boat. Rourke, Sykes and Tavita risk their lives to free them, going against Hawker's orders not to endanger themselves. Tavita and Sykes are devastated when one of the trapped couple dies. Blakemore endures the strain of having to inform several families their loved ones are dead, before returning to base to be confronted by yet more grief and suffering. Two families wait to claim one unidentified body, and Blakemore knows that good news for one can only be bad news for the other. To reward his officers for their hard work, Hawker's only debriefing is to present them all with a case of beer and a bottle of scotch.

Guest Starring: Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Mary Coustas as Hilary Kernaghan, Andrew McFarlane as Patrick Kernaghan, Don Hany as Rob Schreiber, Bojana Novakovic as Sarah Schreiber, Adam Drummond as Bill Telfer, Harry Lawrence as Brian Mercer, Christopher Lewis as Mr. Dorizzi, Margaret Judd as Mrs. Dorizzi, James Casella as Tony Dorizzi, Jane Archer as Mrs. Ashford, Peter Farmer as Mr. Ashford, Christopher Eirth as Josh Shaw

Obsession [Part One]

Episode 5.02 (117)
February 29, 2000
Written by Bill Searle
Directed by Peter Andrikidis

Two bodies are found on a burnt out yacht. One is of a woman, Alison Rogers and the other, although too badly burnt to be identified, is assumed to be her boyfriend and the boat's owner, Ben Walker. Alison's father and brother take the news badly, especially the brother Josh, whose attachment is so close to his sister that he refuses to believe she is dead. Shelley, Ben's ex-girlfriend, is also devastated by his death. The deaths take on more sinister light when it is discovered that the yacht was deliberately torched. The mystery deepens when the second body is proved not to be Ben's after all. The detectives are faced with the task of finding Ben, identifying the dead man and establishing who caused the fatal fire. An initial suspect is Alison's ex-boyfriend Scott, who took their break up badly and is known to be violent. However, like Ben, Scott also cannot be found. The theory that a jealous ex-lover is to blame appears confirmed when Scott's car is found near the beach where the boat is moored, and he is identified as being the mystery deceased male.

Christy is convinced Scott followed Alison and Ben and either deliberately or inadvertently became a victim himself in his quest for revenge. Alex, however, is suspicious about Josh, the rather odd brother of Alison. Josh makes no secret of hating all her boyfriends, to the extent that Scott once took out an AVO against him. In an outburst of grief and rage, which may mimic what happened with Alison and Scott, Josh assaults his father and Alex. In talking Josh down from his rage, Alex realizes that he could have committed the crime. Heartbroken and unhinged by the loss of his sister, Alex takes him to the morgue to see Alison's body in order to help him accept reality.

Finding the missing boyfriend, Ben, becomes the key to solving the mystery. Reilly is convinced that Ben's girlfriend, Shelley, clearly still in love with him, will lead them to him. Eventually Ben is discovered in hospital, in a coma, after being knocked down by a car. Ben regains consciousness and although able to describe what happened on the yacht that fateful night, is still unable to identify who caused the explosion. It is only when Alex identifies, by chance, a piece of lost property found by Tavita and Sykes after busting a couple of kids for stealing a dinghy, that the final piece of the puzzle falls into place and the firebug is identified.

Guest Starring: Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Nadine Garner as Shelley Andrews, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Alan Cinis as Owen Rogers, Matthew Newton as Josh Rogers, Rebecca Maher as Leanne Rogers, Stephen Pease as Ben Walker, David Gambin as Scott Fitzgerald, Tristan Price as Terry McCann, Nathan Decorte as Aidan

Pay The Piper [Part Two]

Episode 5.03 (118)
March 07, 2000
Written by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

Christey becomes the victim of a crime when his gun is stolen from his house. When he spies Charlie Driscoll sitting outside his house the morning after, he is certain who has taken it, but is perplexed by her motive. Reprimanded for failing to ensure its safe keeping, the theft takes an ominous turn when Serge Malakoff, an ex-con who recently complained about Christey to the ombudsman, is found shot dead. Due to his history with Malakoff, Christey takes it upon himself to track down his remaining family, a daughter Catherine, and inform her of her father's death. Bitter about the events of years ago that saw her father desert her and go to goal, and her mother's suicide as a result, Catherine wants nothing to do with Christey. Meanwhile, Alex and Reilly are investigating the shooting and learn that a witness to the crime, Max Prescott, claims he heard Malakoff address his killer by the name of "Christey", and his car was seen in the vicinity at the time. To make matters worse, it is revealed Malakoff has been shot with a police issue revolver. With the evidence mounting against him, Christey reveals that he was at the scene of the murder on the night in question — waiting for an informant who never showed. Insisting he is being set up, Christey confronts Charlie Driscoll, who confirms it.

Already dying from cancer and anxious to gain revenge on Christey for sending him to gaol ten years ago, Malakoff agreed to be killed as part of the set up in exchange for money for his daughter — his way of making amends for the past. The set up is Charlie's way of ensuring Christey helps her escape the murder charge she is facing. The police are holding in evidence the murder weapon which bears her finger prints. She needs Christey to swap the weapon with a matching, but less damning, substitute. Christey confides in Reilly, who is under pressure from Alex to report Prescoll's claims about him to Hawker.

Christey asks Reilly to wait another twelve hours before doing so to give him the night to fix the problem. He confronts one of Charlie's henchmen, Lewis west, trying to force him to confess that he killed Malakoff. But Christey cannot prove it and West knows it.

Christey is furious to discover Reilly has followed him to the rendezvous, looking out for his partner. He tells Reilly to hand in the report to Hawker: he's sick of being Charlie's victim and will face the consequences, whatever they are. With the case against him looking more and more solid, Christey is pushed to take desperate measures to save himself from going down on a murder charge.

Rorke finds himself dealing with a troublesome kid, Peter, who is found sleeping on the Harpy overnight. He realises he may have been too quick in judging a book by its cover, and thus let down a boy in real need.

Guest Starring: Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Kathryn Hartman as Catherine Malakoff, Russell Kiefel as Lewis West, Ian Bliss as Max Prescott, Damian Garvey as Baracas, Blaize Saunders as Peter Leahey, Jason Smith as Neil Wilson, Lizzy Dart as Receptionist

Charlie's Pride [Part Three]

Episode 5.04 (119)
March 14, 2000
Written by Margaret Wilson
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

Charlie Driscoll puts pressure on Christey, after setting him up as prime suspect in the murder of Serge Malakoff, to substitute evidence being held by the police in order to free her from a murder charge. Christey's attempts to prove the set-up backfire when witness Max Prescott, who claimed to have seen Christey the night of the murder, easily identifies him in an ID parade. Meanwhile, Charlie has a problem of her own. The murder charge and a bloody gang war has weakened her leadership and once loyal staff are jockeying to take over the control of her empire. Christey finds himself caught in the crossfire, literally, after Charlie summons him to a meeting, impatient he performs the task she has blackmailed him into. Under fire, Christey is surprised to learn that not only could the shooter be one of Charlie's people, but that he could also be a target. As the only person able to help Charlie escape the murder charge, disposing of Christey would ensure Charlie's inability to resume control of her empire. Although Alex and Reilly manage to expose Max as a paid witness, Christey becoming a target himself forces him to come clean to Hawker. Hawker agrees to Christey's plan to meet Charlie where, wired, he will force her to confess to the set-up of Serge Malakoff's murder. Charlie's failure to show up is soon explained when she is found near death in the harbour. The detectives suspect her second-in-command Baracas but are unable to prove his guilt as Charlie is critical and in a coma. Their instincts appear to be proven accurate when Catherine Malakoff, Serge's daughter, also narrowly escapes a bullet. Convinced Baracas is keen to cancel Charlie's debts, which include the trust fund Serge arranged for Catherine, the chase is on to prevent Baracas from killing her. The detectives locate her just in time, discovering the real identity of Charlie Driscoll's attacker in the process.

Play It Again

Episode 5.05 (120)
March 28, 2000
Written by John Banas
Directed by Geoff Bennett

As the boat crew contend with a protest against a marina development, an investigation into the death of a model, Sondra McIntyre, leads the detectives to the same location. Sondra's ex-boyfriend, Matthew Grierson, is not only the property developer under attack, but also an old flame of Alex's. As she is a suspect in the case, Christey tries keeping Alex at arm's length, the slur against her professionalism infuriating her. Sondra's flat mate, Elsye, a model with a drug habit, insists she must have killed her friend whilst high but as the evidence does not fit her story, her guilt appears unlikely. She does however reveal a motive for the murder. Sondra secretly taped nefariuos activities at a wild party held by Matthew. Suggestions of graft and corruption are made involving local politician Marie Chapple.
Speculation that Sondra's attempts to blackmail one of the party guests led to her murder appear confirmed by video tapes missing from her flat, and the later theft of tapes at the marina development office. Chapple vehemently denies claims her car was seen in the vicinity, pointing the finger at Sean Robey, leader of the protest against the marina development, who has accused her of taking kickbacks from Matthew Grierson over the development. Robey also confirms the existence of the video tape but cannot shed any light on its whereabouts either. As the murder investigation continues, Alex's unresolved feelings for Matthew surface anew, despite a warning from his brother Todd that her ex fiancé is no longer the same man she once loved. Elyse echoes the sentiments. Matthew is a rampant womaniser, capable of anything, including murder.

Blakemore intervenes in an armed robbery, and is forced to open fire when it appears the offender will shoot a child. Afterwards, she is devastated to learn he was not armed — his gun was plastic, and his life now hangs in the balance.

Guest Starring: Peter O'Brien as Matthew Grierson, Alexandra Davis as Elyse Pritchard, Damon Herriman as Todd Grierson, Michael Labran as Sean Robey, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Genevieve Mooy as Marie Chapple, Ben Steele as Rowan Marsden, Emily Howe as Sondra McIntyre, Merran Doyle as Molly Welch, Emily Doyle as Kaitlyn Welch. George Leppard as Arthur Marsden, Chris Burke as Jones

A Split Second

Episode 5.06 (121)
March 28, 2000
Written by John Banas
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Alex deals with the consequences of sleeping with Matthew Grierson, as the protest against the Marina development continues. She finds out that he slept with Elyse Pritchard and that was the reason he broke up with Sondra, the murder victim. Alex not only has to deal with the emotional ramifications of this, but also that he is the prime suspect in Sondra's murder. Elyse Pritchard then goes missing, apparently kidnapped from her flat, and Marie Church is implicated in her disappearance. The missing promotional tapes are found in her car and it soon becomes apparent why Marie took them — she is shown on one of the tapes throwing herself at Matthew. She is cleared when her tyre print doesn't match the one found near Sondra's body. But Todd Grierson isn't so lucky, his tyre matches. He's hauled in for questioning, and it appears the detectives have got their man, despite Matthew's protestations as to his brother's innocence. Alex finds out an interesting piece of information from Matthew, Sondra had a relationship with Sean Robey, the ring leader of the protesters. Todd is interviewed by Reilly and Christey, he denies killing Sondra, but ends up implicating Matthew in her murder. When Alex finds Elyse Pritchard badly beaten in a derelict house and Matthew with her, it appears that he bashed her and is needed guilty of murdering Sondra. Alex is devastated, she has become involved with a murderer. Meanwhile, Sykes tracks down and arrests Sean, he confesses. He wanted to get the tape off Sondra in order to stop the Marina development, but she wouldn't give it to him. There was a struggle and Sean pushed Sondra through the room divider. When Sean realised that Elyse was starting to remember what happened that night, he set out to shut her up before she turned him in. Despite being cleared of murder, Alex knows that she has no future with Matthew.

Rowan's father, Arthur Marsden, vows to use his influence to make Blakemore pay heavily for shooting his son. Blakemore's drug results are black, and found to be positive, forcing her to confess to Hawker that she did take the drugs. Hawker voice his extreme disappointment in her. She's investigated by Internal Affairs, and her career is in jeopardy.

Got A Light?

Episode 5.07 (122)
March 21, 2000
Written by Michael Miller
Directed by Russel Burton

Matthew Quinn's first day in the ranks of the Water Police is a busy one when a car crashes into the harbour. While Quinn's desperate attempts to save the driver fail, he wins the respect of his new colleagues. The driver is identified as Dr. Gerald McCoomb, a psychiatrist. The detectives investigation into the cause of the fatal car accident is complicated when a yacht set on fire proves to be owned by the same man. Just when it is looking like someone really wanted Dr. Coomb dead, the mechanical report of the car accident states that it was just that — an accident. Dr. Coomb's brakes failed due to his lack of car maintenance.

With the investigation into the car accident finished, the detectives turn their attention to the yacht fire and the murder of a young street kid whose body was found on board. Known locally for dossing down on yachts, he became the innocent victim of the arson attack. While Alex obtains McCoomb's patient list from his secretary Samantha, Christey and Reilly's first port of call is to question a known arsonist, Archie "The Wanker" Close, who was seen at the scene of the fire. Christey and Reilly leave empty handed as Archie denies involvement with the fire, but Alex hits pay dirt, she discovers Dr. Coomb had a special interest in pyromania and had become quite a well known expert in the treatment of arsonists.

The detectives question one of McCoomb's patients, Enrico. Enrico angrily denies setting fire to the yacht, claiming he has been successfully rehabilitated with McCoomb's help. Enrico's mother, Angela provides her son with an alibi, claiming he was working at her café at the time of the yacht fire.

The detectives fear that the yacht fire was not just a random arson attack but a personal attack on Dr. McCoomb, this is confirmed when the doctor's home goes up in flames. The detectives finally get a lead when Reilly receives an anonymous tip-off. The tip-off leads to Peter Sandberg's house. They find him surrounded by articles on recent fires, tins of accelerants and a radio hooked up to the fire brigade communication channel. Sandberg admits to the fires, but the fact he admits to every fire over the past five years soon has them suspecting that Sandberg enjoys taking the credit for the fires rather than setting them. This suspicion is further supported when yet another fire is reported. This time Enrico's café is the target.

Enrico's mother, Angela, convinced her son is responsible for the fire, tearfully admits she lied when she gave Enrico his alibi. The detectives interview a broken Enrico over the fires. Realising that now there is no one who believes his innocence, Enrico admits responsibility for anything and everything.

The investigation appears to have reached a dead end, when a woman arrives at the police station declaring herself to be the true secretary of Dr. McCoomb. The detectives now look at Samantha in a new light. With the arson investigation wrapped up, Alex decides to seek out Enrico to apologise for not believing that he is a changed man. Unfortunately Enrico is already on a downward spiral. Suicidal, Enrico has doused himself with petrol and is ready to set himself on fire. Alex arrives and finds herself in a pool of petrol with Enrico threatening to flick the lighter and send them both to a fiery death.

Guest Starring: Lawrence Breuls as Enrico Ranzolin, Gael Ballantyne as Angela Ranzolin, Beth Champion as Samantha James, Paul Roper as Peter Sandberg, Peter Damien Hayes as Archie Close, Jay Mannering as Alan Davies, John Scholes as Dr. Gerald McCoomb, Lisa Shipley as Secretary, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski

Able To Leap Tall Buildings

Episode 5.08 (123)
April 04, 2000
Written by Margaret Wilson
Directed by Russell Burton

The detectives are called to investigate a suspected break and enter on a yacht at a marina and discover a woman in the cabin, bound and with a pillowcase over her head. The woman, Belinda, is terrified and claims that she was kidnapped and that her kidnapper wants to kill her.

Belinda explains that she was kidnapped the previous evening outside her yoga class as she walked to her car. Reilly goes off to follow up on these details as Christey and Alex interview Belinda. Belinda tells them that someone has been harassing her with phone calls for months, but she can't think who would do this to her. She has an ex-boyfriend, Phillip, but doesn't believe that he would be this crazy. Reilly returns and tells them that the local cops view Belinda as a nuisance caller, someone who seeks attention; also her car was not found outside her yoga class but at the marina and forensics found the car keys in the yacht cabin — she had them with her all the time. The detectives are reluctant to totally dismiss her as a fruit cake and Alex takes her home while Christey and Reilly check out her ex-boyfriend who is stunned and very concerned about Belinda's ordeal. Later the detectives are called to Belinda's house because an intruder broke in and scared the living daylights out of her and her father who had a heart attack. Christey is still not convinced by the story when he learns that no one actually saw the intruder except for Belinda.

Sykes and Quinn have been tracking down the person who left a rented dinghy in the shipping lanes not far from where Belinda was held captive. Donna recognises the name and informs the detectives. The dinghy was hired by Phillip. They haul him in for questioning — he maintains he is shocked to think that he was fishing only metres away from where his girlfriend had been held captive. They decide to keep him under surveillance.

Alex stays the night with Belinda and is drawn into her paranoia jumping at shadows all night. At one point Belinda attacks Alex thinking she is the intruder returned. The next morning an exhausted and skeptical Alex drops Belinda off at the hospital to see her father. All the detectives feel guilty when Belinda is kidnapped. The kidnapper contacted Phillip on his mobile and left a ransom demand and will ring again to organise a time and place to exchange the money for Belinda. Phillip is furious with the detectives, blaming them for Belinda's disappearance. Information surfaces which shows that Phillip is not as innocent as he has maintained. He finally admits to having paid someone to spook Belinda, the idea was that he would arrive in time to save her and she would rush back into the arms of her loving hero. Unfortunately the kidnapping and the break and enter were all bungled and Phillip never arrived in time to play Superman. Now unfortunately that man he hired has gone feral — this latest kidnapping is for real and the detectives learn that this man is an ex convict with a history of violence. The detectives are forced to carry out the delivery of the ransom but again the kidnapper has lost control of the situation and finding herself with the gun in her hand the terrified Belinda shoots her captor.

Hawker is forced to face an unpleasant truth when he learns that a mate of his, a cop, is currently dating his ex-wife.

Guest Starring: Tasma Walton as Belinda Harvey, Sam Worthington as Phillip Champion, Patrick Dickson as Snr. Sgt Russell Campbell, Nic Moodie as Jimbo the Clown, Maree Meaker as Female Passenger, May Turner as Pensioner, Ian Host as Businessman, Harry Dakanalis as Darren Peterson, Tove Petterson as Miranda Holdsworth, Shea Adams as Miles Holdsworth, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods

Chinese Checkers

Episode 5.09 (124)
April 11, 2000
Written by Peter Gawler
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

Two little girls disappear on their way to school. When the divers find a torn school uniform the detectives fear the girls have been taken by a paedophile. As the hours pass, the detectives' lines of investigation dwindle, until Sykes makes an astute observation.

The two missing girls are physically similar to two sisters, who travel an almost identical path to school. A theory is floated that the wrong girls were taken. When Christey brings the sister's father in for questioning, the missing girl's mother lashes out at him. Injured, and vulnerable, he confesses to planning to leave his marriage, taking his daughters and escaping overseas. His plans fell apart when his mistress took the wrong girls. And now they have gone missing.

Guest Starring: Gabrielle Adkins as Denise O'Dell, Adam Ray as Richard Fleet, Jo Briant as Jennifer Fleet, Paul Goddard as Rob, Helen Dallimore as Paula, Sophie Luck as Polly Fleet, Ellie Godworth as Sarah Quirk, Millie Spencer-Brown as Monkey Quirk, Keith Armitage as Brendan Quirk, Martin Kosinar as Techo, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods

The Trouble With Gary

Episode 5.10 (125)
April 18, 2000
Written by Peter Gawler
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

A heavy storm unearths the body of a woman into the harbour. The Water Police locate her gravesite in the National Park but also discover another shalow grave recently dug up. But where is the other body? A car seen leaving the National Park that morning leads the detectives to Jonathon Cakebread. When Alex and Christey arrive at Jonathon's house, they find him in the backyard digging a very large hole. From the onset Jonathon seems to go out of his way to raise Christey's ire. He admits to going for a drive in the National Park that morning and reveals his wife is gone but claims she has run off with a boyfriend, and orders them off his property. The detectives learn that Jonathon's business partner is also missing. The partner's wife insists her husband has also run off with an unidentified woman. Christey, running on nothing but gut instinct, believes the dead woman to be the missing Mrs. Cakebread and that the other gravesite was for Jonathon's business partner. Christey is convinced Jonathon is responsible for both murders and is currently in possession of the other body and is frustrated when his attempts at securing a search warrant for Jonathon's house fail. The autopsy reveals the woman died after ingesting rat poison and confirms her identity as the missing Mrs. Cakebread. Triumphantly, Christey gets his search warrant but his elation is short lived when the search of Jonathon's home reveals nothing except for a packet of rat poison which is freely available. Surveillance is placed on Jonathon and the business partner's wife. But Jonathon is not bothered by the police attention, in fact, he seems to thrive on it and sets in motion a series of games to keep police both interested and distracted. Christey soon tires of Jonathon running the show and sets in motion his own game. Hawker is enlisted to turn up and publicily order the detectives to cease their surveillance. The business partner's wife unwittingly leads the detectives to her husband's body and when confronted, provides the detectives with the evidence they need to finally nail Jonathon Cakebread.

The ASIO operation comes back to haunt both Sykes and Reilly but in greatly varying ways. Paula charges Reilly with sexual harassment and Reilly finds himself in an impossible position as Paula reveals herself as anything but reasonable and rational. The fear of losing his job over the allegation consumes Reilly to the point that his work performance suffers. Blackmore does her own investigation and reveals that Paula has an extensive history making sexual harassment claims. Meanwhile Hawker is presented with evidence, which appears to indicate that Sykes' is working for the Chinese underworld.

Guest Starring: Don Halbert as Jonathan Cakebread, Annie Davies-McCubbin as Ingrid Greville-Brown, Nina Liu as Chen Xiao Wei, Paul Goddard as Rob, Helen Dallimore as Fiona, Martin Kosinar as Techo, Michelle Armstrong as Courier, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods. Note: Peter Gawler nominated for a 2000 AWGIE award for this episode

Saltimbocca [Part One]

Episode 5.11 (126)
May 02, 2000
Written by Graeme Koetsveld
Directed by Geoff Bennett

The body of an Italian restaurateur, Cosimo Luvece, is found sprawled beneath the balcony of his harbourside home. The crime scene is guarded by Nero, a ferocious dog.

Alex and Mick arrive to be confronted by a stoic and protective wife and mother, Antonella, a headstrong daughter, Maria and the dutiful daughter, Catarina. The Lucece family tell police they assume Cosimo has taken his own life because of this terminal cancer.

When the autopsy reveals the deceased was hit over the head before being pushed over the balcony, the detectives start a murder investigation. The detectives are bewildered when the autopsy shows no evidence of cancer. The family is stunned by this news as Cosimo had planned to return to his native Italy to die.

When Cosimo's doctor reveals he had told Cosimo, on the morning of his death, that his cancer had gone into complete remission, Alex and Reilly wonder who had been counting on Cosimo's demise. The detectives have no shortage of people with motives including Bobby Shearer who owned horses with Cosimo and is caught ransacking the deceased's office; Jim, the chef who Cosimo sacked after a dispute over recipe ownership rights and Maria, who's water taxi business is in financial trouble and was about to be cut off, financially, by her father. Their main suspect is Catriona, the only person beside the victim who could control the dog. However, she doesn't appear to have a motive. The detective's investigation is blown apart when Alex, alone, is bailed up by the dog. In defence, she draws her gun to shoot, when suddenly the dog falls over, apparently asleep. When the police vet diagnoses the dog as having narcolepsy, Alex and Reilly realise that anyone, not just Catarina, could have gotten past the dog to kill Cosimo.

When the Water Police acquire a new anti-terrorist boat, the boat crew and divers embark on a training course with an instructor who seems determined to prove his techniques are superior to those of the Water Police. Sykes becomes the man's stooge and doesn't like it one little bit and he is determined to prove that he and the Water Rats have what it takes.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Dina Panozzo as Antonella Luvece, Michela Noonan as Catarina Luvece, Lindy Sardelic as Maria Luvece, Noel Hodda as Bobby Weaver, Arthur Angel as Vincenzo Bellini, Matthew Dyktynski as Jim Ignatowski, Yves Stening as Terry Meares, Perrigeaux as Signor Nero

Jump In The Mouth [Part Two]

Episode 5.12 (127)
May 09, 2000
Written by Graeme Koetsveld
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Alex and Reilly's investigation into the murder of Cosimo Luvece begins afresh after the realisation that the keystone to their murder investigation, a ferocious dog, is discovered to suffer from narcolepsy — in short, anyone could have got past the dog to kill Cosimo. The detectives are bemused by the omnipresence of vet Bobby Shearer at the grieving widow's side. They suspect a romantic involvement despite denials. Blakemore uncovers some information, which helps the detectives reveal Bobby Shearer's involvement in insurance fraud, which the deceased discovered prior to his death. Bobby owns up to the fraud, but not the murder. As his alibi holds up the detectives reluctantly let him go. The detectives the focus on Catarina, the eldest daughter, who is having a secret affair with chef Jim Ignatowski. Catarina has a motive for wanting her father dead; the detectives know she wants to gain control of the restaurant to reinstate Jim as chef. The biggest surprise for the detectives comes with the reveal of the terms of Cosimo's will. Cosimo left everything to a son in Italy, completely disinheriting his wife and two daughters. The family members deny any knowledge of the will and of the illegitimate son in Italy. When it is revealed that the new chef at the restaurant is in fact Cosimo's son working under an assumed name, he joins the list of suspects for the murder.

The detectives cannot see their way through the maze until they learn that the widow has informed her daughters that they will not be contesting the will. Alex and Reilly realise that there is still another mystery yet unsolved and confront the widow forcing her to reveal the family secret and who killed her husband.

Quinn is disillusioned by human nature when he and Sykes investigate the cause of a fatal boating accident.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Dina Panozzo as Antonella Luvece, Michela Noonan as Catarina Luvece, Lindy Sardelic as Maria Luvece, Noel Hodda as Bobby Weaver, Arthur Angel as Vincenzo Bellini, Matthew Dyktynsky as Jim Ignatowski, Inge Hornstra as Margie Goodwin, Mark Priestly as Luke Harris, Perrigeaux as Signor Nero

Pinchgut

Episode 5.13 (128)
May 16, 2000
Written by Grant Fraser
Directed by Russell Burton

Sherilyn Kelly and her brother Toby, pull up at a service station as an armed hold up is taking place. After the robber hijacks Toby's car, he is shot dead and his body is thrown off a bridge. Sherilyn attempts to give a description of the killer, but didn't get a good enough look at him. A suspect, Wayne, is brought in for questioning but is released owing to lack of evidence. Sherilyn passes him outside the police station, his distinctive smell triggers her belief that he is her brother's killer. Sherilyn then identifies Wayne from a photoboard as the man she saw rob the service station. Christey is upset when he learns that Sherilyn saw Wayne at the water police earlier and that that meeting influenced her identification. Christey realises that he had inadvertently crossed wires with Donna who had called Sherilyn into the station too soon. Effectively, Wayne is released because Christey stuffed up. Sherilyn is furious, thinking that justice has been denied and her brother's killer is now free, putting the blame on Christey. Sensing a story, Rebecca Beaufort, a young journalist doing a story on the water police, gives Sherilyn her card, telling her to call. Sherilyn decides to take the law into her own hands, and holds Christey and Wayne hostage at Fort Denision, forcing Wayne to confess to the world that he killed Toby. A siege takes place, with Blakemore thrust into the position of negotiator much to Hawker's concern. Sherilyn rings Rebecca's mobile, wanting her to film the confession. Reilly gets Rebecca to stall Sherilyn, giving the SPG and Reilly and Alex enough time to storm the fort. Christey manages to disarm Sherilyn, but Wayne is shot in the process. It is confirmed that Wayne's prints were found all over Toby's car and he is arrested. It's a hollow victory for Sherilyn, as she too is arrested and charged. Christey feels for her, despite the best of intentions, she's achieved nothing.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Hayley McElhinney as Sherrilyn Kelly, Justin Green as Wayne John Stewart, Kelly Butler as Rebecca Beaufort, Mark Slater as Toby Kelly, Matt Storer as Danny, Rodney Samuel as NPWS Officer

Mummy Dearest

Episode 5.14 (129)
May 23, 2000
Written by Kristen Dunphy
Directed by Russell Burton

A six-year-old girl, Hannah, is found alone on a wharf, her clothes streaked with blood. Investigations lead the detectives to a boatshed, where her father, Ian Gibbs, is found dead in a pool of blood. A friend of the family, Travis Dewar, was baby-sitting Hannah when Ian was killed, or so he says. When Hannah's mother, Kerryn turns up, it is found out that she's not actually Hannah's biological mother as her and Ian couldn't have children. A friend, Michelle Barlow, offered to be the surrogate mother and was paid sixty thousand dollars. Trouble is, she didn't want to give the baby up, and was devastated when Hannah was taken away from her after the birth. She became obsessed with getting Hannah back, and followed the Newman's to Sydney, where she made threats against them. It is also revealed that Kerryn and Ian were having problems with their marriage. The detectives have three suspects without strong alibis. Alex and Christey learn that Ian and Travis were setting up a charter company together, with Travis benefiting from the insurance payout should one of the partners die. Meanwhile, Michelle's obsession with getting Hannah back gets out of control, when she kidnaps Hannah from her grandmother's home. Kerryn is beside herself, thinking she's going to lose the daughter she tried so hard to get. Christey and Alex eventually find Hannah unharmed with Michelle. When Kerryn turns up to get her daughter back, the awful truth about her husband's death is revealed.

Quinn arrests a young woman, Shona MacPherson, for stealing a necklace from a souvenir shop. She accepts her punishment without protest, seemingly wanting to be punished for her crime. When the shopkeeper drops the charges and Quinn is about to let her go, she can't believe it. Quinn leaves her alone to get a glass of water, he comes back to find her gone. He follows her to the balcony, and to his horror, she throws herself off, killing herself. Quinn is devastated, even more so when he finds out that she was being treated for depression. Years ago she was driving a car which crashed, killing her sister. Shona escaped punishment, and has carried huge guilt ever since. She wanted to be caught and punished for the crime. Quinn goes to visit her husband, Steve, in the hope of explaining his actions, in reality looking for forgiveness. But Steve doesn't want to know, and Quinn is left facing his demons.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Jeanette Cronin as Kerry Gibbs, Lisbeth Kennelly as Michelle Barlow, Maggie Dence as Joy Turner, Mark Lee as Travis Dewar, Rebecca Clarke as Shona Macpherson, Thomas Holesgrove as Steve Macpherson, Jessica Nothdurfter as Hannah Gibbs, Julie Lowe as Shopkeeper

Two Of A Kind

Episode 5.15 (130)
May 30, 2000
Written by Denise Morgan
Directed by Ray Quint

Theo Papadopolous, a wealthy fruit and vegetable merchant is shot dead in the street and robbed of his days takings. There are two witnesses to the shooting, trouble is, they both identify two different killers, even though there was only one gun. The two suspects are from different sides of the track. Simon Coles, an upper middle class guy going somewhere and Damien Brogen, a former street kid now working as a mechanic. The detectives try to find a connection between the two, but both deny knowing the other.

Even orchestrating a meeting between them fails to connect them. Reilly believes in Damien's innocence. When a bomb is sent to one of the witnesses, Damien denies ever sending anything. When the other witness finds out about the threat, she also reneges on her statement. The detectives are left with no witnesses and hence no case. They recheck alibis. Simon's alibi is found to be a lie and furthermore, he used to work for the victim, thereby knowing about his money. Simon used Damien as a convenient fall guy. Reilly uses psychology to get at Damien, telling him that Simon has fingered him as the shooter. The ruse works and Damien goes to confront Simon. Christey and Reilly give chase to Damien, but he eludes them. He then escapes with the money and Reilly chases him into a cemetery. There's a showdown, Reilly gives Damien the chance to give himself up, but he ends up shooting Reilly, wounding him in the leg, before being apprehended.

Darcy Sawyer and his wife Geraldine, relics from sideshow alley in the fifties are making one last attempt for glory. Darcy is an escape artist, an Australian Houdini. He wants to get in the Guinness book of records. Practicing his craft on the harbour, he tries several times, and each time is hauled in by the Water Police. When his final attempt is again thwarted, Geraldine decides that she's had enough, and threatens to leave him if he doesn't finally retire. Quinn makes Darcy see that his wife is worth more than any record attempt.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Septimus Caton as Simon Coles, Kevin Donohoe as Damien "Sparks" Brogan, Michael Duggan as Fred Gibbons, Alice Livingstone as Shellee Hay, Colin Taylor as Darcy Sawyer, Lynette Curran as Geraldine Sawyer, Esther van Doornum as Janine Coles, Peter Sommerfield as Father Pierce, Theo St James as Theo Papadopoulos

Lazarus

Episode 5.16 (131)
June 06, 2000
Written by Ted Roberts
Directed by Ray Quint

Reilly's incarceration in a rehabilitation centre after his gunshot wound takes an unexpected twist when a mummified body is found sitting in his wheelchair. It is quickly discovered that Jason, the gardener at the rehab centre, dug up the body to reunite him with his grieving widow, Mary, who is also a patient. But Mary denies that he grotesque figure in her room is what remains of her husband. While Christey and Alex establish that it was Lloyd's grave that was opened, Chopper is busy comparing dental records, which confirms that the body is not Lloyd's. Mary refuses to believe that her husband could be alive but the further the detectives investigate, the more it points to the fact that Lloyd has faked his own death.

Reilly meets a man in Mary's room who professes to being her endocrinologist, but Reilly becomes suspicious when Mary says she doesn't even know what an endocrinologist is. Christey and Alex learn that Lloyd was an accountant. One of his clients was Hugh Costello, a businessman with a history of shady deals for which to date he has eluded prosecution. The turning point of the investigation occurs when the detectives realise the true identity of the endocrinologist is in fact, Hugh Costello. Their interview with Mr. Costello provides little information but does provide insight into his character.

Meanwhile at the rehab centre, Reilly is alerted to the abduction of Mary by two men posing as staff. Inhibited by his lack of mobility, Reilly is unable to stop the kidnapping. The detectives firmly believe that Costello is behind Mary's kidnapping but realise that they provided him with the perfect alibi as he was being interviewed by them at the time.

With no clues to Mary's whereabouts, the detectives have no choice but to hope that the kidnappers will make contact with some sort of demand. Reilly has another chance meeting with a visitor for Mary, but this time Reilly can identify the visitor immediately, it is Lloyd, Mary's dead husband — alive and well.

Finally the explanation for Lloyd faking his own death is revealed. Lloyd tells an elaborate story of how, as the accountant for Costello, he became aware of Costello's involvement in a people smuggling operation from Asia. When Lloyd confronted Costello over the allegation, Costello threatened Lloyd and Mary's lives. For Lloyd the only way out was to fake his own death to prevent any harm coming to his beloved wife. Costello eventually makes contact with Lloyd and takes him on a varied course around the harbour and its foreshores before Costello can ensure that Lloyd and Mary together face a watery grave.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Madeleine Blackwell as Sister Dobinson, John Leary as Jason, Michelle Fawdon as Mary Tully, Grant Dodwell as Lloyd Tully, Bob Baines as Hugh Costello, Genevieve Sulway as Elaine Martin, Ross Perrelli as Gus Martin, Paul Holmes as Chemist, Dennis Ballard as Contact, Scott Gary as Bill

Heavy Metal

Episode 5.17 (132)
June 13, 2000
Written by Grant Fraser
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Sykes and Quinn pull up a woman, Stephanie, for racing in a high powered speedboat and there is an immediate attraction between Stephanie and Quinn. The boat crew are then called to a jetty where a body has been found in the water, with horrific injuries, like he's been hit by one of the speedboats seen in the area earlier. The driver of the second boat is found to be Steven Clark, and, strangely enough, the dead body is that of his brother, Nick. His parents are distraught, Nick was the number one son, he was a champion power boat racer who used to compete with Steve. They were incredibly competitive. The autopsy reveals that a speedboat didn't kill Nick, he was killed elsewhere and his body dumped in the river. Reilly and Alex question Nick's boss, a panel beater named Dan Rossi. Steve accuses Dan's wife Lea of having an affair with his brother. She denies it, but when Nick's car is found dumped, his mobile phone message bank reveals that they were indeed having an affair. When neighbours report strange comings and goings at the Rossi place Reilly and Alex stakeout the workshop. They are stunned when Stephanie turns up with Quinn. A pile of stolen V8 engines is found, Stephanie was going to buy one cheaply for her boat. Police learn that Dan steals the engines from cars, adapts them for use in boats and resells them. Quinn is hauled over the coals by Hawker for being involved, however innocently. An engine found dumped on the bottom of the harbour turns out to be the murder weapon, that is it fell on the victim, crushing him. Lea swears that it was an accident, she was having a quickie with Nick under the engine block when the beam broke, and it fell on Nick, killing him. Her husband helped Lea dump the body in the river. Steve Clark tries to kill himself by driving his boat into a bridge pylon, but he's thrown out before he does. Reilly and Alex question him, and the truth comes out, revealing his own involvement in his brother's untimely death.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Justin Cotta as Steve Clarke, Peter Callan as Dan Rossi, Skye Wansey as Lea Rossi, Peter Irving Smith as Mr. Clarke, Trisha Noble as Mrs. Clarke, Kevin Maser as Mr. Gibson, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis (uncredited)

Tribes

Episode 5.18 (133)
October 17, 2000
Written by Louise Crane
Directed by Geoff Bennett

When a robed body, crowned with a floral garland, is found floating in a river, police think they have uncovered a ritual killing linked to a nearby religious cult. The body, however, is that of criminal Andy Slaven, part of a well known local crime family. The detectives ask themselves, what would a crim be doing in cult? Andy's hard-drinking father Joe denies his son was part of any group of "weirdos". When Reilly visits the cult, his own religious upbringing cushions him for the impact of the groups seemingly loopy beliefs. Their leader, the charismatic Peter Marchand, has no knowledge of Andy Slaven. He says the cult has long been persecuted and the robed murder victim is another set-up deigned to implicate him and his followers. A little bit of research by Blakemore turns up that the Slaven family were suspects in a recent armed robbery and $250,000 is still missing Reilly and Alex now have a possible motive for Andy's death.

Meanwhile Sykes has a close call when he nearly drowns after a jetskiing accident but is rescued by what he thinks is a mermaid (or rather a mysterious female scuba diver), who disappears after dragging him ashore. Perhaps a little punchy after his bump on the head, Sykes decides to find his mermaid so he can thank her for saving his life.

After being told of the possible involvement of the cult in his son's death, Joe Slaven pays Marchand a violent visit. Forced to intervene, Reilly discovers the youngest Slaven, Jake, has run away from home and is now a member of the cult. But with all the recent police attention Jake has gone to ground. Alex decides to go undercover with the cult to try and find Jake and she's given a healthy dose of theology before her ruse is uncovered. Jake, when he's located and interviewed, is less than helpful, parroting the cult's beliefs and denying any knowledge of the missing $250,000. Jake has no criminal record and Alex and Reilly have no choice but to release him. The detectives have hit a brick wall.

Sykes gets to make his long awaited appearance on COPS TV but as he's reading a story about a nurse ripping off the elderly, he realises the wanted woman bears an uncanny resemblance to his mermaid. A quick check of local dive shops leads to his rescuer, a nurse named Beth. Sykes is then confronted with the painful choice of having to turn in the woman who saved his life.

As Alex drives Jake home from his interview he admits to her he's involved in a relationship with Marchand's daughter Marie and the reason he left home was that he was next in line for the family business and he didn't feel like following in his dad's criminal footsteps. Alex drops Jake at the cult's house but, as she's leaving, she sees Marie running for her life from her father. They are arguing about something. When Alex confronts the pair, she's told to mind her own business and leaves suspicious as ever of Marchand and his family. At a dead end with their inquiries, Alex and Reilly decide to take another look at the crime scene and literally stumble upon an empty steel box hidden in an old pit toilet. It seems someone was hiding something… maybe $250,000. There are three sets of prints on the box. Two sets belong to Joe Slaven and his dead son but who does the thrid set belong to? Whoever they are, it would seem, is the killer.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, John Brumpton as Joe Slaven, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Trent Atkinson as Jake Slaven, Emma Jackson as Hayley Slaven, Nicholas Lathouris as Peter Marchand, Abbie Cornish as Marie Marchand, Miranda Chance as Beth Stevenson, Thomasin Litchfield as Renee Fabrizi, John Haas as Uniformed Officer

Low Blows

Episode 5.19 (134)
June 20, 2000
Written by Andrew Kelly
Directed by Russell Burton

Alex is kept busy dealing with the problems of her fourteen-year-old sister leaving Christey and Reilly to investigate a pair of robberies and two brutal murders.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Terry Serio as Martin Lamb, Putu Winchester-Stanton as Peter Savage, Evan Sheaves as Owen Bradley, Michael Gallina as Tony Ali, Frank Milostnik as Moses Ali, Maureen Elkner as Lorraine Bradley, Saskia Burmeister as Victoria St Clare, Wadah Sari as Aamir Khan

Tangled Web

Episode 5.20 (135)
July 11, 2000
Written by Margaret Morgan
Directed by Russell Burton

When the body of Gus Randall is found, the detectives discover that his closest friends and business associates are enmeshed in a web of deceit. As the web is unravelled, we learn that Colin McGuire, Gus' partner in their dive shop, has forged Gus' signature on a mortgage document in a desperate attempt to salvage the financial disaster that is destroying his life ad his marriage. Colin admits to the attempted fraud but denies murdering Gus.

Colin's wife, Emily reveals that her affection for Gus ran far deeper than friendship. The victim's secrets are discovered after his death. Far from being faithful to his lover Emily, he was involved with a harem of online lovers. When Alex and Christey link the murder weapon to Brian Flatley, the boyfriend of Colin and Emily's teenage daughter Samantha, he confesses, but his motive remains a mystery. Brian will only say that "Gus deserved to die". Alex and Christey are convinced Brian is protecting the person who enlisted him to attack Gus. The detectives' suspicions are heightened when Colin suddenly confesses to hiring Brian. Colin fails to be able to provide details of the murder, convincing Alex and Christey that he was not involved.

Meanwhile, Sykes dreams of higher things and canvasses the possibility of enrolling in the Investigators' Course, seeking to become a detective. Unfortunately, his ambitions go awry when he and Quinn inadvertently assist the thief of an expensive catamaran to escape, and they must work doubly hard on capturing him, if only to salvage their reputations.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, John Jarratt as Colin McGuire, Linda Newton as Felicity, Alyssa McClelland as Samantha, Mark O'Shea as Brian Flatley, Sandra Campbell as Rita Perks, Jack Godden as Ross, Michael Barnacoat as Garth Harrington

Family Ties [Part One]

Episode 5.21 (136)
August 01, 2000
Written by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Raymond Quint

A sixteen-year-old street kid from Alex's past, Harley Strachan, comes back into her life asking for help. He's bashed his girlfriend Miranda and has been charged with assault. He wants Alex to be his support person. Alex soon finds out that Harley's not the person she once knew, he's now a small time pimp in the Cross. When Miranda is found bashed to death and her body thrown off a wharf, Harley is the prime suspect. He denies his guilt, accusing Miranda's pimp, Poppy, of killing her and tries to kill Poppy in revenge. After the autopsy, it's found out that not only was Miranda alive when she was thrown in the water, she was pregnant. Alex, who has believed in Harley's innocence, begins to suspect that he is guilty and has been playing her for a fool and decides to check out some details to see if Harley has told the truth about anything. Surprisingly she uncovers some information that leads the detectives to Miranda's sister Blaire. Alex and Reilly are shocked to discover that Blaire has not informed her parents of her sister's death. Blaire becomes the key to solving the murder but ultimately Alex knows she has lost Harley's trust forever.

Hawker has struck up a friendship with a Vietnamese woman, Aimee Winter, who runs an Asian food stall. They enjoy each others company and there's a hint of romance in the air. When she's robbed at knife point, Hawker is slightly injured tying to thwart the robber. He then embarks on a mission to find out who the culprit is. He sends Sykes and Quinn on the trail which leads them to apprehend a kick-boxing jet-skier.

Aimee asks Hawker to help her find her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Hawker is reluctant to use police resources, but says he'll make enquiries as a private citizen. Blakemore is concerned for Hawker, thinking he's getting too involved with this woman. Hawker eventually tells Aimee that he's found her father and that he'll take her to see him. When he does, she produces a flare gun and torches her father, killing him. She then runs of, leaving Hawker stunned.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Miles Paras as Aimee Winter, Luke Ford as Harley Strachan, Sam Healy as Blaire Wenzel, David Whitney as Poppy Trubigoff, William Upjohn as Peter Carr, Billie-Rose Prichard as Miranda Wenzel, Kim Dawson as Candy, Paul Coolahan as Ken Wenzel, Peter Poy as Mr. Lam, Emily Barrett as Linda Carruthers

Loose Ends [Part Two]

Episode 5.22 (137)
August 08, 2000
Written by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Raymond Quint

When a ten-year-old boy dives into a river and is jabbed in the neck by a syringe, it is discovered that someone is illegally dumping medical waste into the harbour. The trail leads to a hospital contractor, Tony Haxby, who swears he didn't dump the waste. He accuses a competitor of his, Nobby Fisher, whom he put out of business and who he now suspects wants to sabotage Haxby to pay him back. When half a body found amongst the waste, Haxby and Fisher are both suspects, but the leads go nowhere. When Fisher is charged with the dumping, Haxby thinks he's off the hook. When it is found that Haxby hasn't been burning the clinical waste like he claimed, the detectives suspect he could be dumping and set him up to lead them to the dumping site — where the other half of the body turns up. It is identffied as an elderly man, who went to get medical treatment after a fight with his son-in-law. Faced with a long wait at casualty, he went to a nurse who had been treating him, Melita Dayies. She works at the hospital the waste came from. Instead of a tetanus injection, she inadvertantly gave him the wrong drug, killing him. Fearful about losing her job, she cut the body in half and dumped it.

After the murder of Aimee's father, Hawker tries to find her, realising he knows little about her. He finds her brother, a barrister, who explains that Aimee was adopted and has been on a life-long mission to find her real parents in Vietnam. Hawker goes to Chinatown where she used to work, but the trail leads nowhere — until he catches a glimpse of her. He eventually tracks her to a nursing home, where she's been visiting her dying mother, who she bought over from Vietnam. She blamed her father for her mother's illness and killing him was an act of revenge. Hawker realises he's been used.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Miles Paras as Aimee Winter, Gary Waddell as Tony Haxby, Kell Graham as Nobby Fisher, Claire Jones as Melita Davies, Tim Page as Dennis Askew, Wayne Blair as Ridley Winter, Sueyan Cox as Pip Darvell, Warwick Rimmer as Ewan Miller, Sean Loseby as Angus Darvell

Reunion [Part One]

Episode 5.23 (138)
July 25, 2000
Written by Tony Morphett
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

Alex and Reilly arrest Jimmy Foster, a small time crim and associate of erstwhile crime lord Laurie Parsons, for trying to import two kilos of cocaine. His accomplice, Shane Green, escapes with one kilo. Christey knows Parsons from years back, and interviews him, but Lauriee says he has never had anything to do with drugs. Coincidentally, Brendan Hogan, Laurie's godson and grandson of notorious crime matriarch Kate Hogan, turns up to work with Alex in his job with the DPP. Meanwhile, Shane has reported his yacht (used in the drug drop) missing, and when Sykes and Quinn investigate, they end up in a vehicle pursuit of Shane. Shane eventually turns himself in and reveals he took the missing coke to Laurie, where threats were made against him. He's now asking for police protection. Reilly baby-sits him at a safe house, but when a pizza is delivered with a death threat on the lid, Shane freaks out, convinced the cops are in cahoots with Laurie, and he tries to escape, killing himself after being hit by a car. Laurie's place is searched for the missing drugs and Alex finds out that Brendan is Laurie's godson. Christey visits Kate Hogan in prison, convinced she had something to do with the drug deal, but she tells them nothing. Brendan turns up at Alex's place, ostensibly to talk business, but in reality to do some flirting. While he's there, his car is stolen and he's beaten up by a couple of thugs. Alex thinks she recognises one of them, but can't place him. When Alex looks at some prison surveillance tapes, she sees one of the thugs, Tom Killane, visiting Kate Hogan in prison. Killane is an underworld loan shark, who lends money for drug deals and the like. When Christey and Reilly go to see Laurie about Brendan's connection to all this, someone starts shooting at him.

Meanwhile, an eighteen-year-old woman is spotted hanging around Christey's house and his car. She eventually reveals herself as Sophie Ferguson, and claims to be Christey's daughter. Jack is sceptical, especially as he's never heard of the woman named on the birth certificate as the mother. Christey goes to see the woman he was in a relationship with at the time, who is now married with three kids, and she vehemently denies it.

During the pursuit of Shane Green earlier, Quinn is driving, but when the speed becomes too fast, he pulls out of it, despite being ordered to continue. He refuses to tell Sykes why he didn't go on with the chase. Sykes is concerned that their working relationship has been compromised and tells Hawker what happened. Hawker talks to Quinn, knowing that he was involved in a similar incident back in Perth, but Quinn swears that had nothing to do with it. Sykes gets frustrated about not getting through to Quinn, but later, over a beer, Quinn tells him that he was involved in a high speed chase back in Perth. A whole family was wiped out. Quinn thought he had put it behind him, but now knows he hasn't.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Tim Elliot as Laurie Parsons, Shirley Cameron as Kate Hogan, Ditch Davey as Brendan Hogan, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Anne Looby as Gabrielle McMahon, Douglas Hedge as Jimmy Foster, Rohan Nicol as Shane Green, Kristen Boys as Karla Green, Andrew Cross as Pizza Delivery Man

In The Blood [Part Two]

Episode 5.24 (139)
July 25, 2000
Written by John Banas
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

The shooting rampage at Laurie Parsons' house continues. The shooter is revealed as Karla Green, who blames Laurie for her husband's death. Alex visits Kate Hogan to find out what she knows about Tom Killane, the loan shark, but as usual, she clams up. Christey is convinced that Brendan, Laurie's godson, is tied up with the drug deal. Alex drives Brendan home, and they discover that Laurie has been kidnapped with a ransom demand of three million dollars. Brendan tells Hawker that he'll get the money from Laurie's trust account and do the drop. Hawker reluctantly agrees. Under police surveillance, Brendan makes the drop, rendezvousing with a cruiser. The money has a tracking device attached to it. When the drop's made, the Rats move in, but there's no exchange of Laurie Parsons. Laurie is found tied up at the helm of the cruiser, which runs over one of the criminal divers, killing him. When the bags are retrieved, the cash is gone. Laurie gets stuck into Christey over his missing money. When the detectives casually mention Tom Killane, the loan shark, as possibly being the thug who assaulted Brendan, Laurie cuts Brendan dead with a look of pure ice. Woods figures out that when the bags were dumped over the side of the cruiser, a diver with a propulsion unit must have been waiting underneath. The cash is then taken out of the bags and the diver makes to shore. When the identity of the dead diver is found, it takes away any suspicion of Laurie's involvement with the drugs. All the evidence now points to Brendan. He borrowed the money to set up a drug import. When it went wrong, he had to get the money somehow, so he set up the kidnap of Laurie, and took the ransom money. The search for Brendan is on, especially when the loan shark is found dead in the boot of Brendan's car. But the detectives aren't the only ones on Brendan's tail, when Laurie finds out he's been betrayed, he has a showdown with him. When Brendan goes to shoot Christey, Laurie kills him. Laurie tells Christey that he loved Kate Hogan once, but he called the relationship off at her father's behest. Kate is left with nothing but her bitterness.

Sophie is frustrated by Christey's inability to give her time and tell her who her real mother is. Eventually Christey confronts Gabrielle, the woman he loved many years ago, who confirms that Sophie is indeed their daughter, but Gabrielle refuses to have anything to do with her. Christey is stunned, he breaks the news to Sophie. There's great awkwardness between newly found father and daughter. Christey convinces Gabrielle to see Sophie and a meeting is organised. The steps, although tentative, are in the right direction. When Sophie's adoptive father turns up, Christey feels a connection to his daughter, and knows he wants to see her again.

One Good Turn

Episode 5.25 (140)
June 27, 2000
Written by Denise Morgan
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Mullet, a vagrant well known to the Water Police and in particular, Hawker, is mugged. In tracing back over Mullet's day, Reilly and Hawker discover the dead body of a man near Mullet's hideout and indications are that Mullet knows more about this than she is telling. When blood on Mullet's clothing points to a third party being involved in the murder, the detectives discover that Mullet is in fact hiding the murder suspect, Greg, a boyfriend of a young girl, Leslie, who has befriended Mullet.

In the course of trying to find a place where Mullet is likely to hide a person, Alex searches one of the many tunnels in the area where Mullet lives, and is taken hostage by the injured Greg. Greg is distressed and pleads with Alex to believe he killed the victim in self defence. He tells Alex he was meant to be involved in a crime with the victim, but begged to be let out of the deal. The victim, who had a gun, refused; there was a struggle and the gun went off leaving Greg wounded and the other man dead.

To prove his story, he leads the police to a robbery that was going to be carried out by himself, the murdered man and two other robbers. The crooks are apprehended and interviewed. Everything seems to verify Greg's story but something niggling at the back of Alex's brain leads her to do a bit more digging and along with Reilly, discover the truth.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Barbara Morton as Mullet, Tamara Buckmaster as Lesley Fischer, Jon Pollard as Greg Winton, Anthony Ingersent as Henry Carter, Chris Sadrinna as Derek van Hargaan, Joe Barton as Warren Fredericks, Les Asmussen as Mr. Eggleston

Mozzie

Episode 5.26 (141)
July 04, 2000
Written by Margaret Wilson
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Alex's days as an undercover operative are coming back to haunt her when she gets a death threat relating to an investigation into a paedophile ring. Alex assumes the death threats are coming from Nathan Albury, the man charged with procuring young boys for the paedophile racket and due for trial shortly. Alex's former supervisor from undercover, Tom McKelvey, shows up at the Water Police headquarters, revealing he too, has received a death threat. McKelvey wonders if Alex has heard from Mozzie, another one of his undercover operatives — the one who actually taped the confession from Albury. Alex hasn't. She's concerned about Mozzie — the bad guys mean business and Mozzie's the man they need dead. McKelvey is worried about Mozzie too, he's scared the guy's losing the plot, that he's been undercover for so long, he can't differentiate the real world from the lie he has had to live for so long. He tells Alex it's essential to get Mozzie into protection if the guy is to see his next birthday.

Mozzie makes contact with Alex. His theory is the death threats aren't coming from Nathan Albury, but from higher up in the paedophile ring, namely a Member of Parliament, one Kevin Ridley. Mozzie reckons Ridley's terrified Albury will be convicted, open his mouth and take him down with him.

Alex tries to convince Mozzie to contact McKelvey, to get him into protective custody. Mozzie refuses, believing he's too close to cracking the paedophile ring. He's going to need help however, and that's why he's come to Alex. Alex tells him it is not possible for her to play lone wolf these days — she's part of a new team. Mozzie is adamant she trusts no one, and keeps his information to herself. The stakes rise for everyone when Mozzie's taped confession of Nathan Albury is stolen and Albury is released from prison. Someone on the inside seems to be helping the bad guys. People are being paid off everywhere. When Mozzie also goes missing, the Rats wonder who will be the next and who can they trust?

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Marty Denniss as Mozzie, Alan David Lee as Tom McKelvey, Toby Schmitz as Nathan Albury, Andrew Harris as Kevin Ridley, Marcel Bracks as Michael Crocker, Anthony Theil as Yachtie, David Jobling as Cleaner

We Could Be Heroes

Episode 5.27 (142)
September 05, 2000
Written by Andrew Kelly
Directed by Russell Burton

It is the week before the Sydney Olympic Summer Games and Water Police headquarters is swollen with officers from all over the state brought in to maintain order on a harbour about to become the centre of global attention. The last thing Jack Christey expects is to find a naked man tied to a wharf in some sort of humiliation rite. He's even more surprised to discover the naked man is Stan Morrow, a local cop due to retire in three days. Stan is shaken after being beaten and his clothes cut from his body, all the while being told he's "nothing". As Christey, Alex and Reilly set about trying to discover the identity of Stan's attacker, they find disturbing parallels to another assault on an elderly woman, Florence Bussel. Visiting the severely traumatised Florence, the Rats find she's recently been featured in a local newspaper as an "Everyday Hero", an award given for small acts of courage in the community. Returning to question Stan, Alex spots an article on his station's noticeboard about a humble rescue Stan conducted. He too was picked as an "Everyday Hero". The Rats conclude their villain is picking his victims from the newspaper and quickly focus their investigation on a disgruntled local Bobby LeBoux. LeRoux was so outraged at being passed over for an Everyday Hero award, he abused staff at the local newspaper. LeRoux's an unstable man, who savours his grudges and he seems to have covered his tracks well. The Rats can't find any evidence to link him to the crimes.

Meanwhile, Alex has other problems to deal with when she catches a young, would-be swimmer stealing wallets to fund his coaching. Unfortunately for him, he's stolen the wallet of an Australian Olympic swim team member and Alex is forced to pull the youngster into line. Alex is also bemused as she suspects Reilly is romantically interested in her when he asks her out on a date.

Back at the station, Christey has brought Bobby LeRoux in for questioning certain he's the man he's hunting. But while LeRoux is in custody, another Everyday Hero is attacked. This time a thirteen-year-old girl is savagely beaten and left for dead in a park. LeRoux, in custody at the time of the attack, cannot be responsible, so the Rat's have lost their only suspect. And with each attack growing more and more violent, it's only a matter of time before a life is lost.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Grant Hackett as himself, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Bruce Venables as Stan Morrow, Rhys Muldoon as John Wade, Natalie O'Donnell as Renae Cook, Nick Meenahan as Bobby LeRoux, Adam Saunders as Miguel Munoz, Mark Symington as Nathan Twibble, Peter Damian Hayes as Kevin Andrade, Tim Campbell as Peter Kostis, Vanessa Fallon as Louise Fletcher, Sabrina Jovanovski as Young Woman, Andy Turnbull as Steve Pate, Samantha Swan as Rebecca Farrell, Millie Potts as Florence Bussel, Tepa Flaetoese as Sione Leaaetofa (x)

Final Chapter [Part One]

Episode 5.28 (143)
August 15, 2000
Written by Peter Neale
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

Jack Christey has a brush with fame when he discovers he's been featured in a book by prison novelist Brett Kimble. Not surprisingly however, Christey doesn't like the way his character "Jock Christmas" has been portrayed. Christey gets is chance to address the matter when Brett confesses to an opal robbery and the Rats are brought in to videotape his walk-through of the crime scene. As they transport the wisecracking criminal author across the harbour, the Nemesis is sidetracked by a woman screaming for help next to her capsized dinghy. Reilly and Sykes pull the woman from the water and she surprises everyone by producing a handgun from a plastic bag. It turns out the woman is Rosie Callaghan, Brett's librarian girlfriend. Brett's confession has in fact been a ruse to help him escape. Nervous and verging on hysterical, Rosie forces Christey, Reilly and Sykes into the water as Brett uncuffs himself. As Brett fires up the Nemy's engines to make good his escape, Christey manages a last second dive back on board the boat and tackles Rosie to the deck. In the ensuing scuffle, Brett is wounded in the leg and incapacitated.

The escapees are now forced to take Christey with them as they make a mad dash to the coast for their planned meeting with a seaplane. Panicked and in pain, Brett directs the Nemesis to the wrong rendezvous spot, whereupon Christey is forced to piggy-back him through the bush in order to make the meet with the seaplane.

Meanwhile at headquarters, the Rats hustle into action under the disturbing knowledge one of their own has been taken captive. The search for Christey is coloured by a conflict between Rourke and Quinn over a near-fatal diving accident, for which both men blame the other. Back with Brett and Rosie, Christey fears things are spiralling out of his control. Rosie Callaghan is no hardened criminal, just an impressionable librarian who fell under Brett's spell in the prison library. And she's definitely not used to firearms. This has a devastating consequence when two recreational divers stumble upon Christey and his captors and Rosie shoots one of the men dead. To make matters worse, the criminals miss their seaplane and are left stranded in the bush. Brett than takes matters into hand and decides to hide out at Christey's place, reasoning a cop's home to be the last place a manhunt will look for an escapee. Unbeknownst to Christey however, his daughter Sophie has stopped by his house and she is drawn into the bloody drama. With Brett wounded, Rosie now a murderer and no sure way to escape, the criminals realise their options are dwindling and Christey knows his life and his daughter's are fast becoming expendable commodities.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Marin Mimica as Brett Kimble, Susan Prior as Rosie Callaghan, John Walton as Lindsay, David Rondo as Opal Store Owner, Frankie Davidson as Boat Owner, Yigal Babluki as Mean Looking Guy

Silent Running [Part Two]

Episode 5.29 (144)
August 22, 2000
Written by David Phillips
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

Distraught father and hard-nosed detective battle for supremacy when Jack Christey's daughter Sophie is taken hostage by an escaped prisoner. Wounded and making up his getaway plan as he goes, Brett Kimble knows Sophie is a valuable bargaining chip. Unfortunately for Christey, Brett's girlfriend and accomplice, Rosie, is not such a calculating customer. She's already killed a man out of sheer panic and as Brett makes his dash for freedom, Christey knows Rosie is capable of killing Sophie for the smallest indiscretion. All Christey and the rest of the Rats' team can do is try to out-think Brett and guess his next move as he leaves a trail of dumped cars and brutalised bystanders. Brett Kimble has no love of prison life and Christey knows this is not the career-criminal's first time on the run. The last time Brett broke out of jail he ran north and something in Christey's gut tells him Brett is a creature of habit. An intensive search north of Sydney soon proves Christey's hunch correct — Brett's plan had been simple. After his initial escape, he would fly in a chartered sea plane to a safe house on the NSW Central Coast prepared by Rosie. There the fugitive lovers would pick up a clean vehicle and make a leisurely escape up the coast to their final destination. Using intuition, detective work and some desperate rough house tactics, Christey tracks the escapees to a rural beach house.Attempting to exchange himself as hostage for his daughter, Christey falls into the hands of the increasingly unstable Rosie. And as Christey's colleagues close in, Rosie's behaviour moves from unreasonable to rabid. Christey has his back against the wall. But this time his daughter's life hinges on his next move.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Marin Mimica as Brett Kimble, Susan Prior as Rosie Callaghan, Barry Langrishe as Doug Ferguson, Jules Sobotta as Sharon Moore, Errol Shand as Roadside Attendant

With A Vengeance

Episode 5.30 (145)
August 29, 2000
Written by Tony Morphett
Directed by Russell Burton

Constable Matthew Quinn is devastated when his girlfriend Stephanie reveals she was raped by Paul Jardine, her father's business partner. Paul Jardine is her dad's golden-haired boy and he's already explained away the rape in his own mind, figuring he and Stephanie were drunk and got carried away. Stephanie, however, doesn't see it that way and neither does Matt. When Quinn and Jardine run into each other at a party, the young constable loses his cool and punches Jardine. But the next day, after Jardine is savagely beaten and hospitalised, Quinn is questioned by local police. Quinn and Jardine's scuffle had been harmless but it's made him the prime suspect for the bashing. Quinn now has to find the person who attacked Jardine or risk losing his career.

Meanwhile Christey and the detectives are trying to find the killer of a Tongan illegal immigrant. Their investigations lead them to the dead man's pregnant girlfriend, Tolofi, who's baffled as to why anyone would want to kill her partner. Alex then discovers Tolofi's also an illegal immigrant and understandably so — she's on the run from Tongan authorities for killing a man and is slated for hanging. The Rats face a quandary as they track the young woman on the run. If they do their job properly, they're sending a pregnant woman to the gallows.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Scott Lowe as Sean Kelly, Warwick Young as Paul Jardine, Rene Naufahu as Sammy Taufa, Sara Zwangobani as Tolofi Vivi, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Nicole Fantl as Claudia Hale, Carlotta Chadwick as Prostitute, Tepa Flaetoese as Sione Leaaetofa

Remember This [Part One]

Episode 5.31 (146)
October 03, 2000
Written by David Phillips
Directed by Robert Klenner

A young man, shot dead in the boat shed of a harbourside property, is the start of a bad day for Christey. The crime scene is compromised when Christey's overzealous actions causes the boatshed floor to collapse, sending the body and any evidence into the harbour. The property is owned by Denise Ford, a cantankerous elderly widow who is displaying the early signs of Alzheimer's. Her sister, Dolly, lives with her. Denise's son, Harry, was paying his mother an early morning visit when he was confronted by an intruder with a gun. The ensuing struggle ended with the intruder being shot dead. Denise believes the intruder was a burglar as her house had been robbed recently and her silverware stolen. She constantly belabours that the police failed to find her stolen property then and now have demolished her property and demands Christey pay for her boat shed. Whilst Dolly apologises for Denise's diminishing mental capacity, Harry's pleads that he shot in self defence.

The victim is identified as Sam Arkady, a self employed handyman with no criminal record. At his boarding house, Christey and Reilly discover Sam's abode is a shrine to famous hitmen and assassins. Alex and Reilly suggest that Sam was at the Ford house to play out his obsession, to become a professional hitman. Christey has trouble swallowing this theory until he learns that Sam's next door neighbour, Billy Russell, is an infamous hitman who has been recently paroled due to health reasons.

An ex-lover, Emily, who recently dumped Reilly reappears in his life as suddenly as she left. Emily pleas for Reilly to extricate her daughter from living with a man who Emily believes helped murder someone seven years ago. Emily wants Reilly to arrest him for murder so her daughter will return home to her. Reilly begins to investigate the murder and is lead to a witness, Krystal, an ex -prostitute, who refuses to talk. Christey is not happy about Reilly spending all his time with Emily and suspects that Alex is not concentrating on the job at hand because she's preoccupied with the relationship between Emily and Reilly. Reilly is finally told to give up on the old murder, but Emily begs him to speak to Krystal again to get her to testify. Reilly succumbs to her entreaties and goes to see Krystal only to discover she's been shot and killed.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Brittany Byrnes as Geena Sadler, David Field as Warren Reith, Deni Gordon as Cynthia Rody, Frank Wilson as Billy Russell, Rowena Wallace as Dolly Munro, Moya O'Sullivan as Denise Ford, Alan Flower as Harry Ford, Emma Whiteman as Judith Ford, Susan Trainor as Krystal, Tony Girdler as Mr. Simons, Stewart Armstrong as Landlord, Bob Bowles as Sam Arkady

Vigilante [Part Two]

Episode 5.32 (147)
October 10, 2000
Written by Peter Neale
Directed by Robert Klenner

Krystal, a witness to a murder committed some years ago, has been murdered. Reilly's ex-lover Emily reveals that her thirteen-year-old daughter, Geena, was also a witness to the murder. Geena, much to Emily's chagrin, is still staying with her father, Warren, a known drug dealer and the main suspect in both the old murder and Krystal's murder. Reilly comes under pressure at work defending Emily. Christey thinks she is passively obstructing the murder investigation and Alex is concerned that Emily is using Reilly to help her exact her revenge on Warren for turning her daughter against her. When Emily finds Geena wandering the streets under the influence of ecstasy, she removes Geena from Warren's home, warning Warren that she will kill him if he comes near Geena again. Things are further complicated by SOK, an anti-drug group comprised of grieving parents who have each lost a child to drugs. They target Warren, harassing him and also the Water Police, demanding that they remove Warren from the streets. When Warren is murdered, one of the SOK members is the obvious culprit until Emily confesses to the murder. Hawker makes a personal statement on television: that the imperfect rule of law is all we have to keep us civilised.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Brittany Byrnes as Geena Sadler, David Field as Warren Reith, Deni Gordon as Cynthia Rody, Paul Hunt as Glen Cook, Bryan Wilson as Lionel Black, Susan Trainor as Krystal, Jeff Lang as Anthony Beroni, Jan Ringrose & Ian Crow as SOK Protestors, Perrin Tasker as Daniel Cook, Clause Tasker as Josh Cook, Keeara Byrnes as Young Geena

The Last Hurrah [Part One]

Episode 5.33 (148)
October 24, 2000
Written by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Geoff Bennett

An attempt on the life of Charlie Driscoll prior to her forthcoming murder trial has Jack convinced she is once again up to something and may in fact be preparing to leave the country. His obsession with uncovering her plans draws the ire of Chief Inspector Hawker and places Jack in a difficult position when he is ultimately forced to shoot the very man who may have had reason to want her dead in order to keep her from testifying against him. Adding to his troubles, Jack in haunted by his memories on the one year anniversary of Rachel's death.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Andrew Rodoreda as Boy Briscoll, Tara Jakszewicz as Sheera Wilson, Simone Robertson as Andrea Til, Catherine McClements as Rachel Goldstein, Glen Shea as Willie "Fatman" Bostik, Jago Harvey as Benny Bostik, Serema Harison as Holly Lynch

Bye Bye Charlie [Part Two]

Episode 5.34 (149)
October 31, 2000
Written by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Charlie Driscoll makes her last great dash for freedom and Jack Christey is determined to stop her. Christey is now certain Charlie is stockpiling currency and diamonds to retire on in another country aided by her brother Boy Driscoll. Christey's suspicions are somewhat confirmed when he discovers Boy's girlfriend is an ailing hostess, seemingly the perfect courier to carry Charlie's ill-gotten nest egg to her new home in the Bahamas. But when Christey has the air hostess searched by Interpol on her next flight out of Sydney, the cops find nothing. This prompts Christey to speculate the air hostess has ripped off Charlie and Boy and the Rats brace themselves for some ugly underworld pay-back. Convinced his old nemesis will flee the moment he isn't looking, Christey ignores official directives and maintains around the clock surveillance on Charlie. But Christey can't plug all the holes and the stakes for all involved are raised when Boy Driscoll turns up dead. It looks like even family loyalty won't stop Charlie from succeeding in her escape plan. As Christey tries to bring Hawker and the other detectives around to his way of thinking, he continues to run up against one immovable piece of logic. Charlie is wheelchair bound and not a high risk for flight. She can't even cross her legs. But as the body count grows and the clues pile up in front of Christey, he knows Charlie's got one last trick in her bag and is determined to guess it before she disappears for good.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Andrew Rodoreda as Boy Briscoll, Tara Jakszewicz as Sheera Wilson, Simone Robertson as Andrea Til, Catherine McClements as Rachel Goldstein, Mouche Phillips as Eva Minton, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Robert Crane as Technician, Darren Ratcliffe as Apprentice, Serhat Caradee as Chorny Peters, Ken Gamble as Dillon

Family Values [Part Three]

Episode 5.35 (150)
November 07, 2000
Written by Peter Gawler
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

The aftermath of Alex and her brother's car accident reveals a lump of concrete was thrown at the windscreen of the car. James is critically injured and while he lies unconscious in hospital, Alex becomes increasingly convinced the accident was a deliberate attempt on their lives. Obsessed with finding the person responsible, Alex first looks for a motive and an offender from amongst people she has arrested. However the answer lies in her brother's James university assignment for his law degree. Alex realises that James has been investigating a five-year-old murder which culminated in the possible false imprisonment of an intellectually challenged man. Alex theorises that James may have stumbled across the path of the real murderer… who doesn't want the case to be reopened.

Christey and Reilly investigate the disappearance of two women from a yacht out at sea. Two brothers and their wives went on a sailing trip to Norfolk Island, then one morning the men, awoke to find both their wives missing. As the detectives piece together what happened prior to the women's disappearance, inconsistencies start to appear in the brother's story and divisions appear in their relationship… till the men begin to suspect each other of foul play. The brothers come to blows, their entire relationship is in tatters, when the solution to the women's disappearance comes out of left field.

Reilly makes a move on Alex who rejects him and accuses him of exploiting her vulnerability. Christey has a word to Reilly, telling him to back off from Alex. Reilly, drunk, takes a swing at Christey and lands himself in the drink.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Mouch Phillips as Eva Minton, Ian McColm as Duane Smith, Andy Anderson as Brian Atchison, Will Usic as Rod Anderson, Monette Lee as Marion Atchison, Caitlin Hunter as Caitlin, Adrian Adam as Uniformed Sergeant, Cheryl Ward as Girlfriend, Michael Ryan as News Journalist

True Believer [Part Four]

Episode 5.36 (151)
November 14, 2000
Written by Peter Gawler
Directed by Lynn Hegarty

Alex continues the investigation into the car crash that injured her brother. Convinced that it is connected to the five-year-old murder of a young girl, Alex is determined to discover whether Duane was correctly convicted of the murder. While Duane continues to protest his innocence, Alex struggles to find any concrete evidence which can exonerate him. What she does discover is that everyone connected with the case are happy to have Duane imprisoned for the crime, despite the fact that he was convicted on circumstantial evidence. Duane's alibi for the time of the murder was an old woman, Mrs. Stringer, whose memory failed her at the time of the murder trial about which day Duane was mowing her lawn. Five years on, her memory has not improved when Alex visits her to see if she can substantiate Duane's alibi. Alex also meets Paul Smith and his two sons, who live in the neighbourhood. Not only are they cousins of Duane but one of the sons was a witness against Duane at his trial, claiming he saw Duane with the girl before she was murderer.

Alex is unnerved by the father, Paul Smith who presents as a brutal when he threatens Alex if she continues to pursue her inquiries. When Mrs. Stringer dies, apparently from natural causes, after finding her beloved pet dog beheaded on her doorstep, Alex is convinced that the wrong man went to prison. Alex believes that the real murderer is still out there and still dangerous. And soon Alex will realise that she is his next target.
Sykes gets engaged to his girlfriend, Eva, much to the surprise of the other Rats as he has only known Eva for a few weeks.

Reilly wants to know where he stands with Alex but she is reluctant to take their relationship to another level because they work together.

Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Mouch Phillips as Eva Minton, Ian McColm as Duane Smith, Wayne Pygram as Paul Smith Snr, Jonathan Devay as Paul Smith Jnr, Raphael Dickson as Mark Smith, Kim Knuckey as Inspector Doug Maxwell, Shirley Sheppard as Mrs Stringer, Mary Gilbert as Bianca Humphries, Josh Lemanski as Young Paul Smith Jnr, Keedan Harvey as Young Mark Smith

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Water Rats \| Home Water Rats: episode guide Series 1 \| Series 2 \| Series 3 \| Series 4 \| Series 5 \| Series 6 Series Five short summaries A Day To Remember Episode 5.01 (116) February 22, 2000 Written by Denise Morgan Directed by Peter Andrikidis There is mayhem on the harbour when a helicopter crashes into the water near a sightseeing boat. A major rescue operation is launched, the new detective on the team, Alex St Clare, proving her worth. Leaking petrol and the poor condition of the boat hampers the rescue, particularly of a couple trapped below decks. The mystery of why the helicopter crashed is revealed when the pilot's body is retrieved, a bullet wound to the head. Clearly someone else was on board the helicopter, and is now either dead or passing themselves off as a passenger on the boat. To identify them, Christey and Alex question survivors at the hospital whilst Blakemore will make subtle enquiries to the grieving families as she performs numerous death knocks. Amongst the survivors at the hospital, Alex talks to a woman she rescued from the water, Hilary, and a man who is revealed to be the boat's deckhand. Reilly learns that a woman matching Hilary's description was seen boarding the helicopter that morning, but it's too late, she's checked herself out of hospital. Whilst tracking down her address, a call comes through for Alex from a woman — it's Hilary. Still sounding dazed and confused, she refuses to give her whereabouts or explain why she was on the helicopter but alludes to personal problems — her heart has been broken by someone. The detectives assume she was having an affair with the pilot, Colin Frayne. This angle is fervently dismissed by her husband, Patrick, who has been very concerned by his wife's disappearance. He too alludes to some recent personal problems and the copious amounts of medication in the house lead Christey to conclude that Hilary is obviously unstable. Alex, having formed a bond with the woman over the phone, is not so sure. Hilary calls Alex again and this time, pushed for information, reveals that it was not Colin who broke her heart, but her husband. He hired Colin to kill her. Patrick vehemently denies the accusation, and Christey concurs that Hilary is not to be believed. Finding a news clipping at Colin's house detailing Patrick and Hilary's wealth, Reilly hits on the idea of a kidnapping gone wrong. The detectives explore the various theories in an attempt to unravel the truth. A final clue sets them on the path of discovery which reveals the killer. It's also a terrible day for the other water police. Time is running out to save the couple trapped below the deck on the sinking boat. Rourke, Sykes and Tavita risk their lives to free them, going against Hawker's orders not to endanger themselves. Tavita and Sykes are devastated when one of the trapped couple dies. Blakemore endures the strain of having to inform several families their loved ones are dead, before returning to base to be confronted by yet more grief and suffering. Two families wait to claim one unidentified body, and Blakemore knows that good news for one can only be bad news for the other. To reward his officers for their hard work, Hawker's only debriefing is to present them all with a case of beer and a bottle of scotch. Guest Starring: Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Mary Coustas as Hilary Kernaghan, Andrew McFarlane as Patrick Kernaghan, Don Hany as Rob Schreiber, Bojana Novakovic as Sarah Schreiber, Adam Drummond as Bill Telfer, Harry Lawrence as Brian Mercer, Christopher Lewis as Mr. Dorizzi, Margaret Judd as Mrs. Dorizzi, James Casella as Tony Dorizzi, Jane Archer as Mrs. Ashford, Peter Farmer as Mr. Ashford, Christopher Eirth as Josh Shaw Obsession [Part One] Episode 5.02 (117) February 29, 2000 Written by Bill Searle Directed by Peter Andrikidis Two bodies are found on a burnt out yacht. One is of a woman, Alison Rogers and the other, although too badly burnt to be identified, is assumed to be her boyfriend and the boat's owner, Ben Walker. Alison's father and brother take the news badly, especially the brother Josh, whose attachment is so close to his sister that he refuses to believe she is dead. Shelley, Ben's ex-girlfriend, is also devastated by his death. The deaths take on more sinister light when it is discovered that the yacht was deliberately torched. The mystery deepens when the second body is proved not to be Ben's after all. The detectives are faced with the task of finding Ben, identifying the dead man and establishing who caused the fatal fire. An initial suspect is Alison's ex-boyfriend Scott, who took their break up badly and is known to be violent. However, like Ben, Scott also cannot be found. The theory that a jealous ex-lover is to blame appears confirmed when Scott's car is found near the beach where the boat is moored, and he is identified as being the mystery deceased male. Christy is convinced Scott followed Alison and Ben and either deliberately or inadvertently became a victim himself in his quest for revenge. Alex, however, is suspicious about Josh, the rather odd brother of Alison. Josh makes no secret of hating all her boyfriends, to the extent that Scott once took out an AVO against him. In an outburst of grief and rage, which may mimic what happened with Alison and Scott, Josh assaults his father and Alex. In talking Josh down from his rage, Alex realizes that he could have committed the crime. Heartbroken and unhinged by the loss of his sister, Alex takes him to the morgue to see Alison's body in order to help him accept reality. Finding the missing boyfriend, Ben, becomes the key to solving the mystery. Reilly is convinced that Ben's girlfriend, Shelley, clearly still in love with him, will lead them to him. Eventually Ben is discovered in hospital, in a coma, after being knocked down by a car. Ben regains consciousness and although able to describe what happened on the yacht that fateful night, is still unable to identify who caused the explosion. It is only when Alex identifies, by chance, a piece of lost property found by Tavita and Sykes after busting a couple of kids for stealing a dinghy, that the final piece of the puzzle falls into place and the firebug is identified. Guest Starring: Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Nadine Garner as Shelley Andrews, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Alan Cinis as Owen Rogers, Matthew Newton as Josh Rogers, Rebecca Maher as Leanne Rogers, Stephen Pease as Ben Walker, David Gambin as Scott Fitzgerald, Tristan Price as Terry McCann, Nathan Decorte as Aidan Pay The Piper [Part Two] Episode 5.03 (118) March 07, 2000 Written by Deborah Parsons Directed by Chris Martin-Jones Christey becomes the victim of a crime when his gun is stolen from his house. When he spies Charlie Driscoll sitting outside his house the morning after, he is certain who has taken it, but is perplexed by her motive. Reprimanded for failing to ensure its safe keeping, the theft takes an ominous turn when Serge Malakoff, an ex-con who recently complained about Christey to the ombudsman, is found shot dead. Due to his history with Malakoff, Christey takes it upon himself to track down his remaining family, a daughter Catherine, and inform her of her father's death. Bitter about the events of years ago that saw her father desert her and go to goal, and her mother's suicide as a result, Catherine wants nothing to do with Christey. Meanwhile, Alex and Reilly are investigating the shooting and learn that a witness to the crime, Max Prescott, claims he heard Malakoff address his killer by the name of "Christey", and his car was seen in the vicinity at the time. To make matters worse, it is revealed Malakoff has been shot with a police issue revolver. With the evidence mounting against him, Christey reveals that he was at the scene of the murder on the night in question — waiting for an informant who never showed. Insisting he is being set up, Christey confronts Charlie Driscoll, who confirms it. Already dying from cancer and anxious to gain revenge on Christey for sending him to gaol ten years ago, Malakoff agreed to be killed as part of the set up in exchange for money for his daughter — his way of making amends for the past. The set up is Charlie's way of ensuring Christey helps her escape the murder charge she is facing. The police are holding in evidence the murder weapon which bears her finger prints. She needs Christey to swap the weapon with a matching, but less damning, substitute. Christey confides in Reilly, who is under pressure from Alex to report Prescoll's claims about him to Hawker. Christey asks Reilly to wait another twelve hours before doing so to give him the night to fix the problem. He confronts one of Charlie's henchmen, Lewis west, trying to force him to confess that he killed Malakoff. But Christey cannot prove it and West knows it. Christey is furious to discover Reilly has followed him to the rendezvous, looking out for his partner. He tells Reilly to hand in the report to Hawker: he's sick of being Charlie's victim and will face the consequences, whatever they are. With the case against him looking more and more solid, Christey is pushed to take desperate measures to save himself from going down on a murder charge. Rorke finds himself dealing with a troublesome kid, Peter, who is found sleeping on the Harpy overnight. He realises he may have been too quick in judging a book by its cover, and thus let down a boy in real need. Guest Starring: Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Kathryn Hartman as Catherine Malakoff, Russell Kiefel as Lewis West, Ian Bliss as Max Prescott, Damian Garvey as Baracas, Blaize Saunders as Peter Leahey, Jason Smith as Neil Wilson, Lizzy Dart as Receptionist Charlie's Pride [Part Three] Episode 5.04 (119) March 14, 2000 Written by Margaret Wilson Directed by Chris Martin-Jones Charlie Driscoll puts pressure on Christey, after setting him up as prime suspect in the murder of Serge Malakoff, to substitute evidence being held by the police in order to free her from a murder charge. Christey's attempts to prove the set-up backfire when witness Max Prescott, who claimed to have seen Christey the night of the murder, easily identifies him in an ID parade. Meanwhile, Charlie has a problem of her own. The murder charge and a bloody gang war has weakened her leadership and once loyal staff are jockeying to take over the control of her empire. Christey finds himself caught in the crossfire, literally, after Charlie summons him to a meeting, impatient he performs the task she has blackmailed him into. Under fire, Christey is surprised to learn that not only could the shooter be one of Charlie's people, but that he could also be a target. As the only person able to help Charlie escape the murder charge, disposing of Christey would ensure Charlie's inability to resume control of her empire. Although Alex and Reilly manage to expose Max as a paid witness, Christey becoming a target himself forces him to come clean to Hawker. Hawker agrees to Christey's plan to meet Charlie where, wired, he will force her to confess to the set-up of Serge Malakoff's murder. Charlie's failure to show up is soon explained when she is found near death in the harbour. The detectives suspect her second-in-command Baracas but are unable to prove his guilt as Charlie is critical and in a coma. Their instincts appear to be proven accurate when Catherine Malakoff, Serge's daughter, also narrowly escapes a bullet. Convinced Baracas is keen to cancel Charlie's debts, which include the trust fund Serge arranged for Catherine, the chase is on to prevent Baracas from killing her. The detectives locate her just in time, discovering the real identity of Charlie Driscoll's attacker in the process. Guest Starring: Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Kathryn Hartman as Catherine Malakoff, Russell Kiefel as Lewis West, Ian Bliss as Max Prescott, Damian Garvey as Baracas, Rodney Samuel as Boat Captain Play It Again Episode 5.05 (120) March 28, 2000 Written by John Banas Directed by Geoff Bennett As the boat crew contend with a protest against a marina development, an investigation into the death of a model, Sondra McIntyre, leads the detectives to the same location. Sondra's ex-boyfriend, Matthew Grierson, is not only the property developer under attack, but also an old flame of Alex's. As she is a suspect in the case, Christey tries keeping Alex at arm's length, the slur against her professionalism infuriating her. Sondra's flat mate, Elsye, a model with a drug habit, insists she must have killed her friend whilst high but as the evidence does not fit her story, her guilt appears unlikely. She does however reveal a motive for the murder. Sondra secretly taped nefariuos activities at a wild party held by Matthew. Suggestions of graft and corruption are made involving local politician Marie Chapple. Speculation that Sondra's attempts to blackmail one of the party guests led to her murder appear confirmed by video tapes missing from her flat, and the later theft of tapes at the marina development office. Chapple vehemently denies claims her car was seen in the vicinity, pointing the finger at Sean Robey, leader of the protest against the marina development, who has accused her of taking kickbacks from Matthew Grierson over the development. Robey also confirms the existence of the video tape but cannot shed any light on its whereabouts either. As the murder investigation continues, Alex's unresolved feelings for Matthew surface anew, despite a warning from his brother Todd that her ex fiancé is no longer the same man she once loved. Elyse echoes the sentiments. Matthew is a rampant womaniser, capable of anything, including murder. Blakemore intervenes in an armed robbery, and is forced to open fire when it appears the offender will shoot a child. Afterwards, she is devastated to learn he was not armed — his gun was plastic, and his life now hangs in the balance. Guest Starring: Peter O'Brien as Matthew Grierson, Alexandra Davis as Elyse Pritchard, Damon Herriman as Todd Grierson, Michael Labran as Sean Robey, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Genevieve Mooy as Marie Chapple, Ben Steele as Rowan Marsden, Emily Howe as Sondra McIntyre, Merran Doyle as Molly Welch, Emily Doyle as Kaitlyn Welch. George Leppard as Arthur Marsden, Chris Burke as Jones A Split Second Episode 5.06 (121) March 28, 2000 Written by John Banas Directed by Geoff Bennett Alex deals with the consequences of sleeping with Matthew Grierson, as the protest against the Marina development continues. She finds out that he slept with Elyse Pritchard and that was the reason he broke up with Sondra, the murder victim. Alex not only has to deal with the emotional ramifications of this, but also that he is the prime suspect in Sondra's murder. Elyse Pritchard then goes missing, apparently kidnapped from her flat, and Marie Church is implicated in her disappearance. The missing promotional tapes are found in her car and it soon becomes apparent why Marie took them — she is shown on one of the tapes throwing herself at Matthew. She is cleared when her tyre print doesn't match the one found near Sondra's body. But Todd Grierson isn't so lucky, his tyre matches. He's hauled in for questioning, and it appears the detectives have got their man, despite Matthew's protestations as to his brother's innocence. Alex finds out an interesting piece of information from Matthew, Sondra had a relationship with Sean Robey, the ring leader of the protesters. Todd is interviewed by Reilly and Christey, he denies killing Sondra, but ends up implicating Matthew in her murder. When Alex finds Elyse Pritchard badly beaten in a derelict house and Matthew with her, it appears that he bashed her and is needed guilty of murdering Sondra. Alex is devastated, she has become involved with a murderer. Meanwhile, Sykes tracks down and arrests Sean, he confesses. He wanted to get the tape off Sondra in order to stop the Marina development, but she wouldn't give it to him. There was a struggle and Sean pushed Sondra through the room divider. When Sean realised that Elyse was starting to remember what happened that night, he set out to shut her up before she turned him in. Despite being cleared of murder, Alex knows that she has no future with Matthew. Rowan's father, Arthur Marsden, vows to use his influence to make Blakemore pay heavily for shooting his son. Blakemore's drug results are black, and found to be positive, forcing her to confess to Hawker that she did take the drugs. Hawker voice his extreme disappointment in her. She's investigated by Internal Affairs, and her career is in jeopardy. Guest Starring: Peter O'Brien as Matthew Grierson, Alexandra Davis as Elyse Pritchard, Damon Herriman as Todd Grierson, Michael Labran as Sean Robey, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Genevieve Mooy as Marie Chapple, Ben Steele as Rowan Marsden, Emily Howe as Sondra McIntyre, Merran Doyle as Molly Welch, Emily Doyle as Kaitlyn Welch. George Leppard as Arthur Marsden, Chris Burke as Jones Got A Light? Episode 5.07 (122) March 21, 2000 Written by Michael Miller Directed by Russel Burton Matthew Quinn's first day in the ranks of the Water Police is a busy one when a car crashes into the harbour. While Quinn's desperate attempts to save the driver fail, he wins the respect of his new colleagues. The driver is identified as Dr. Gerald McCoomb, a psychiatrist. The detectives investigation into the cause of the fatal car accident is complicated when a yacht set on fire proves to be owned by the same man. Just when it is looking like someone really wanted Dr. Coomb dead, the mechanical report of the car accident states that it was just that — an accident. Dr. Coomb's brakes failed due to his lack of car maintenance. With the investigation into the car accident finished, the detectives turn their attention to the yacht fire and the murder of a young street kid whose body was found on board. Known locally for dossing down on yachts, he became the innocent victim of the arson attack. While Alex obtains McCoomb's patient list from his secretary Samantha, Christey and Reilly's first port of call is to question a known arsonist, Archie "The Wanker" Close, who was seen at the scene of the fire. Christey and Reilly leave empty handed as Archie denies involvement with the fire, but Alex hits pay dirt, she discovers Dr. Coomb had a special interest in pyromania and had become quite a well known expert in the treatment of arsonists. The detectives question one of McCoomb's patients, Enrico. Enrico angrily denies setting fire to the yacht, claiming he has been successfully rehabilitated with McCoomb's help. Enrico's mother, Angela provides her son with an alibi, claiming he was working at her café at the time of the yacht fire. The detectives fear that the yacht fire was not just a random arson attack but a personal attack on Dr. McCoomb, this is confirmed when the doctor's home goes up in flames. The detectives finally get a lead when Reilly receives an anonymous tip-off. The tip-off leads to Peter Sandberg's house. They find him surrounded by articles on recent fires, tins of accelerants and a radio hooked up to the fire brigade communication channel. Sandberg admits to the fires, but the fact he admits to every fire over the past five years soon has them suspecting that Sandberg enjoys taking the credit for the fires rather than setting them. This suspicion is further supported when yet another fire is reported. This time Enrico's café is the target. Enrico's mother, Angela, convinced her son is responsible for the fire, tearfully admits she lied when she gave Enrico his alibi. The detectives interview a broken Enrico over the fires. Realising that now there is no one who believes his innocence, Enrico admits responsibility for anything and everything. The investigation appears to have reached a dead end, when a woman arrives at the police station declaring herself to be the true secretary of Dr. McCoomb. The detectives now look at Samantha in a new light. With the arson investigation wrapped up, Alex decides to seek out Enrico to apologise for not believing that he is a changed man. Unfortunately Enrico is already on a downward spiral. Suicidal, Enrico has doused himself with petrol and is ready to set himself on fire. Alex arrives and finds herself in a pool of petrol with Enrico threatening to flick the lighter and send them both to a fiery death. Guest Starring: Lawrence Breuls as Enrico Ranzolin, Gael Ballantyne as Angela Ranzolin, Beth Champion as Samantha James, Paul Roper as Peter Sandberg, Peter Damien Hayes as Archie Close, Jay Mannering as Alan Davies, John Scholes as Dr. Gerald McCoomb, Lisa Shipley as Secretary, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski Able To Leap Tall Buildings Episode 5.08 (123) April 04, 2000 Written by Margaret Wilson Directed by Russell Burton The detectives are called to investigate a suspected break and enter on a yacht at a marina and discover a woman in the cabin, bound and with a pillowcase over her head. The woman, Belinda, is terrified and claims that she was kidnapped and that her kidnapper wants to kill her. Belinda explains that she was kidnapped the previous evening outside her yoga class as she walked to her car. Reilly goes off to follow up on these details as Christey and Alex interview Belinda. Belinda tells them that someone has been harassing her with phone calls for months, but she can't think who would do this to her. She has an ex-boyfriend, Phillip, but doesn't believe that he would be this crazy. Reilly returns and tells them that the local cops view Belinda as a nuisance caller, someone who seeks attention; also her car was not found outside her yoga class but at the marina and forensics found the car keys in the yacht cabin — she had them with her all the time. The detectives are reluctant to totally dismiss her as a fruit cake and Alex takes her home while Christey and Reilly check out her ex-boyfriend who is stunned and very concerned about Belinda's ordeal. Later the detectives are called to Belinda's house because an intruder broke in and scared the living daylights out of her and her father who had a heart attack. Christey is still not convinced by the story when he learns that no one actually saw the intruder except for Belinda. Sykes and Quinn have been tracking down the person who left a rented dinghy in the shipping lanes not far from where Belinda was held captive. Donna recognises the name and informs the detectives. The dinghy was hired by Phillip. They haul him in for questioning — he maintains he is shocked to think that he was fishing only metres away from where his girlfriend had been held captive. They decide to keep him under surveillance. Alex stays the night with Belinda and is drawn into her paranoia jumping at shadows all night. At one point Belinda attacks Alex thinking she is the intruder returned. The next morning an exhausted and skeptical Alex drops Belinda off at the hospital to see her father. All the detectives feel guilty when Belinda is kidnapped. The kidnapper contacted Phillip on his mobile and left a ransom demand and will ring again to organise a time and place to exchange the money for Belinda. Phillip is furious with the detectives, blaming them for Belinda's disappearance. Information surfaces which shows that Phillip is not as innocent as he has maintained. He finally admits to having paid someone to spook Belinda, the idea was that he would arrive in time to save her and she would rush back into the arms of her loving hero. Unfortunately the kidnapping and the break and enter were all bungled and Phillip never arrived in time to play Superman. Now unfortunately that man he hired has gone feral — this latest kidnapping is for real and the detectives learn that this man is an ex convict with a history of violence. The detectives are forced to carry out the delivery of the ransom but again the kidnapper has lost control of the situation and finding herself with the gun in her hand the terrified Belinda shoots her captor. Hawker is forced to face an unpleasant truth when he learns that a mate of his, a cop, is currently dating his ex-wife. Guest Starring: Tasma Walton as Belinda Harvey, Sam Worthington as Phillip Champion, Patrick Dickson as Snr. Sgt Russell Campbell, Nic Moodie as Jimbo the Clown, Maree Meaker as Female Passenger, May Turner as Pensioner, Ian Host as Businessman, Harry Dakanalis as Darren Peterson, Tove Petterson as Miranda Holdsworth, Shea Adams as Miles Holdsworth, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods Chinese Checkers Episode 5.09 (124) April 11, 2000 Written by Peter Gawler Directed by Lynn Hegarty Two little girls disappear on their way to school. When the divers find a torn school uniform the detectives fear the girls have been taken by a paedophile. As the hours pass, the detectives' lines of investigation dwindle, until Sykes makes an astute observation. The two missing girls are physically similar to two sisters, who travel an almost identical path to school. A theory is floated that the wrong girls were taken. When Christey brings the sister's father in for questioning, the missing girl's mother lashes out at him. Injured, and vulnerable, he confesses to planning to leave his marriage, taking his daughters and escaping overseas. His plans fell apart when his mistress took the wrong girls. And now they have gone missing. Guest Starring: Gabrielle Adkins as Denise O'Dell, Adam Ray as Richard Fleet, Jo Briant as Jennifer Fleet, Paul Goddard as Rob, Helen Dallimore as Paula, Sophie Luck as Polly Fleet, Ellie Godworth as Sarah Quirk, Millie Spencer-Brown as Monkey Quirk, Keith Armitage as Brendan Quirk, Martin Kosinar as Techo, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods The Trouble With Gary Episode 5.10 (125) April 18, 2000 Written by Peter Gawler Directed by Lynn Hegarty A heavy storm unearths the body of a woman into the harbour. The Water Police locate her gravesite in the National Park but also discover another shalow grave recently dug up. But where is the other body? A car seen leaving the National Park that morning leads the detectives to Jonathon Cakebread. When Alex and Christey arrive at Jonathon's house, they find him in the backyard digging a very large hole. From the onset Jonathon seems to go out of his way to raise Christey's ire. He admits to going for a drive in the National Park that morning and reveals his wife is gone but claims she has run off with a boyfriend, and orders them off his property. The detectives learn that Jonathon's business partner is also missing. The partner's wife insists her husband has also run off with an unidentified woman. Christey, running on nothing but gut instinct, believes the dead woman to be the missing Mrs. Cakebread and that the other gravesite was for Jonathon's business partner. Christey is convinced Jonathon is responsible for both murders and is currently in possession of the other body and is frustrated when his attempts at securing a search warrant for Jonathon's house fail. The autopsy reveals the woman died after ingesting rat poison and confirms her identity as the missing Mrs. Cakebread. Triumphantly, Christey gets his search warrant but his elation is short lived when the search of Jonathon's home reveals nothing except for a packet of rat poison which is freely available. Surveillance is placed on Jonathon and the business partner's wife. But Jonathon is not bothered by the police attention, in fact, he seems to thrive on it and sets in motion a series of games to keep police both interested and distracted. Christey soon tires of Jonathon running the show and sets in motion his own game. Hawker is enlisted to turn up and publicily order the detectives to cease their surveillance. The business partner's wife unwittingly leads the detectives to her husband's body and when confronted, provides the detectives with the evidence they need to finally nail Jonathon Cakebread. The ASIO operation comes back to haunt both Sykes and Reilly but in greatly varying ways. Paula charges Reilly with sexual harassment and Reilly finds himself in an impossible position as Paula reveals herself as anything but reasonable and rational. The fear of losing his job over the allegation consumes Reilly to the point that his work performance suffers. Blackmore does her own investigation and reveals that Paula has an extensive history making sexual harassment claims. Meanwhile Hawker is presented with evidence, which appears to indicate that Sykes' is working for the Chinese underworld. Guest Starring: Don Halbert as Jonathan Cakebread, Annie Davies-McCubbin as Ingrid Greville-Brown, Nina Liu as Chen Xiao Wei, Paul Goddard as Rob, Helen Dallimore as Fiona, Martin Kosinar as Techo, Michelle Armstrong as Courier, Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods. Note: Peter Gawler nominated for a 2000 AWGIE award for this episode Saltimbocca [Part One] Episode 5.11 (126) May 02, 2000 Written by Graeme Koetsveld Directed by Geoff Bennett The body of an Italian restaurateur, Cosimo Luvece, is found sprawled beneath the balcony of his harbourside home. The crime scene is guarded by Nero, a ferocious dog. Alex and Mick arrive to be confronted by a stoic and protective wife and mother, Antonella, a headstrong daughter, Maria and the dutiful daughter, Catarina. The Lucece family tell police they assume Cosimo has taken his own life because of this terminal cancer. When the autopsy reveals the deceased was hit over the head before being pushed over the balcony, the detectives start a murder investigation. The detectives are bewildered when the autopsy shows no evidence of cancer. The family is stunned by this news as Cosimo had planned to return to his native Italy to die. When Cosimo's doctor reveals he had told Cosimo, on the morning of his death, that his cancer had gone into complete remission, Alex and Reilly wonder who had been counting on Cosimo's demise. The detectives have no shortage of people with motives including Bobby Shearer who owned horses with Cosimo and is caught ransacking the deceased's office; Jim, the chef who Cosimo sacked after a dispute over recipe ownership rights and Maria, who's water taxi business is in financial trouble and was about to be cut off, financially, by her father. Their main suspect is Catriona, the only person beside the victim who could control the dog. However, she doesn't appear to have a motive. The detective's investigation is blown apart when Alex, alone, is bailed up by the dog. In defence, she draws her gun to shoot, when suddenly the dog falls over, apparently asleep. When the police vet diagnoses the dog as having narcolepsy, Alex and Reilly realise that anyone, not just Catarina, could have gotten past the dog to kill Cosimo. When the Water Police acquire a new anti-terrorist boat, the boat crew and divers embark on a training course with an instructor who seems determined to prove his techniques are superior to those of the Water Police. Sykes becomes the man's stooge and doesn't like it one little bit and he is determined to prove that he and the Water Rats have what it takes. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Dina Panozzo as Antonella Luvece, Michela Noonan as Catarina Luvece, Lindy Sardelic as Maria Luvece, Noel Hodda as Bobby Weaver, Arthur Angel as Vincenzo Bellini, Matthew Dyktynski as Jim Ignatowski, Yves Stening as Terry Meares, Perrigeaux as Signor Nero Jump In The Mouth [Part Two] Episode 5.12 (127) May 09, 2000 Written by Graeme Koetsveld Directed by Geoff Bennett Alex and Reilly's investigation into the murder of Cosimo Luvece begins afresh after the realisation that the keystone to their murder investigation, a ferocious dog, is discovered to suffer from narcolepsy — in short, anyone could have got past the dog to kill Cosimo. The detectives are bemused by the omnipresence of vet Bobby Shearer at the grieving widow's side. They suspect a romantic involvement despite denials. Blakemore uncovers some information, which helps the detectives reveal Bobby Shearer's involvement in insurance fraud, which the deceased discovered prior to his death. Bobby owns up to the fraud, but not the murder. As his alibi holds up the detectives reluctantly let him go. The detectives the focus on Catarina, the eldest daughter, who is having a secret affair with chef Jim Ignatowski. Catarina has a motive for wanting her father dead; the detectives know she wants to gain control of the restaurant to reinstate Jim as chef. The biggest surprise for the detectives comes with the reveal of the terms of Cosimo's will. Cosimo left everything to a son in Italy, completely disinheriting his wife and two daughters. The family members deny any knowledge of the will and of the illegitimate son in Italy. When it is revealed that the new chef at the restaurant is in fact Cosimo's son working under an assumed name, he joins the list of suspects for the murder. The detectives cannot see their way through the maze until they learn that the widow has informed her daughters that they will not be contesting the will. Alex and Reilly realise that there is still another mystery yet unsolved and confront the widow forcing her to reveal the family secret and who killed her husband. Quinn is disillusioned by human nature when he and Sykes investigate the cause of a fatal boating accident. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Dina Panozzo as Antonella Luvece, Michela Noonan as Catarina Luvece, Lindy Sardelic as Maria Luvece, Noel Hodda as Bobby Weaver, Arthur Angel as Vincenzo Bellini, Matthew Dyktynsky as Jim Ignatowski, Inge Hornstra as Margie Goodwin, Mark Priestly as Luke Harris, Perrigeaux as Signor Nero Pinchgut Episode 5.13 (128) May 16, 2000 Written by Grant Fraser Directed by Russell Burton Sherilyn Kelly and her brother Toby, pull up at a service station as an armed hold up is taking place. After the robber hijacks Toby's car, he is shot dead and his body is thrown off a bridge. Sherilyn attempts to give a description of the killer, but didn't get a good enough look at him. A suspect, Wayne, is brought in for questioning but is released owing to lack of evidence. Sherilyn passes him outside the police station, his distinctive smell triggers her belief that he is her brother's killer. Sherilyn then identifies Wayne from a photoboard as the man she saw rob the service station. Christey is upset when he learns that Sherilyn saw Wayne at the water police earlier and that that meeting influenced her identification. Christey realises that he had inadvertently crossed wires with Donna who had called Sherilyn into the station too soon. Effectively, Wayne is released because Christey stuffed up. Sherilyn is furious, thinking that justice has been denied and her brother's killer is now free, putting the blame on Christey. Sensing a story, Rebecca Beaufort, a young journalist doing a story on the water police, gives Sherilyn her card, telling her to call. Sherilyn decides to take the law into her own hands, and holds Christey and Wayne hostage at Fort Denision, forcing Wayne to confess to the world that he killed Toby. A siege takes place, with Blakemore thrust into the position of negotiator much to Hawker's concern. Sherilyn rings Rebecca's mobile, wanting her to film the confession. Reilly gets Rebecca to stall Sherilyn, giving the SPG and Reilly and Alex enough time to storm the fort. Christey manages to disarm Sherilyn, but Wayne is shot in the process. It is confirmed that Wayne's prints were found all over Toby's car and he is arrested. It's a hollow victory for Sherilyn, as she too is arrested and charged. Christey feels for her, despite the best of intentions, she's achieved nothing. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Hayley McElhinney as Sherrilyn Kelly, Justin Green as Wayne John Stewart, Kelly Butler as Rebecca Beaufort, Mark Slater as Toby Kelly, Matt Storer as Danny, Rodney Samuel as NPWS Officer Mummy Dearest Episode 5.14 (129) May 23, 2000 Written by Kristen Dunphy Directed by Russell Burton A six-year-old girl, Hannah, is found alone on a wharf, her clothes streaked with blood. Investigations lead the detectives to a boatshed, where her father, Ian Gibbs, is found dead in a pool of blood. A friend of the family, Travis Dewar, was baby-sitting Hannah when Ian was killed, or so he says. When Hannah's mother, Kerryn turns up, it is found out that she's not actually Hannah's biological mother as her and Ian couldn't have children. A friend, Michelle Barlow, offered to be the surrogate mother and was paid sixty thousand dollars. Trouble is, she didn't want to give the baby up, and was devastated when Hannah was taken away from her after the birth. She became obsessed with getting Hannah back, and followed the Newman's to Sydney, where she made threats against them. It is also revealed that Kerryn and Ian were having problems with their marriage. The detectives have three suspects without strong alibis. Alex and Christey learn that Ian and Travis were setting up a charter company together, with Travis benefiting from the insurance payout should one of the partners die. Meanwhile, Michelle's obsession with getting Hannah back gets out of control, when she kidnaps Hannah from her grandmother's home. Kerryn is beside herself, thinking she's going to lose the daughter she tried so hard to get. Christey and Alex eventually find Hannah unharmed with Michelle. When Kerryn turns up to get her daughter back, the awful truth about her husband's death is revealed. Quinn arrests a young woman, Shona MacPherson, for stealing a necklace from a souvenir shop. She accepts her punishment without protest, seemingly wanting to be punished for her crime. When the shopkeeper drops the charges and Quinn is about to let her go, she can't believe it. Quinn leaves her alone to get a glass of water, he comes back to find her gone. He follows her to the balcony, and to his horror, she throws herself off, killing herself. Quinn is devastated, even more so when he finds out that she was being treated for depression. Years ago she was driving a car which crashed, killing her sister. Shona escaped punishment, and has carried huge guilt ever since. She wanted to be caught and punished for the crime. Quinn goes to visit her husband, Steve, in the hope of explaining his actions, in reality looking for forgiveness. But Steve doesn't want to know, and Quinn is left facing his demons. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Jeanette Cronin as Kerry Gibbs, Lisbeth Kennelly as Michelle Barlow, Maggie Dence as Joy Turner, Mark Lee as Travis Dewar, Rebecca Clarke as Shona Macpherson, Thomas Holesgrove as Steve Macpherson, Jessica Nothdurfter as Hannah Gibbs, Julie Lowe as Shopkeeper Two Of A Kind Episode 5.15 (130) May 30, 2000 Written by Denise Morgan Directed by Ray Quint Theo Papadopolous, a wealthy fruit and vegetable merchant is shot dead in the street and robbed of his days takings. There are two witnesses to the shooting, trouble is, they both identify two different killers, even though there was only one gun. The two suspects are from different sides of the track. Simon Coles, an upper middle class guy going somewhere and Damien Brogen, a former street kid now working as a mechanic. The detectives try to find a connection between the two, but both deny knowing the other. Even orchestrating a meeting between them fails to connect them. Reilly believes in Damien's innocence. When a bomb is sent to one of the witnesses, Damien denies ever sending anything. When the other witness finds out about the threat, she also reneges on her statement. The detectives are left with no witnesses and hence no case. They recheck alibis. Simon's alibi is found to be a lie and furthermore, he used to work for the victim, thereby knowing about his money. Simon used Damien as a convenient fall guy. Reilly uses psychology to get at Damien, telling him that Simon has fingered him as the shooter. The ruse works and Damien goes to confront Simon. Christey and Reilly give chase to Damien, but he eludes them. He then escapes with the money and Reilly chases him into a cemetery. There's a showdown, Reilly gives Damien the chance to give himself up, but he ends up shooting Reilly, wounding him in the leg, before being apprehended. Darcy Sawyer and his wife Geraldine, relics from sideshow alley in the fifties are making one last attempt for glory. Darcy is an escape artist, an Australian Houdini. He wants to get in the Guinness book of records. Practicing his craft on the harbour, he tries several times, and each time is hauled in by the Water Police. When his final attempt is again thwarted, Geraldine decides that she's had enough, and threatens to leave him if he doesn't finally retire. Quinn makes Darcy see that his wife is worth more than any record attempt. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Septimus Caton as Simon Coles, Kevin Donohoe as Damien "Sparks" Brogan, Michael Duggan as Fred Gibbons, Alice Livingstone as Shellee Hay, Colin Taylor as Darcy Sawyer, Lynette Curran as Geraldine Sawyer, Esther van Doornum as Janine Coles, Peter Sommerfield as Father Pierce, Theo St James as Theo Papadopoulos Lazarus Episode 5.16 (131) June 06, 2000 Written by Ted Roberts Directed by Ray Quint Reilly's incarceration in a rehabilitation centre after his gunshot wound takes an unexpected twist when a mummified body is found sitting in his wheelchair. It is quickly discovered that Jason, the gardener at the rehab centre, dug up the body to reunite him with his grieving widow, Mary, who is also a patient. But Mary denies that he grotesque figure in her room is what remains of her husband. While Christey and Alex establish that it was Lloyd's grave that was opened, Chopper is busy comparing dental records, which confirms that the body is not Lloyd's. Mary refuses to believe that her husband could be alive but the further the detectives investigate, the more it points to the fact that Lloyd has faked his own death. Reilly meets a man in Mary's room who professes to being her endocrinologist, but Reilly becomes suspicious when Mary says she doesn't even know what an endocrinologist is. Christey and Alex learn that Lloyd was an accountant. One of his clients was Hugh Costello, a businessman with a history of shady deals for which to date he has eluded prosecution. The turning point of the investigation occurs when the detectives realise the true identity of the endocrinologist is in fact, Hugh Costello. Their interview with Mr. Costello provides little information but does provide insight into his character. Meanwhile at the rehab centre, Reilly is alerted to the abduction of Mary by two men posing as staff. Inhibited by his lack of mobility, Reilly is unable to stop the kidnapping. The detectives firmly believe that Costello is behind Mary's kidnapping but realise that they provided him with the perfect alibi as he was being interviewed by them at the time. With no clues to Mary's whereabouts, the detectives have no choice but to hope that the kidnappers will make contact with some sort of demand. Reilly has another chance meeting with a visitor for Mary, but this time Reilly can identify the visitor immediately, it is Lloyd, Mary's dead husband — alive and well. Finally the explanation for Lloyd faking his own death is revealed. Lloyd tells an elaborate story of how, as the accountant for Costello, he became aware of Costello's involvement in a people smuggling operation from Asia. When Lloyd confronted Costello over the allegation, Costello threatened Lloyd and Mary's lives. For Lloyd the only way out was to fake his own death to prevent any harm coming to his beloved wife. Costello eventually makes contact with Lloyd and takes him on a varied course around the harbour and its foreshores before Costello can ensure that Lloyd and Mary together face a watery grave. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Madeleine Blackwell as Sister Dobinson, John Leary as Jason, Michelle Fawdon as Mary Tully, Grant Dodwell as Lloyd Tully, Bob Baines as Hugh Costello, Genevieve Sulway as Elaine Martin, Ross Perrelli as Gus Martin, Paul Holmes as Chemist, Dennis Ballard as Contact, Scott Gary as Bill Heavy Metal Episode 5.17 (132) June 13, 2000 Written by Grant Fraser Directed by Geoff Bennett Sykes and Quinn pull up a woman, Stephanie, for racing in a high powered speedboat and there is an immediate attraction between Stephanie and Quinn. The boat crew are then called to a jetty where a body has been found in the water, with horrific injuries, like he's been hit by one of the speedboats seen in the area earlier. The driver of the second boat is found to be Steven Clark, and, strangely enough, the dead body is that of his brother, Nick. His parents are distraught, Nick was the number one son, he was a champion power boat racer who used to compete with Steve. They were incredibly competitive. The autopsy reveals that a speedboat didn't kill Nick, he was killed elsewhere and his body dumped in the river. Reilly and Alex question Nick's boss, a panel beater named Dan Rossi. Steve accuses Dan's wife Lea of having an affair with his brother. She denies it, but when Nick's car is found dumped, his mobile phone message bank reveals that they were indeed having an affair. When neighbours report strange comings and goings at the Rossi place Reilly and Alex stakeout the workshop. They are stunned when Stephanie turns up with Quinn. A pile of stolen V8 engines is found, Stephanie was going to buy one cheaply for her boat. Police learn that Dan steals the engines from cars, adapts them for use in boats and resells them. Quinn is hauled over the coals by Hawker for being involved, however innocently. An engine found dumped on the bottom of the harbour turns out to be the murder weapon, that is it fell on the victim, crushing him. Lea swears that it was an accident, she was having a quickie with Nick under the engine block when the beam broke, and it fell on Nick, killing him. Her husband helped Lea dump the body in the river. Steve Clark tries to kill himself by driving his boat into a bridge pylon, but he's thrown out before he does. Reilly and Alex question him, and the truth comes out, revealing his own involvement in his brother's untimely death. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Justin Cotta as Steve Clarke, Peter Callan as Dan Rossi, Skye Wansey as Lea Rossi, Peter Irving Smith as Mr. Clarke, Trisha Noble as Mrs. Clarke, Kevin Maser as Mr. Gibson, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis (uncredited) Tribes Episode 5.18 (133) October 17, 2000 Written by Louise Crane Directed by Geoff Bennett When a robed body, crowned with a floral garland, is found floating in a river, police think they have uncovered a ritual killing linked to a nearby religious cult. The body, however, is that of criminal Andy Slaven, part of a well known local crime family. The detectives ask themselves, what would a crim be doing in cult? Andy's hard-drinking father Joe denies his son was part of any group of "weirdos". When Reilly visits the cult, his own religious upbringing cushions him for the impact of the groups seemingly loopy beliefs. Their leader, the charismatic Peter Marchand, has no knowledge of Andy Slaven. He says the cult has long been persecuted and the robed murder victim is another set-up deigned to implicate him and his followers. A little bit of research by Blakemore turns up that the Slaven family were suspects in a recent armed robbery and $250,000 is still missing Reilly and Alex now have a possible motive for Andy's death. Meanwhile Sykes has a close call when he nearly drowns after a jetskiing accident but is rescued by what he thinks is a mermaid (or rather a mysterious female scuba diver), who disappears after dragging him ashore. Perhaps a little punchy after his bump on the head, Sykes decides to find his mermaid so he can thank her for saving his life. After being told of the possible involvement of the cult in his son's death, Joe Slaven pays Marchand a violent visit. Forced to intervene, Reilly discovers the youngest Slaven, Jake, has run away from home and is now a member of the cult. But with all the recent police attention Jake has gone to ground. Alex decides to go undercover with the cult to try and find Jake and she's given a healthy dose of theology before her ruse is uncovered. Jake, when he's located and interviewed, is less than helpful, parroting the cult's beliefs and denying any knowledge of the missing $250,000. Jake has no criminal record and Alex and Reilly have no choice but to release him. The detectives have hit a brick wall. Sykes gets to make his long awaited appearance on COPS TV but as he's reading a story about a nurse ripping off the elderly, he realises the wanted woman bears an uncanny resemblance to his mermaid. A quick check of local dive shops leads to his rescuer, a nurse named Beth. Sykes is then confronted with the painful choice of having to turn in the woman who saved his life. As Alex drives Jake home from his interview he admits to her he's involved in a relationship with Marchand's daughter Marie and the reason he left home was that he was next in line for the family business and he didn't feel like following in his dad's criminal footsteps. Alex drops Jake at the cult's house but, as she's leaving, she sees Marie running for her life from her father. They are arguing about something. When Alex confronts the pair, she's told to mind her own business and leaves suspicious as ever of Marchand and his family. At a dead end with their inquiries, Alex and Reilly decide to take another look at the crime scene and literally stumble upon an empty steel box hidden in an old pit toilet. It seems someone was hiding something… maybe $250,000. There are three sets of prints on the box. Two sets belong to Joe Slaven and his dead son but who does the thrid set belong to? Whoever they are, it would seem, is the killer. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, John Brumpton as Joe Slaven, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Trent Atkinson as Jake Slaven, Emma Jackson as Hayley Slaven, Nicholas Lathouris as Peter Marchand, Abbie Cornish as Marie Marchand, Miranda Chance as Beth Stevenson, Thomasin Litchfield as Renee Fabrizi, John Haas as Uniformed Officer Low Blows Episode 5.19 (134) June 20, 2000 Written by Andrew Kelly Directed by Russell Burton Alex is kept busy dealing with the problems of her fourteen-year-old sister leaving Christey and Reilly to investigate a pair of robberies and two brutal murders. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Terry Serio as Martin Lamb, Putu Winchester-Stanton as Peter Savage, Evan Sheaves as Owen Bradley, Michael Gallina as Tony Ali, Frank Milostnik as Moses Ali, Maureen Elkner as Lorraine Bradley, Saskia Burmeister as Victoria St Clare, Wadah Sari as Aamir Khan Tangled Web Episode 5.20 (135) July 11, 2000 Written by Margaret Morgan Directed by Russell Burton When the body of Gus Randall is found, the detectives discover that his closest friends and business associates are enmeshed in a web of deceit. As the web is unravelled, we learn that Colin McGuire, Gus' partner in their dive shop, has forged Gus' signature on a mortgage document in a desperate attempt to salvage the financial disaster that is destroying his life ad his marriage. Colin admits to the attempted fraud but denies murdering Gus. Colin's wife, Emily reveals that her affection for Gus ran far deeper than friendship. The victim's secrets are discovered after his death. Far from being faithful to his lover Emily, he was involved with a harem of online lovers. When Alex and Christey link the murder weapon to Brian Flatley, the boyfriend of Colin and Emily's teenage daughter Samantha, he confesses, but his motive remains a mystery. Brian will only say that "Gus deserved to die". Alex and Christey are convinced Brian is protecting the person who enlisted him to attack Gus. The detectives' suspicions are heightened when Colin suddenly confesses to hiring Brian. Colin fails to be able to provide details of the murder, convincing Alex and Christey that he was not involved. Meanwhile, Sykes dreams of higher things and canvasses the possibility of enrolling in the Investigators' Course, seeking to become a detective. Unfortunately, his ambitions go awry when he and Quinn inadvertently assist the thief of an expensive catamaran to escape, and they must work doubly hard on capturing him, if only to salvage their reputations. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, John Jarratt as Colin McGuire, Linda Newton as Felicity, Alyssa McClelland as Samantha, Mark O'Shea as Brian Flatley, Sandra Campbell as Rita Perks, Jack Godden as Ross, Michael Barnacoat as Garth Harrington Family Ties [Part One] Episode 5.21 (136) August 01, 2000 Written by Deborah Parsons Directed by Raymond Quint A sixteen-year-old street kid from Alex's past, Harley Strachan, comes back into her life asking for help. He's bashed his girlfriend Miranda and has been charged with assault. He wants Alex to be his support person. Alex soon finds out that Harley's not the person she once knew, he's now a small time pimp in the Cross. When Miranda is found bashed to death and her body thrown off a wharf, Harley is the prime suspect. He denies his guilt, accusing Miranda's pimp, Poppy, of killing her and tries to kill Poppy in revenge. After the autopsy, it's found out that not only was Miranda alive when she was thrown in the water, she was pregnant. Alex, who has believed in Harley's innocence, begins to suspect that he is guilty and has been playing her for a fool and decides to check out some details to see if Harley has told the truth about anything. Surprisingly she uncovers some information that leads the detectives to Miranda's sister Blaire. Alex and Reilly are shocked to discover that Blaire has not informed her parents of her sister's death. Blaire becomes the key to solving the murder but ultimately Alex knows she has lost Harley's trust forever. Hawker has struck up a friendship with a Vietnamese woman, Aimee Winter, who runs an Asian food stall. They enjoy each others company and there's a hint of romance in the air. When she's robbed at knife point, Hawker is slightly injured tying to thwart the robber. He then embarks on a mission to find out who the culprit is. He sends Sykes and Quinn on the trail which leads them to apprehend a kick-boxing jet-skier. Aimee asks Hawker to help her find her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Hawker is reluctant to use police resources, but says he'll make enquiries as a private citizen. Blakemore is concerned for Hawker, thinking he's getting too involved with this woman. Hawker eventually tells Aimee that he's found her father and that he'll take her to see him. When he does, she produces a flare gun and torches her father, killing him. She then runs of, leaving Hawker stunned. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Miles Paras as Aimee Winter, Luke Ford as Harley Strachan, Sam Healy as Blaire Wenzel, David Whitney as Poppy Trubigoff, William Upjohn as Peter Carr, Billie-Rose Prichard as Miranda Wenzel, Kim Dawson as Candy, Paul Coolahan as Ken Wenzel, Peter Poy as Mr. Lam, Emily Barrett as Linda Carruthers Loose Ends [Part Two] Episode 5.22 (137) August 08, 2000 Written by Deborah Parsons Directed by Raymond Quint When a ten-year-old boy dives into a river and is jabbed in the neck by a syringe, it is discovered that someone is illegally dumping medical waste into the harbour. The trail leads to a hospital contractor, Tony Haxby, who swears he didn't dump the waste. He accuses a competitor of his, Nobby Fisher, whom he put out of business and who he now suspects wants to sabotage Haxby to pay him back. When half a body found amongst the waste, Haxby and Fisher are both suspects, but the leads go nowhere. When Fisher is charged with the dumping, Haxby thinks he's off the hook. When it is found that Haxby hasn't been burning the clinical waste like he claimed, the detectives suspect he could be dumping and set him up to lead them to the dumping site — where the other half of the body turns up. It is identffied as an elderly man, who went to get medical treatment after a fight with his son-in-law. Faced with a long wait at casualty, he went to a nurse who had been treating him, Melita Dayies. She works at the hospital the waste came from. Instead of a tetanus injection, she inadvertantly gave him the wrong drug, killing him. Fearful about losing her job, she cut the body in half and dumped it. After the murder of Aimee's father, Hawker tries to find her, realising he knows little about her. He finds her brother, a barrister, who explains that Aimee was adopted and has been on a life-long mission to find her real parents in Vietnam. Hawker goes to Chinatown where she used to work, but the trail leads nowhere — until he catches a glimpse of her. He eventually tracks her to a nursing home, where she's been visiting her dying mother, who she bought over from Vietnam. She blamed her father for her mother's illness and killing him was an act of revenge. Hawker realises he's been used. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Miles Paras as Aimee Winter, Gary Waddell as Tony Haxby, Kell Graham as Nobby Fisher, Claire Jones as Melita Davies, Tim Page as Dennis Askew, Wayne Blair as Ridley Winter, Sueyan Cox as Pip Darvell, Warwick Rimmer as Ewan Miller, Sean Loseby as Angus Darvell Reunion [Part One] Episode 5.23 (138) July 25, 2000 Written by Tony Morphett Directed by Chris Martin-Jones Alex and Reilly arrest Jimmy Foster, a small time crim and associate of erstwhile crime lord Laurie Parsons, for trying to import two kilos of cocaine. His accomplice, Shane Green, escapes with one kilo. Christey knows Parsons from years back, and interviews him, but Lauriee says he has never had anything to do with drugs. Coincidentally, Brendan Hogan, Laurie's godson and grandson of notorious crime matriarch Kate Hogan, turns up to work with Alex in his job with the DPP. Meanwhile, Shane has reported his yacht (used in the drug drop) missing, and when Sykes and Quinn investigate, they end up in a vehicle pursuit of Shane. Shane eventually turns himself in and reveals he took the missing coke to Laurie, where threats were made against him. He's now asking for police protection. Reilly baby-sits him at a safe house, but when a pizza is delivered with a death threat on the lid, Shane freaks out, convinced the cops are in cahoots with Laurie, and he tries to escape, killing himself after being hit by a car. Laurie's place is searched for the missing drugs and Alex finds out that Brendan is Laurie's godson. Christey visits Kate Hogan in prison, convinced she had something to do with the drug deal, but she tells them nothing. Brendan turns up at Alex's place, ostensibly to talk business, but in reality to do some flirting. While he's there, his car is stolen and he's beaten up by a couple of thugs. Alex thinks she recognises one of them, but can't place him. When Alex looks at some prison surveillance tapes, she sees one of the thugs, Tom Killane, visiting Kate Hogan in prison. Killane is an underworld loan shark, who lends money for drug deals and the like. When Christey and Reilly go to see Laurie about Brendan's connection to all this, someone starts shooting at him. Meanwhile, an eighteen-year-old woman is spotted hanging around Christey's house and his car. She eventually reveals herself as Sophie Ferguson, and claims to be Christey's daughter. Jack is sceptical, especially as he's never heard of the woman named on the birth certificate as the mother. Christey goes to see the woman he was in a relationship with at the time, who is now married with three kids, and she vehemently denies it. During the pursuit of Shane Green earlier, Quinn is driving, but when the speed becomes too fast, he pulls out of it, despite being ordered to continue. He refuses to tell Sykes why he didn't go on with the chase. Sykes is concerned that their working relationship has been compromised and tells Hawker what happened. Hawker talks to Quinn, knowing that he was involved in a similar incident back in Perth, but Quinn swears that had nothing to do with it. Sykes gets frustrated about not getting through to Quinn, but later, over a beer, Quinn tells him that he was involved in a high speed chase back in Perth. A whole family was wiped out. Quinn thought he had put it behind him, but now knows he hasn't. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Tim Elliot as Laurie Parsons, Shirley Cameron as Kate Hogan, Ditch Davey as Brendan Hogan, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Anne Looby as Gabrielle McMahon, Douglas Hedge as Jimmy Foster, Rohan Nicol as Shane Green, Kristen Boys as Karla Green, Andrew Cross as Pizza Delivery Man In The Blood [Part Two] Episode 5.24 (139) July 25, 2000 Written by John Banas Directed by Chris Martin-Jones The shooting rampage at Laurie Parsons' house continues. The shooter is revealed as Karla Green, who blames Laurie for her husband's death. Alex visits Kate Hogan to find out what she knows about Tom Killane, the loan shark, but as usual, she clams up. Christey is convinced that Brendan, Laurie's godson, is tied up with the drug deal. Alex drives Brendan home, and they discover that Laurie has been kidnapped with a ransom demand of three million dollars. Brendan tells Hawker that he'll get the money from Laurie's trust account and do the drop. Hawker reluctantly agrees. Under police surveillance, Brendan makes the drop, rendezvousing with a cruiser. The money has a tracking device attached to it. When the drop's made, the Rats move in, but there's no exchange of Laurie Parsons. Laurie is found tied up at the helm of the cruiser, which runs over one of the criminal divers, killing him. When the bags are retrieved, the cash is gone. Laurie gets stuck into Christey over his missing money. When the detectives casually mention Tom Killane, the loan shark, as possibly being the thug who assaulted Brendan, Laurie cuts Brendan dead with a look of pure ice. Woods figures out that when the bags were dumped over the side of the cruiser, a diver with a propulsion unit must have been waiting underneath. The cash is then taken out of the bags and the diver makes to shore. When the identity of the dead diver is found, it takes away any suspicion of Laurie's involvement with the drugs. All the evidence now points to Brendan. He borrowed the money to set up a drug import. When it went wrong, he had to get the money somehow, so he set up the kidnap of Laurie, and took the ransom money. The search for Brendan is on, especially when the loan shark is found dead in the boot of Brendan's car. But the detectives aren't the only ones on Brendan's tail, when Laurie finds out he's been betrayed, he has a showdown with him. When Brendan goes to shoot Christey, Laurie kills him. Laurie tells Christey that he loved Kate Hogan once, but he called the relationship off at her father's behest. Kate is left with nothing but her bitterness. Sophie is frustrated by Christey's inability to give her time and tell her who her real mother is. Eventually Christey confronts Gabrielle, the woman he loved many years ago, who confirms that Sophie is indeed their daughter, but Gabrielle refuses to have anything to do with her. Christey is stunned, he breaks the news to Sophie. There's great awkwardness between newly found father and daughter. Christey convinces Gabrielle to see Sophie and a meeting is organised. The steps, although tentative, are in the right direction. When Sophie's adoptive father turns up, Christey feels a connection to his daughter, and knows he wants to see her again. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Tim Elliot as Laurie Parsons, Shirley Cameron as Kate Hogan, Ditch Davey as Brendan Hogan, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Anne Looby as Gabrielle McMahon, Kristen Boys as Karla Green One Good Turn Episode 5.25 (140) June 27, 2000 Written by Denise Morgan Directed by Geoff Bennett Mullet, a vagrant well known to the Water Police and in particular, Hawker, is mugged. In tracing back over Mullet's day, Reilly and Hawker discover the dead body of a man near Mullet's hideout and indications are that Mullet knows more about this than she is telling. When blood on Mullet's clothing points to a third party being involved in the murder, the detectives discover that Mullet is in fact hiding the murder suspect, Greg, a boyfriend of a young girl, Leslie, who has befriended Mullet. In the course of trying to find a place where Mullet is likely to hide a person, Alex searches one of the many tunnels in the area where Mullet lives, and is taken hostage by the injured Greg. Greg is distressed and pleads with Alex to believe he killed the victim in self defence. He tells Alex he was meant to be involved in a crime with the victim, but begged to be let out of the deal. The victim, who had a gun, refused; there was a struggle and the gun went off leaving Greg wounded and the other man dead. To prove his story, he leads the police to a robbery that was going to be carried out by himself, the murdered man and two other robbers. The crooks are apprehended and interviewed. Everything seems to verify Greg's story but something niggling at the back of Alex's brain leads her to do a bit more digging and along with Reilly, discover the truth. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Barbara Morton as Mullet, Tamara Buckmaster as Lesley Fischer, Jon Pollard as Greg Winton, Anthony Ingersent as Henry Carter, Chris Sadrinna as Derek van Hargaan, Joe Barton as Warren Fredericks, Les Asmussen as Mr. Eggleston Mozzie Episode 5.26 (141) July 04, 2000 Written by Margaret Wilson Directed by Geoff Bennett Alex's days as an undercover operative are coming back to haunt her when she gets a death threat relating to an investigation into a paedophile ring. Alex assumes the death threats are coming from Nathan Albury, the man charged with procuring young boys for the paedophile racket and due for trial shortly. Alex's former supervisor from undercover, Tom McKelvey, shows up at the Water Police headquarters, revealing he too, has received a death threat. McKelvey wonders if Alex has heard from Mozzie, another one of his undercover operatives — the one who actually taped the confession from Albury. Alex hasn't. She's concerned about Mozzie — the bad guys mean business and Mozzie's the man they need dead. McKelvey is worried about Mozzie too, he's scared the guy's losing the plot, that he's been undercover for so long, he can't differentiate the real world from the lie he has had to live for so long. He tells Alex it's essential to get Mozzie into protection if the guy is to see his next birthday. Mozzie makes contact with Alex. His theory is the death threats aren't coming from Nathan Albury, but from higher up in the paedophile ring, namely a Member of Parliament, one Kevin Ridley. Mozzie reckons Ridley's terrified Albury will be convicted, open his mouth and take him down with him. Alex tries to convince Mozzie to contact McKelvey, to get him into protective custody. Mozzie refuses, believing he's too close to cracking the paedophile ring. He's going to need help however, and that's why he's come to Alex. Alex tells him it is not possible for her to play lone wolf these days — she's part of a new team. Mozzie is adamant she trusts no one, and keeps his information to herself. The stakes rise for everyone when Mozzie's taped confession of Nathan Albury is stolen and Albury is released from prison. Someone on the inside seems to be helping the bad guys. People are being paid off everywhere. When Mozzie also goes missing, the Rats wonder who will be the next and who can they trust? Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Marty Denniss as Mozzie, Alan David Lee as Tom McKelvey, Toby Schmitz as Nathan Albury, Andrew Harris as Kevin Ridley, Marcel Bracks as Michael Crocker, Anthony Theil as Yachtie, David Jobling as Cleaner We Could Be Heroes Episode 5.27 (142) September 05, 2000 Written by Andrew Kelly Directed by Russell Burton It is the week before the Sydney Olympic Summer Games and Water Police headquarters is swollen with officers from all over the state brought in to maintain order on a harbour about to become the centre of global attention. The last thing Jack Christey expects is to find a naked man tied to a wharf in some sort of humiliation rite. He's even more surprised to discover the naked man is Stan Morrow, a local cop due to retire in three days. Stan is shaken after being beaten and his clothes cut from his body, all the while being told he's "nothing". As Christey, Alex and Reilly set about trying to discover the identity of Stan's attacker, they find disturbing parallels to another assault on an elderly woman, Florence Bussel. Visiting the severely traumatised Florence, the Rats find she's recently been featured in a local newspaper as an "Everyday Hero", an award given for small acts of courage in the community. Returning to question Stan, Alex spots an article on his station's noticeboard about a humble rescue Stan conducted. He too was picked as an "Everyday Hero". The Rats conclude their villain is picking his victims from the newspaper and quickly focus their investigation on a disgruntled local Bobby LeBoux. LeRoux was so outraged at being passed over for an Everyday Hero award, he abused staff at the local newspaper. LeRoux's an unstable man, who savours his grudges and he seems to have covered his tracks well. The Rats can't find any evidence to link him to the crimes. Meanwhile, Alex has other problems to deal with when she catches a young, would-be swimmer stealing wallets to fund his coaching. Unfortunately for him, he's stolen the wallet of an Australian Olympic swim team member and Alex is forced to pull the youngster into line. Alex is also bemused as she suspects Reilly is romantically interested in her when he asks her out on a date. Back at the station, Christey has brought Bobby LeRoux in for questioning certain he's the man he's hunting. But while LeRoux is in custody, another Everyday Hero is attacked. This time a thirteen-year-old girl is savagely beaten and left for dead in a park. LeRoux, in custody at the time of the attack, cannot be responsible, so the Rat's have lost their only suspect. And with each attack growing more and more violent, it's only a matter of time before a life is lost. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Grant Hackett as himself, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Bruce Venables as Stan Morrow, Rhys Muldoon as John Wade, Natalie O'Donnell as Renae Cook, Nick Meenahan as Bobby LeRoux, Adam Saunders as Miguel Munoz, Mark Symington as Nathan Twibble, Peter Damian Hayes as Kevin Andrade, Tim Campbell as Peter Kostis, Vanessa Fallon as Louise Fletcher, Sabrina Jovanovski as Young Woman, Andy Turnbull as Steve Pate, Samantha Swan as Rebecca Farrell, Millie Potts as Florence Bussel, Tepa Flaetoese as Sione Leaaetofa (x) Final Chapter [Part One] Episode 5.28 (143) August 15, 2000 Written by Peter Neale Directed by Lynn Hegarty Jack Christey has a brush with fame when he discovers he's been featured in a book by prison novelist Brett Kimble. Not surprisingly however, Christey doesn't like the way his character "Jock Christmas" has been portrayed. Christey gets is chance to address the matter when Brett confesses to an opal robbery and the Rats are brought in to videotape his walk-through of the crime scene. As they transport the wisecracking criminal author across the harbour, the Nemesis is sidetracked by a woman screaming for help next to her capsized dinghy. Reilly and Sykes pull the woman from the water and she surprises everyone by producing a handgun from a plastic bag. It turns out the woman is Rosie Callaghan, Brett's librarian girlfriend. Brett's confession has in fact been a ruse to help him escape. Nervous and verging on hysterical, Rosie forces Christey, Reilly and Sykes into the water as Brett uncuffs himself. As Brett fires up the Nemy's engines to make good his escape, Christey manages a last second dive back on board the boat and tackles Rosie to the deck. In the ensuing scuffle, Brett is wounded in the leg and incapacitated. The escapees are now forced to take Christey with them as they make a mad dash to the coast for their planned meeting with a seaplane. Panicked and in pain, Brett directs the Nemesis to the wrong rendezvous spot, whereupon Christey is forced to piggy-back him through the bush in order to make the meet with the seaplane. Meanwhile at headquarters, the Rats hustle into action under the disturbing knowledge one of their own has been taken captive. The search for Christey is coloured by a conflict between Rourke and Quinn over a near-fatal diving accident, for which both men blame the other. Back with Brett and Rosie, Christey fears things are spiralling out of his control. Rosie Callaghan is no hardened criminal, just an impressionable librarian who fell under Brett's spell in the prison library. And she's definitely not used to firearms. This has a devastating consequence when two recreational divers stumble upon Christey and his captors and Rosie shoots one of the men dead. To make matters worse, the criminals miss their seaplane and are left stranded in the bush. Brett than takes matters into hand and decides to hide out at Christey's place, reasoning a cop's home to be the last place a manhunt will look for an escapee. Unbeknownst to Christey however, his daughter Sophie has stopped by his house and she is drawn into the bloody drama. With Brett wounded, Rosie now a murderer and no sure way to escape, the criminals realise their options are dwindling and Christey knows his life and his daughter's are fast becoming expendable commodities. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Marin Mimica as Brett Kimble, Susan Prior as Rosie Callaghan, John Walton as Lindsay, David Rondo as Opal Store Owner, Frankie Davidson as Boat Owner, Yigal Babluki as Mean Looking Guy Silent Running [Part Two] Episode 5.29 (144) August 22, 2000 Written by David Phillips Directed by Lynn Hegarty Distraught father and hard-nosed detective battle for supremacy when Jack Christey's daughter Sophie is taken hostage by an escaped prisoner. Wounded and making up his getaway plan as he goes, Brett Kimble knows Sophie is a valuable bargaining chip. Unfortunately for Christey, Brett's girlfriend and accomplice, Rosie, is not such a calculating customer. She's already killed a man out of sheer panic and as Brett makes his dash for freedom, Christey knows Rosie is capable of killing Sophie for the smallest indiscretion. All Christey and the rest of the Rats' team can do is try to out-think Brett and guess his next move as he leaves a trail of dumped cars and brutalised bystanders. Brett Kimble has no love of prison life and Christey knows this is not the career-criminal's first time on the run. The last time Brett broke out of jail he ran north and something in Christey's gut tells him Brett is a creature of habit. An intensive search north of Sydney soon proves Christey's hunch correct — Brett's plan had been simple. After his initial escape, he would fly in a chartered sea plane to a safe house on the NSW Central Coast prepared by Rosie. There the fugitive lovers would pick up a clean vehicle and make a leisurely escape up the coast to their final destination. Using intuition, detective work and some desperate rough house tactics, Christey tracks the escapees to a rural beach house.Attempting to exchange himself as hostage for his daughter, Christey falls into the hands of the increasingly unstable Rosie. And as Christey's colleagues close in, Rosie's behaviour moves from unreasonable to rabid. Christey has his back against the wall. But this time his daughter's life hinges on his next move. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Brooke Satchwell as Sophie Ferguson, Marin Mimica as Brett Kimble, Susan Prior as Rosie Callaghan, Barry Langrishe as Doug Ferguson, Jules Sobotta as Sharon Moore, Errol Shand as Roadside Attendant With A Vengeance Episode 5.30 (145) August 29, 2000 Written by Tony Morphett Directed by Russell Burton Constable Matthew Quinn is devastated when his girlfriend Stephanie reveals she was raped by Paul Jardine, her father's business partner. Paul Jardine is her dad's golden-haired boy and he's already explained away the rape in his own mind, figuring he and Stephanie were drunk and got carried away. Stephanie, however, doesn't see it that way and neither does Matt. When Quinn and Jardine run into each other at a party, the young constable loses his cool and punches Jardine. But the next day, after Jardine is savagely beaten and hospitalised, Quinn is questioned by local police. Quinn and Jardine's scuffle had been harmless but it's made him the prime suspect for the bashing. Quinn now has to find the person who attacked Jardine or risk losing his career. Meanwhile Christey and the detectives are trying to find the killer of a Tongan illegal immigrant. Their investigations lead them to the dead man's pregnant girlfriend, Tolofi, who's baffled as to why anyone would want to kill her partner. Alex then discovers Tolofi's also an illegal immigrant and understandably so — she's on the run from Tongan authorities for killing a man and is slated for hanging. The Rats face a quandary as they track the young woman on the run. If they do their job properly, they're sending a pregnant woman to the gallows. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Joss McWilliam as Lance Rorke, Kate Beahan as Stephanie Kelly, Scott Lowe as Sean Kelly, Warwick Young as Paul Jardine, Rene Naufahu as Sammy Taufa, Sara Zwangobani as Tolofi Vivi, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Nicole Fantl as Claudia Hale, Carlotta Chadwick as Prostitute, Tepa Flaetoese as Sione Leaaetofa Remember This [Part One] Episode 5.31 (146) October 03, 2000 Written by David Phillips Directed by Robert Klenner A young man, shot dead in the boat shed of a harbourside property, is the start of a bad day for Christey. The crime scene is compromised when Christey's overzealous actions causes the boatshed floor to collapse, sending the body and any evidence into the harbour. The property is owned by Denise Ford, a cantankerous elderly widow who is displaying the early signs of Alzheimer's. Her sister, Dolly, lives with her. Denise's son, Harry, was paying his mother an early morning visit when he was confronted by an intruder with a gun. The ensuing struggle ended with the intruder being shot dead. Denise believes the intruder was a burglar as her house had been robbed recently and her silverware stolen. She constantly belabours that the police failed to find her stolen property then and now have demolished her property and demands Christey pay for her boat shed. Whilst Dolly apologises for Denise's diminishing mental capacity, Harry's pleads that he shot in self defence. The victim is identified as Sam Arkady, a self employed handyman with no criminal record. At his boarding house, Christey and Reilly discover Sam's abode is a shrine to famous hitmen and assassins. Alex and Reilly suggest that Sam was at the Ford house to play out his obsession, to become a professional hitman. Christey has trouble swallowing this theory until he learns that Sam's next door neighbour, Billy Russell, is an infamous hitman who has been recently paroled due to health reasons. An ex-lover, Emily, who recently dumped Reilly reappears in his life as suddenly as she left. Emily pleas for Reilly to extricate her daughter from living with a man who Emily believes helped murder someone seven years ago. Emily wants Reilly to arrest him for murder so her daughter will return home to her. Reilly begins to investigate the murder and is lead to a witness, Krystal, an ex -prostitute, who refuses to talk. Christey is not happy about Reilly spending all his time with Emily and suspects that Alex is not concentrating on the job at hand because she's preoccupied with the relationship between Emily and Reilly. Reilly is finally told to give up on the old murder, but Emily begs him to speak to Krystal again to get her to testify. Reilly succumbs to her entreaties and goes to see Krystal only to discover she's been shot and killed. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Brittany Byrnes as Geena Sadler, David Field as Warren Reith, Deni Gordon as Cynthia Rody, Frank Wilson as Billy Russell, Rowena Wallace as Dolly Munro, Moya O'Sullivan as Denise Ford, Alan Flower as Harry Ford, Emma Whiteman as Judith Ford, Susan Trainor as Krystal, Tony Girdler as Mr. Simons, Stewart Armstrong as Landlord, Bob Bowles as Sam Arkady Vigilante [Part Two] Episode 5.32 (147) October 10, 2000 Written by Peter Neale Directed by Robert Klenner Krystal, a witness to a murder committed some years ago, has been murdered. Reilly's ex-lover Emily reveals that her thirteen-year-old daughter, Geena, was also a witness to the murder. Geena, much to Emily's chagrin, is still staying with her father, Warren, a known drug dealer and the main suspect in both the old murder and Krystal's murder. Reilly comes under pressure at work defending Emily. Christey thinks she is passively obstructing the murder investigation and Alex is concerned that Emily is using Reilly to help her exact her revenge on Warren for turning her daughter against her. When Emily finds Geena wandering the streets under the influence of ecstasy, she removes Geena from Warren's home, warning Warren that she will kill him if he comes near Geena again. Things are further complicated by SOK, an anti-drug group comprised of grieving parents who have each lost a child to drugs. They target Warren, harassing him and also the Water Police, demanding that they remove Warren from the streets. When Warren is murdered, one of the SOK members is the obvious culprit until Emily confesses to the murder. Hawker makes a personal statement on television: that the imperfect rule of law is all we have to keep us civilised. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Natasha Beaumont as Emily Sadler, Brittany Byrnes as Geena Sadler, David Field as Warren Reith, Deni Gordon as Cynthia Rody, Paul Hunt as Glen Cook, Bryan Wilson as Lionel Black, Susan Trainor as Krystal, Jeff Lang as Anthony Beroni, Jan Ringrose & Ian Crow as SOK Protestors, Perrin Tasker as Daniel Cook, Clause Tasker as Josh Cook, Keeara Byrnes as Young Geena The Last Hurrah [Part One] Episode 5.33 (148) October 24, 2000 Written by Deborah Parsons Directed by Geoff Bennett An attempt on the life of Charlie Driscoll prior to her forthcoming murder trial has Jack convinced she is once again up to something and may in fact be preparing to leave the country. His obsession with uncovering her plans draws the ire of Chief Inspector Hawker and places Jack in a difficult position when he is ultimately forced to shoot the very man who may have had reason to want her dead in order to keep her from testifying against him. Adding to his troubles, Jack in haunted by his memories on the one year anniversary of Rachel's death. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Andrew Rodoreda as Boy Briscoll, Tara Jakszewicz as Sheera Wilson, Simone Robertson as Andrea Til, Catherine McClements as Rachel Goldstein, Glen Shea as Willie "Fatman" Bostik, Jago Harvey as Benny Bostik, Serema Harison as Holly Lynch Bye Bye Charlie [Part Two] Episode 5.34 (149) October 31, 2000 Written by Deborah Parsons Directed by Geoff Bennett Charlie Driscoll makes her last great dash for freedom and Jack Christey is determined to stop her. Christey is now certain Charlie is stockpiling currency and diamonds to retire on in another country aided by her brother Boy Driscoll. Christey's suspicions are somewhat confirmed when he discovers Boy's girlfriend is an ailing hostess, seemingly the perfect courier to carry Charlie's ill-gotten nest egg to her new home in the Bahamas. But when Christey has the air hostess searched by Interpol on her next flight out of Sydney, the cops find nothing. This prompts Christey to speculate the air hostess has ripped off Charlie and Boy and the Rats brace themselves for some ugly underworld pay-back. Convinced his old nemesis will flee the moment he isn't looking, Christey ignores official directives and maintains around the clock surveillance on Charlie. But Christey can't plug all the holes and the stakes for all involved are raised when Boy Driscoll turns up dead. It looks like even family loyalty won't stop Charlie from succeeding in her escape plan. As Christey tries to bring Hawker and the other detectives around to his way of thinking, he continues to run up against one immovable piece of logic. Charlie is wheelchair bound and not a high risk for flight. She can't even cross her legs. But as the body count grows and the clues pile up in front of Christey, he knows Charlie's got one last trick in her bag and is determined to guess it before she disappears for good. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Anthony Martin as Chopper Lewis, Linda Cropper as Charlie Driscoll, Andrew Rodoreda as Boy Briscoll, Tara Jakszewicz as Sheera Wilson, Simone Robertson as Andrea Til, Catherine McClements as Rachel Goldstein, Mouche Phillips as Eva Minton, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Robert Crane as Technician, Darren Ratcliffe as Apprentice, Serhat Caradee as Chorny Peters, Ken Gamble as Dillon Family Values [Part Three] Episode 5.35 (150) November 07, 2000 Written by Peter Gawler Directed by Lynn Hegarty The aftermath of Alex and her brother's car accident reveals a lump of concrete was thrown at the windscreen of the car. James is critically injured and while he lies unconscious in hospital, Alex becomes increasingly convinced the accident was a deliberate attempt on their lives. Obsessed with finding the person responsible, Alex first looks for a motive and an offender from amongst people she has arrested. However the answer lies in her brother's James university assignment for his law degree. Alex realises that James has been investigating a five-year-old murder which culminated in the possible false imprisonment of an intellectually challenged man. Alex theorises that James may have stumbled across the path of the real murderer… who doesn't want the case to be reopened. Christey and Reilly investigate the disappearance of two women from a yacht out at sea. Two brothers and their wives went on a sailing trip to Norfolk Island, then one morning the men, awoke to find both their wives missing. As the detectives piece together what happened prior to the women's disappearance, inconsistencies start to appear in the brother's story and divisions appear in their relationship… till the men begin to suspect each other of foul play. The brothers come to blows, their entire relationship is in tatters, when the solution to the women's disappearance comes out of left field. Reilly makes a move on Alex who rejects him and accuses him of exploiting her vulnerability. Christey has a word to Reilly, telling him to back off from Alex. Reilly, drunk, takes a swing at Christey and lands himself in the drink. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Mouch Phillips as Eva Minton, Ian McColm as Duane Smith, Andy Anderson as Brian Atchison, Will Usic as Rod Anderson, Monette Lee as Marion Atchison, Caitlin Hunter as Caitlin, Adrian Adam as Uniformed Sergeant, Cheryl Ward as Girlfriend, Michael Ryan as News Journalist True Believer [Part Four] Episode 5.36 (151) November 14, 2000 Written by Peter Gawler Directed by Lynn Hegarty Alex continues the investigation into the car crash that injured her brother. Convinced that it is connected to the five-year-old murder of a young girl, Alex is determined to discover whether Duane was correctly convicted of the murder. While Duane continues to protest his innocence, Alex struggles to find any concrete evidence which can exonerate him. What she does discover is that everyone connected with the case are happy to have Duane imprisoned for the crime, despite the fact that he was convicted on circumstantial evidence. Duane's alibi for the time of the murder was an old woman, Mrs. Stringer, whose memory failed her at the time of the murder trial about which day Duane was mowing her lawn. Five years on, her memory has not improved when Alex visits her to see if she can substantiate Duane's alibi. Alex also meets Paul Smith and his two sons, who live in the neighbourhood. Not only are they cousins of Duane but one of the sons was a witness against Duane at his trial, claiming he saw Duane with the girl before she was murderer. Alex is unnerved by the father, Paul Smith who presents as a brutal when he threatens Alex if she continues to pursue her inquiries. When Mrs. Stringer dies, apparently from natural causes, after finding her beloved pet dog beheaded on her doorstep, Alex is convinced that the wrong man went to prison. Alex believes that the real murderer is still out there and still dangerous. And soon Alex will realise that she is his next target. Sykes gets engaged to his girlfriend, Eva, much to the surprise of the other Rats as he has only known Eva for a few weeks. Reilly wants to know where he stands with Alex but she is reluctant to take their relationship to another level because they work together. Guest Starring: Rebecca Smart as Donna Janevski, Allison Cratchley as Emma Woods, Conrad Coleby as James St Clare, Mouch Phillips as Eva Minton, Ian McColm as Duane Smith, Wayne Pygram as Paul Smith Snr, Jonathan Devay as Paul Smith Jnr, Raphael Dickson as Mark Smith, Kim Knuckey as Inspector Doug Maxwell, Shirley Sheppard as Mrs Stringer, Mary Gilbert as Bianca Humphries, Josh Lemanski as Young Paul Smith Jnr, Keedan Harvey as Young Mark Smith	Featured Series All Saints The Artful Dodger Bay of Fires Blue Heelers Bluey Boy Swallows Universe Class of '07 A Country Practice The Dr Blake Mysteries Doctor Doctor Five Bedrooms The Flying Doctors Heartbreak High ['22] Last King of the Cross McLeod's Daughters Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries My Life is Murder NCIS: Sydney North Shore Offspring Packed To The Rafters A Place To Call Home Prosper Royal Flying Doctor Service Satisfaction Ten Pound Poms Total Control The Tourist Upright Underbelly Wentworth Wolf Like Me Miscellaneous TV Series Telemovies & miniseries In production Industry Awards Links Industry sites Actors and actresses Australian TV sites Site Info About FAQ Update history My viewing Privacy Policy


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