That Ric is a bit tasty with his fists, innee? Let's put on Morag's mahoosive Thunderbirds-style spectacles and wrinkle our noses at the evidence. When he first appeared in the show there was a bit of a hoo-hah because he'd killed his dad. And let's not forget that he gave the bloke who tried to drug-rape Matilda a rather effective shoeing not so very many moons ago. However, Sal is appalled that he's trying to mete out his own special version of Summer Bay justice once again. "It's not up to you to go after him", she frowns, as she reveals that she's already called the cops. When they arrive, they ask her for all the gory details of the night Rocco attacked her. "At first, I thought he was going to hug me", she sighs, thus proving that she's never been the greatest judge of character. Brad and Matilda remain calm, but the steam soon begins to whoosh out of Ric's ears. Matilda tries to make him promise not to get involved further, but he won't have a bar of it. Meanwhile, Rocco tips up at the prison - which we think he'll be seeing rather more of in future - in order to get his brother's help. Johnny lets him know of a place he can stay until the heat is off, but this comes with a warning. "You let me down again," he growls, "and you're on your own." Chilling indeed. But we think Ric might get to him first. Oblivious to the unfolding drama, Beth is spending her afternoon trying on bikinis and getting Kit to sit on her suitcase in order to close it. Matilda is pretty surprised to hear that her mum has decided to join the jet set, and even more taken aback when she hears that she's heading off alone and booked on the next flight. "I know it's quick", Beth says, as she draws her daughter into a hug. "But I haven't had a storyline in ages and I wanted to wring as much drama out of it as possible." (Or words to that effect.) With her passport in one hand and her flight socks in the other, Beth heads for the airport and a month away from the show. However, before she makes her big exit, she embraces Tony and promises him that she'll be home soon. He'd better start clearing a space in the kitchen for the straw donkeys and novelty tea-towels she'll doubtless bring with her...Back at Summer Bay House, Sally is applying for sainthood. "I can't help feeling sorry for Rocco", she sighs, before arming herself to the teeth and going down to the beach for a walk. Later, the police arrive and reveal to Ric that Rocco visited Johnny at the prison. However, because they were too busy giving out speeding tickets and stuffing their faces with Krispy Kreme's finest, they missed him by about half an hour. At this revelation, Ric turns from peach to purple and storms down to the jailhouse to confront Johnny in person. After some hesitation, Johnny agrees to hand over Rocco's address - and Ric soon calls Sally and lets her know of his whereabouts. A short time later, he pulls up outside a shack and commences his hunt for Rocco. His dark expression indicates that there's no knowing what he might do once he gets his hands on him. And not far behind are Sally, Brad and Matilda - who arrive at the house only to discover a bloodied Ric standing over Rocco's lifeless body. They say that these things happen in threes - but was Ric really responsible?


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