Previously
- Mackenzie confirms to 'Ed' that all her friends who he's met will be attending Leo's whisky launch
- Holly shows Mackenzie a picture of her ex, Eden, which Mackenzie recognises as her new beau, Ed
- Holly and Eden catch sight of each other and he disappears off into the vine fields
- Jane calls Terese a money- hungry bully and rips up her plans for the retirement experience
- Jane gets drunk at the whisky launch, despite Wendy's advice to slow down
- Following the counselling session, Toadie tells Terese he had no idea how much Nell was internalising
- Katrina assists Reece by providing statements for all guests who had been at the hotel on specified dates
- Byron complains to Haz that Reece didn't return his call and is too busy with work
- Conrad Sinclair's right- hand woman, Tess Carmichael, arrives in Erinsborough
- Tess warns Reece she'll be back shortly to check on her progress in finding the missing family member
Lassiter's Hotel
Reece is in her room, looking through the hotel guest statements for clues about her missing family member. Conrad calls, and Reece complains to him about Tess 'breathing down my neck'. As they're talking, Reece spots a food order on an itemised room service list which catches her interest - a cheeseburger with fried pickles and a side of maple syrup. The name on the statement is Kelly Miller, in Room 302.
REECE: Dad... I think I know the name she was using while she was here.
In the corridor outside Room 302, Penny, a chambermaid, is helping herself to pack of complimentary biscuits from the trolley, when Reece appears. Penny attempts to hide the biscuits, as Reece asks her when the guests in Room 302 will be checking out. Penny tells her they're due to leave in a couple of hours.
The vineyard
Mackenzie, Holly, Haz, Sadie and Billie are discussing Eden. Still in shock, Mackenzie asks Holly if she thinks Eden knew they were friends. Holly is 'one hundred percent' sure, whether he knew at the beginning or realised it later. On reflection, Mack says she did think it was weird when he left early a couple of days ago, and when he was asking which of her friends would be here tonight.
SADIE: So creepy.
MACKENZIE: I feel so gross. Used.
HOLLY: Yeah. Because he used you. Just be glad we found out when we did.
MACKENZIE: ... I want to find him. Make him explain himself.
HAZ: Then let's do it.
They all head outside to begin the search.
The Waterhole
Tom the barman is helping Reece with her so- called market research.
TOM: I love market research.
REECE: It's an important part of any business strategy.
TOM: I once made fifty bucks tasting different kinds of toothpaste.
REECE: Oh. I'm sure your gums appreciated that.
He's been searching for names from a list of ten Reece has given him (which includes 'Kelly Miller') in the records for the Waterhole's wine club. But he hasn't been able to find any of them. Reece asks if there's any other reason that a guest would leave their personal details at the bar, but Tom's drawing a blank. So Reece asks him to let her know if he thinks of anything.
As Reece goes to leave, Byron comes in, and asks her if she still wants to hang out when his shift finishes shortly. Reece makes an excuse that she's booked in for a massage at the spa, and will probably need some sleep after that - but says she'll text him later. Byron looks slightly disappointed as she leaves - and Paul, who has just come in, clocks this, smugly asking Byron if there's trouble in paradise.
BYRON: Look, Paul... I've always respected you, and I hope one day you'll come to respect our relationship.
PAUL (scoffs): Respect? You're nothing but a toy to her.
BYRON: You are so wrong. I love her. And she loves me.
PAUL (incredulous): Mm.
BYRON: She's just busy with her research project, that's all.
Paul looks intrigued by this last remark as Byron walks away.
The vineyard
Haz, Sadie, Mackenzie and Billie are waiting in the courtyard when Holly emerges, having apparently been speaking to the other staff about Eden.
HOLLY: No- one's seen him for ages.
HAZ: Yeah. You'd want to get out of here if you thought you were busted.
MACKENZIE: He said he didn't have a car, though.
SADIE: Could he have got a lift with someone?
BILLIE: Maybe he's just waiting for everyone to leave.
They decide to split up and look for him; Haz suggests they go in pairs, or a two and a three.
HOLLY: I don't think he's dangerous. I mean, he's a creep, but he's not violent.
HAZ: He might lash out if he knows we're onto him. I reckon he's the type.
MACKENZIE: I thought you liked him? ... Haz, I wish you'd said something.
HAZ: I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. If you liked him, I thought I could - I dunno - get used to him.
Holly, Sadie and Mackenzie head out to the vines to search there, while Haz and Billie agree to check around the buildings.
No 22
Terese has just submitted her official offer to buy Erinsborough High to the education department, when Toadie comes back in with snacks for their film night with Nell (who's not in the episode).
TERESE: Listen, I won't be offended if you want it to just be you and Nell tonight.
TOADIE: Yeah... but we don't.
TERESE: I mean, she seemed genuinely happy to have me there...
TOADIE: Darling, she is not traumatised by anything that you have done. In fact, she is very, very afraid of more loss.
TERESE: Yeah. Well, that's understandable.
TOADIE: Not everything ends the way that it did with Sonya and Melanie, and I need her to believe that.
TERESE: Then we'll prove it to her.
TOADIE: Yeah. We will.
No 24
Susan calls in to see Jane, who's sobered up but is feeling rather unwell.
JANE: You know your hangover's bad when it doesn't even wait till the next day (...) I made a complete fool of myself, again.
SUSAN: Well, those welcome drinks, they really packed a punch.
JANE: Oh, Susan, you don't need to downplay. I can imagine what everyone is thinking (...) The other week, with Hilary, Terese said something that's really been playing on my mind. She said enrolments have been down on my watch, and she's right.
SUSAN: Don't take this personally, Jane.
JANE: It's hard not to.
The vineyard
Holly, Sadie, Mackenzie, Haz and Billie return to the bar, having been unable to find Eden, and decide he must have left somehow, possibly on foot, or...
HAZ: One of the dish hands saw him driving a van the other day. So he might not be car- less after all.
MACKENZIE: That is so weird. I mean, why lie about that?
HOLLY: He wants to control the narrative, which for you, was, 'good guy, down on his luck'. For me it was, 'Mr Spontaneous, changing plans every three seconds so I never knew which way was up'.
MACKENZIE: I can't believe I fell for it.
HOLLY: I fell for it for months. How do you think I feel? Just be mad at him, not yourself.
They decide to head home, but on returning to their bags, Sadie, Billie and Holly all discover that their wallets have been stolen. Holly immediately concludes that Eden is responsible, given his lies about everything else. Mackenzie remembers she left her bag under her coat, and goes to look - but it's been stolen, too.
Lassiter's Hotel
Reece looks furtive as she slips into the reception of the day spa. She makes a beeline for a folder behind the desk marked 'clients', and grabs it - but at that point a spa employee, Tina, comes in. Tina begins to make excuses for why she's late back from lunch, but explains she has no clients booked in - and Paul allows her to do flexi- time, as she has to work back sometimes.
Reece asks Tina how far back the client records in the folder go; she replies 'a few years'.
REECE: If I give you a list of ten guest names, could you dig up everything you have on them?
TINA: What kind of info? I'm assuming you don't want their allergies and their bunions?
REECE: I'd like everything you've got. Market research.
TINA: Okay. Some of the info is personal... especially the bunions!
REECE: Don't worry, it'll all be kept confidential. And I can be a big fan of flexi- time too!
Tina looks sheepish as Reece leaves.
The vineyard
Mackenzie is devastated, and deeply regretting leaving her handbag unattended - because, of course, it had her wedding ring in it, the only thing she had left of Hendrix. Holly reports the thefts to Leo, who checks the till and discovers that that's been emptied, too. Haz explains that they think 'Ed' is responsible. Leo admits he's been missing for a while, according to the head waiter.
As Leo reports the thefts to the police on the phone and advises the gang to cancel their cards, we close in on a mournful- looking Mackenzie...
No 24
Susan and Jane are having a cuppa. Jane explains how lovely it's been reading the posts in support of the school on social media. Susan agrees.
JANE: And please thank Mal, and Libby, and Billy for their words. I should ask Karl to write something, too.
Susan looks worried, presumably because of Terese's job offer to Karl that Jane still doesn't know about. She tries to put Jane off from messaging Karl to ask, saying he's probably on a train with Harold and won't have any service. But Jane is undeterred. Susan speedily sends a message herself, presumably warning Karl not to say anything about the job offer. She asks Jane about Mike, who's still touring Scotland, we learn.
JANE: Thank you, Susan.
SUSAN: I haven't done anything.
JANE: No, you have been an incredible support. And... I know it hasn't been easy with Terese.
SUSAN: Umm... tell me more about Mike's trip...
JANE: And Karl - Karl, too. You know, if he was here, I would tell him the same thing. You really find out who your friends are.
At this point, both Susan and Jane get replies from Karl - but the wrong way around!
JANE (reading): 'Jane can't know about Terese's job offer.' (...) What job offer?
No 22
A few minutes later, Susan is with Terese and Toadie.
TERESE: She kicked you out of the house?!
SUSAN: Well, more like she asked me to leave. Firmly.
TOADIE: She can't accuse you of playing both sides.
SUSAN: (...) I guess I'm here just to ask you to please tread carefully with Jane.
Terese and Toadie glance at one another warily, and Susan asks what she's missed. Terese explains that she's just submitted her formal offer for the school site.
TOADIE: It doesn't mean that the school will actually be sold...
TERESE: But I feel like I nudged them to make the decision. I'm sorry, Susan. I know you didn't want this either.
SUSAN: I feel as devastated as Jane does.
TERESE: Of course. I want you to know that I really appreciate you not letting this stand in the way of our friendship. I really do.
Susan gets another text from Karl, who says he still hasn't decided about the job. But his message also says that Harold is interested in buying an apartment in Terese's retirement complex. Apparently Sky and Lana have no objections and understand why he wants to move back down south. Terese and Toadie think that's great news - albeit Toadie points out that the news isn't so good for Jane.
Lassiter's Hotel
Reece is still trawling through reams of papers in her room, when Paul pays her a visit. He picks up one of the papers but she grabs it back off him, saying she's using the guest records to do some analysis, at no cost to him.
PAUL: But we already know our guests very well.
REECE: I think we could know them better. You keep challenging me, so now I'm just being proactive. Now, if you don't mind, I really am very busy.
Paul seems to accept this, for now, and leaves her to it.
Downstairs, Tina the spa employee is just leaving for the day, when Byron goes over to talk to her, expecting that Reece will be emerging too, from her massage appointment.
TINA: Long gone. And she wasn't here as a client. I walked in and she was behind the counter, helping herself to our client records.
BYRON: (...) So she didn't have a booking for herself for today?
TINA: No. She gave me a list of names to follow up on, then she was gone.
Byron looks concerned.
No 32
Haz, Holly, Sadie, Billie and Mackenzie all come in, depressed that they can't even order pizza now all their cards are cancelled. But Mack is even more upset, and drifts off to sit on the sofa alone. Billie suggests she and Haz could take Trevor for a walk - but Haz says no, Trevor has work to do. He uses one of the dog toys to lure Trevor onto the sofa next to Mack, which begins to cheer her up immediately.
Lassiter's Complex
Byron is sitting by the pond looking contemplative, when Leo comes along. They briefly discuss the situation with Eden at the whisky launch, then Leo asks what's going on with Byron.
BYRON: Oh, nothing, just...
LEO (sitting down): Problems with Reece?
BYRON: Aren't you meant to be Team Paul?
LEO: Yeah, only cos I'm forced to be. But anything you say won't get back to him.
Byron explains how Reece lied to him about having a massage at the spa, when they were supposed to be spending time together.
LEO: If you want to get on her good side, you could get her that necklace she's looking for. You know, the one to match the one she wears with the moon? I think she said a sun or something.
BYRON: Sorry, Leo, I have no idea what you're talking about.
Leo explains how Reece was looking for the necklace in the Sonya Foundation shop. Curious, Byron asks when this was...
No 32
Mackenzie is stroking Trevor. Haz brings her a cuppa, explaining that the others have gone to 'scrounge up' pizza money.
HAZ: Let me know if you'd rather be alone.
MACKENZIE: No, it's fine. Trevor brought me back from the brink. Oh, and he also brought me a special gift!
She passes him a fragment from Billie's favourite jumper, which Haz promptly hides under his cushion!
HAZ: Everyone's worried about you, you know.
MACKENZIE: Today kind of... brought me to a dark place.
HAZ: It's not surprising.
MACKENZIE: I'll work through it.
HAZ: I know you will. But... I'm a good listener. If you need one.
MACKENZIE: ... It kind of shocked me how powerful the grief was. How raw. I know Hendrix is gone. But it felt like losing him all over again. You know? Back to square one. Harold told me it'd be like this. Like waves. Or like the pain is coming in and out of focus.
HAZ: But always there.
MACKENZIE: Mm. Yeah. Mostly in the background. Today, not so much. (tearful) I can't believe I thought I was ready to move on.
HAZ: Hey. It'll get easier.
MACKENZIE: Do you think?
HAZ: I know.
Mackenzie smiles through the tears.
No 24
Jane opens the door to Toadie, waving a miniature union jack!
TOADIE: Couldn't find a white flag, and then I remembered Mike gave us this.
JANE: If you are here to talk about Terese, I really couldn't bear it.
TOADIE: I'm here to talk about Susan. And I promise I won't be long.
She lets him in.
TOADIE: Obviously this whole business has caused a divide in the street, but I don't want you thinking that Susan is playing both sides.
JANE: Well, that is how it felt when I heard about Karl's job offer.
TOADIE: Well, I can't speak for Karl. But what I do know is that this has been incredibly difficult for Susan. The school, and your friendship, has come first. She's not siding with Terese; she's devastated. I'm hoping, you know, we can all move past this - hopefully soon. But for now, I want you to know that Susan is the friend that you always thought that she was.
Jane looks indecisive.
Harold's Café
Susan and Holly have convened for mutual commiserations about their respective rotten days. Holly sees Byron moping by the counter, and heads over to join him on the pretext of getting cake. Holly asks Byron why he hasn't been answering her texts - he blames 'Reece stuff'.
HOLLY: Are you guys having problems?
BYRON: Yeah.
HOLLY: Is that why she was crying earlier?
BYRON: Reece was crying?
HOLLY: Yeah, at the tram. She was with some woman; I didn't recognise her.
Lassiter's Complex
Byron sees Reece heading into the hotel, and runs after her.
Lassiter's Hotel
He reaches the lift just as it's closing behind her, but notes that it's going up to Floor 3.
Outside Room 302, Reece knocks on the door, calling out 'housekeeping'. But nobody replies, so she lets herself into the room using a keycard. She sits on the bed, and pulls from her bag the postcard of the hotel that we've seen before. She hides it quickly as Byron comes in.
REECE: Hi. How did you...?
BYRON: I saw you get into the elevator. I watched to see which floor you got off at. I know that you didn't have a booking at the day spa, and I know that you were at the community centre yesterday looking for some necklace.
REECE: To match this one.
She shows him the crescent moon necklace around her neck.
BYRON: I've never seen you wear that before. You say you're busy with this research project, and I hear that you're just shopping. Holly told me you were at the tram crying yesterday. Apparently you were with some woman. We said we loved each other.
REECE: I do love you.
BYRON: Then what's going on? Why are you lying to me? I just...
REECE: There is a reason. I haven't wanted to tell you, because I haven't wanted to think about it myself... I'm trying to find my sister.
Coming up on Neighbours
- Andrew tells Cara the Linwell Brothers are very worried about the WorkSafe hearing; Wendy listens in
- JJ tells Dex he's 'just getting to know the guy'; Dex replies it's JJ's fault if it blows up the family
- Paul tells someone he just doesn't trust Reece; we see her creeping into the darkened office
- Mike chats to Jane and Sam via video; he asks Jane what's wrong
