Previously on Neighbours
- Tess and Heath discuss his departure for Warrawee Station via a flight to Mount Harper
- Tess tells Paul that now is not the time to hesitate in buying back Sincast's share of the hotel
- Mackenzie challenges Heath on his two- timing behaviour; he warns her to back off, or she'll get hurt
- Mackenzie snitches on Heath to Toadie and Melanie, who go to Heath's posh house to 'sort him out'
- In an office at Heath's place, Mel and Toadie find evidence of serious criminality
- They're caught by Tess's henchman Justin, who later tells her, 'There was a problem, but I took care of it'
- Terese tells Haz and Mackenzie that she hasn't seen Toadie all afternoon
- The next day, Susan tells Terese that Melanie didn't come home last night
- Heath invites Holly to go with him to the outback; she tells Karl and Susan she's going away with a friend
- At their outback retreat, Heath gets a message from Tess but says she can wait, and turns his phone off
- He encourages Holly to turn her phone off too, so they can enjoy each other's company uninterrupted
The usual opening titles are dispensed with for the second time this week, in favour of the Neighbours logo over a remote outback scene, accompanied by a brief snippet of the theme tune.
Outback Retreat
Holly and Heath are soaking in opposite ends of an open- air bathtub. Holly suggests going with Heath when he goes to Warrawee Station, but he thinks it's better for her to stay here. They splash one another flirtatiously.
A while later, they're cuddled up together at the same end of the bath. Heath's phone starts ringing. Holly's surprised he turned it back on; he says he only did so to find his way to Warrawee, but he declines the call, telling her, 'No more distractions.'
HOLLY: You know, I should probably message Dad and Susan... Mackenzie, too.
HEATH: Why her?
HOLLY: Well, she's wrong about you. So wrong. But she's still my friend.
HEATH: I think she's only your friend when it suits her.
HOLLY: Why do you say that?
HEATH: Sadie's the same. You'll always come second- best to their boyfriends.
HOLLY: You know, it has felt a lot like that lately.
Heath suggests that they go for a walk; he's heard there's a river nearby. Holly's keen to relax a little longer, but Heath stands up in the bath, prompting a gratuitous bum shot, and shouts out to the expanse of desert beyond the property fence.
HEATH: I... am an American in the outback! I gotta see some 'roos!
Holly laughs, and tells him to lead the way. We cut to his phone ringing on the floor - it's Tess, but once again it goes ignored.
Tess and Heath's Posh Pad™
Back in Melbourne, Tess is frustrated that Heath isn't answering his phone. She leaves him an angry voicemail...
TESS: Why aren't you picking up?! I don't know what you're playing at, but you need to call me straight away! There's been a development. A big one.
No 22
Andrew is talking to Karl, Susan and Terese about Toadie and Melanie's disappearance. They've established that they were last seen at 4pm at Harold's yesterday.
ANDREW: Technically, Toadie and Melanie haven't been gone long enough to be considered missing persons.
TERESE: But they *are* missing! They couldn't have just fallen off the face of the earth!
ANDREW: Look, I have to ask this considering what happened at Rhonda's office... but is there a chance that they're lying low on purpose?
TERESE: No. No.
ANDREW: Are you sure?
TERESE: ... Uh, did Toadie say something to you?
ANDREW: No. No, it's nothing like that. I'm just simply approaching this like I would any other case. I need to consider all options.
TERESE: Whatever you're hinting, he wouldn't. He wouldn't do that to me again.
KARL: No, I agree. He's not in that headspace. Listen, I know... I know Toadie and Melanie are the priority, but we're worried about Holly too. She said she'd get in touch, and she hasn't.
ANDREW: Well, Sadie did tell me about that Heath guy.
KARL: She said she was going away with someone from housekeeping, but Susan and I suspect she's with him.
Penthouse
Paul is looking at some documents, deep in thought, when Krista and Leo come in. He tells them he's made some phone calls. His contact at the hotel Krista lost the Experiences Tour to, which is run by the Quill Group, was cagey about it, but seemed to know Tess.
KRISTA: How?
PAUL: Well, you don't suppose she might have tipped them off at all?
KRISTA: You mean... so they'd swoop in and steal the contract?
PAUL: Well, she did give you a bum steer with that mystery shopper company.
LEO: Yeah, at a huge cost to Lassiter's.
PAUL: Yeah. It's like she's creating little expensive fires everywhere, isn't it?
KRISTA: Yeah, but to what end?
PAUL: I dunno. Methinks it's time I had another discussion with Ms Carmichael.
Krista wishes Paul luck as he leaves. Leo then points out to Krista that there's one way to get to the bottom of all this.
LEO: Call Reece.
KRISTA: ... I'm scared of what she's gonna say.
LEO: Yeah, but you need to know if she's across this sale.
KRISTA: Yeah, but if she is, then... that means she doesn't care about me at all.
LEO: Then don't take it lying down. You're a Sinclair too.
KRISTA: Yeah. The one that brought shame to the family.
LEO: Call her. I'll be right here.
No 32
Karl is with Mackenzie and Haz. Karl explains he's been chatting to Katrina Marshall from the hotel, who has told him that nobody in housekeeping has talked about going away with Holly. Mackenzie thinks Holly fed Karl a story to disguise the fact she was going away with Heath. Karl is worried, having honestly thought Holly was in a better place than she had been previously. Mackenzie had hoped so too.
Haz is looking at a post that Holly has just put on social media, from the outback retreat, of a selfie with love hearts and Heath mostly out of shot, so they can't be sure it's him. But there's no caption on the post saying where Holly is.
HAZ: Based on this she could be literally anywhere.
But Karl is buoyed by the fact that Holly seems to be in good spirits. Mackenzie suggests he keep trying to call her. Karl heads back across the road to rejoin the war council in Terese's living room. Haz continues to fiddle with his phone as Mack joins him on the couch.
MACKENZIE: It's so strange that Toadie and Melanie have gone missing, and now Holly's gone on this random trip... What are you doing?
HAZ: I'm going into the metadata on Holly's post. It might tell us where she is.
No 22
Terese is with Susan when Karl returns, and finishing up a call to the counsellor, Rhonda, to see if she can offer any insight into Toadie's disappearance. Rhonda wasn't able to betray client confidentiality, Terese explains to the Kennedys, but did say that she didn't believe Toadie would stray with Melanie again.
SUSAN: Well, at least we all agree on that.
KARL: Yes, absolutely.
TERESE: I mean, I'm not doubting him. I'm not. It's just... there was something he kept repeating in Rhonda's office. 'I'm not ready. I'm not ready.' Not ready for what? What?
KARL: I don't know.
TERESE: Well, whatever it was, it sounds like he was prepared to tell Mel. Why not me?
Outback Riverside
Holly and Heath are having a picnic by a river.
HOLLY: It's funny, isn't it? The minute that you leave home, all your problems melt away.
HEATH: What problems do you have? I mean, besides annoying friends?
HOLLY: Well, there's the slight issue of my life lacking any direction.
HEATH: Alright. Well, what do you want to do? I mean, dream as big as you want.
HOLLY: Well, once upon a time it was medicine.
HEATH: Oh, boy.
HOLLY: I dunno. Being out here makes me realise how much I miss travelling.
HEATH: Yeah, well... I mean, there's a big, wide world out there.
They kiss. Holly tells Heath that the snag with travel is that all her savings are supposed to go towards buying a car.
HEATH: You could come travelling with me.
HOLLY: Which brings me to my next problem. The guy that I like is still seeing another woman.
HEATH: ... Yeah. Well, I'm gonna leave Tess when we get back from here.
HOLLY: Really?
HEATH: Yeah. I'm gonna get what I'm owed, and go my own way... Work entitlements, that is.
They continue to kiss.
Tess and Heath's Posh Pad
Tess is leaving the house and hurriedly bundling a suitcase into her car when Paul pulls up opposite. He shouts out for Tess to wait, but she's already driving away, and either doesn't see him or ignores him. Paul looks concerned.
Outback Riverside
Heath and Holly are still at their picnic.
HEATH: Come away with me.
HOLLY: ... You're not talking about dinner in Singapore again, are you?
HEATH: No, I'm talking open ticket.
HOLLY: That's huge!
HEATH: I mean, we've come this far, right?
HOLLY: ... Well, I'd have to go home and talk about it with everyone first.
HEATH: They're only gonna talk you out of it!
HOLLY: Well, I can't leave without talking to Dad and Susan.
HEATH: Yeah, I'm sure that goody- goody Mackenzie [has] already been in their ear.
HOLLY: Are you serious?
HEATH: Cross my heart. I mean, you packed your passport, right?
HOLLY: Yeah...
They kiss again. We hear a noise from offscreen, and Holly thinks she sees a kangaroo. She leaps up to see if she can get a closer look. As she moves away from the picnic site, Heath surreptitiously takes her phone, then throws it in the river! Heath rushes to catch up with Holly - while in the river, a crocodile swims by, accompanied by ominous underscore...
Penthouse / Tess and Heath's Posh Pad
Leo stands by as Krista finishes up her call with Reece.
LEO: She had no idea about the sale?
KRISTA: None. Apparently, she hasn't spoken to Tess in weeks.
LEO: But how is that possible? Tess manages one of the key territories.
KRISTA: Apparently they weren't getting along. So Reece sent her to the Asia- Pacific to get her out of her hair.
Leo prepares to call Paul to let him know.
Meanwhile at the Posh Pad™, Paul finds the front door ajar, so wanders inside. Leo's call comes through, and Paul reports to him that Tess has just left, and from the lack of belongings in the place, likely for good. Leo tells Paul there might be a reason for that, explaining that Reece had no idea about the hotel sale.
LEO: It sounds like Tess has gone completely rogue.
But Paul's attention has been distracted by a trinket that he's spotted on the floor - a pig necklace! He looks concerned...
No 32
Haz isn't having much success tracking Holly's location, as he explains to Mack that the metadata must be corrupted. She suggests getting the police involved, but Haz doesn't think they'd devote resources to it at this stage.
HAZ: There is something I could do. I can't believe I'm saying this...
MACKENZIE: What is it?
HAZ: Well, I've been wanting to put my past behind me and try to have a legitimate career...
MACKENZIE: Haz?
HAZ: I could hack Holly's phone.
MACKENZIE: I know that this is a big deal for you.
HAZ: Yeah, well, Heath threatened you. He's clearly a loose cannon.
MACKENZIE: Yeah. And I didn't want to say this to Karl, but I feel like Holly could be in some serious danger.
HAZ: Then I know what I have to do.
Haz gets to work...
No 22
Later, Haz and Mackenzie have joined the war council in Terese's living room, and are chatting to Susan and Karl.
MACKENZIE: Don't ask how, but we know where Holly is.
KARL: Where?
HAZ: About two hours south of Mount Harper.
SUSAN: That's Queensland, isn't it?
HAZ: Yeah. It's inland, it's a small town, less than a hundred people (...) We have coordinates, but there is a margin for error.
MACKENZIE: There are only two connecting flights to Mount Harper per week - and can you believe, there's one leaving in a couple of hours (...) We think that we should be on that flight, just in case.
KARL: You're that worried?
MACKENZIE: Look, we don't know if it's gonna be a wild goose chase or not.
Karl volunteers to come too, but Mackenzie thinks he should stay here and wait for news on Toadie and Melanie. Haz and Mack will let him know when they find Holly. Karl and Susan thank them for going to all this trouble. Haz and Mack leave. Terese, who has been listening to all this from the dining room, looks increasingly worried.
Lassiter's Complex
Terese is asking Aaron if he saw Melanie or Toadie at all yesterday. Aaron didn't, but promises to ask around and see if anyone knows anything. Andrew and Paul approach and show Terese the pig necklace that Paul found at Tess's posh pad. Aaron immediately recognises it as Melanie's.
AARON: She was wearing that yesterday.
Terese looks even more worried.
Outback Retreat
Heath and Holly are back from their walk, and Heath is about to head to Warrawee Station. Holly is looking for her phone, and asks if he has any idea where it went. He gaslights her, playing dumb and saying he doesn't think she had it at the picnic.
Holly wants to message Karl; Heath suggests using his phone, but when she tries to take it from him, he pulls it back, instead asking for Karl's number so he can send the message. She begins to recite it...
Tess and Heath's Posh Pad
The police have cordoned off the house and are searching the place. Paul and Terese have turned up too, but Andrew thinks they should leave as it's a potential crime scene, and promises to call Terese if they find anything. Paul makes the argument that it makes sense for Terese to be here, so she can identify anything that might belong to Toadie. Andrew relents, but tells them to stay behind the police tape. Terese thanks him.
One of the police officers has found something on the exterior wall of the house, and calls Andrew over. It looks very much like a splodge of tomato ketchup, but Andrew is sufficiently concerned to call in forensics! Terese tries to rush over, but Paul stops her.
Warrawee Station / Melbourne Airport
Heath arrives at the cattle station in his ute. He gets a phone call from Tess, who is in the departure lounge at the airport, and this time answers it.
TESS: Where the hell have you been?
HEATH: I don't really like your tone. In fact, if you keep talking to me that way, I'm gonna end the call.
Tess seems to be looking at the CCTV cameras that are positioned around the departure lounge, and we see a camera's- eye view of her, too. She is at Gate 7, from where a flight for Honolulu, Hawaii, is listed as on time, but not yet boarding.
TESS: Heath, just listen to me. Something serious is happening, and I need you to take care of it.
HEATH: I mean it, Tess. When you say 'jump', I no longer say 'how high?'
We don't hear what Tess says next, but Heath's expression changes very quickly to one of grave concern.
HEATH: What? ... Why - why would Justin do that?
TESS: He felt he had no other choice. I'm not happy about it, but what's done is done. This is make or break time. Expect a call from Justin. He'll let you know what the next steps are.
Ending the call, Tess then drops her phone in a nearby waste bin, and leaves the area. At Warrawee, Heath looks very disconcerted...
No 22
Paul is with Terese in the kitchen. He asks if she's okay with him being there, and she nods.
PAUL: Listen, I put in a call to John Wong. Well, I figured if the police can't find Melanie and Toadie, perhaps a PI can.
TERESE: Thank you.
Karl and Susan come back in, and ask if the police have offered any updates. Paul says that forensics are still testing the blood they found on the wall at Tess's posh pad.
KARL: Okay, we shouldn't assume the worst.
TERESE: But how can we not?! It's been almost 24 hours! (...) Something terrible has happened. I know it.
An Airfield
Mackenzie and Haz are strapping themselves in on board a very small plane. Mack asks Haz if he's okay, saying she knows it was a big deal for him to hack into Holly's phone.
HAZ: She's not gonna be happy with me.
MACKENZIE: Or me. But it'd be worse if something happens to her, and we didn't take the chance to act.
Haz agrees, but is very anxious. Mackenzie takes his hand.
Outback Retreat
Holly is somewhat breaking the fourth wall by dancing wildly in a paddock to a non- diegetic song track, her hat in one hand and a glass of wine in the other! The rest of the bottle is standing on a nearby fence post. Heath returns in the ute, and she rushes over to see him, excited that he's back. She wants to rope him into some more dancing, but Heath's demeanour is very different from when he left. He agrees to some wine, though.
HOLLY: Hey, did my dad message back yet?
HEATH: No.
HOLLY: That's weird. I thought for sure he'd respond. Can I call him? I still can't find my phone.
HEATH (irritated): No.
HOLLY: Heath, you're being weird.
HEATH: No, I'm not.
HOLLY: Did something happen at the station?
HEATH: No!
HOLLY: What is your problem?
HEATH: Your attitude. You're being ungrateful.
HOLLY: Because I asked to use your phone?
HEATH (agitated): Because I bring you out to this amazing place for you to forget about home for a bit, and all you have done is talk about everyone back in Erinsborough! Do you wanna be here, or not?
He marches indoors, not waiting for an answer. Holly looks worried.
No 22
Paul, Terese, Leo, Krista, Karl and Susan are now all gathered, waiting for news.
KARL: We've been racking our brains trying to figure out why Toadie and Mel would go to Tess's house.
KRISTA: Mackenzie said she told them about Heath's threats.
SUSAN: Toadie's very protective of her.
Andrew comes in. He has a positive ID on the blood test.
ANDREW: I'm sorry. It's Toadie's.
TERESE (tearful): My god, I can't believe this is happening! Where is he? Where's Melanie - where are they?!
Susan rushes over to hug a sobbing Terese, while Paul and the others look gravely on.
Somewhere Far Away
We cut to a long shot of a lengthy freight train screaming through the outback, as ominous, dramatic music plays...
Coming up on Neighbours
- As their plane flies over the outback, Mackenzie tells Haz she keeps 'going over our last conversation'
- At No 28, Susan hugs an emotional Karl
- 'What if something terrible happens to her? What if I never get the chance to make things right?' asks Mack
- Holly perched on the outdoor bathtub, deep in thought
- Terese asks Paul what she ought to tell Nell and Hugo. 'He's the only parent they've got left!'
- Terese sadly tells Paul, 'I can't lose him!'
- Heath walks determinedly towards a small house in the outback
