Irene brushes off John’s concern as she cuts herself on the broken whisky bottle.

She orders her worried friend to see himself out. However, John can’t be deterred

and stays to cook her dinner, even staying the night. The next morning,

Irene tries to reassure him that this was a momentary blip and it won’t happen again. He sticks by her side regardless, and he’s with her when the Coastal News article comes out. Irene admits that she wants another drink, so John offers to take her to an AA meeting.

After some persuasion she agrees, on the condition that no one else finds out. John promises that he won’t tell a soul.

Meanwhile, Mali sees Rory emerge from the surf with his new board, he wants to arrange payment. Rory swiftly deals him a blow, claiming that “mates rates” means free. When Kirby twigs that the River Boy hasn’t paid, Mali snaps at her to let it go. Later, he faces pressure from Dingo for a free board for himself, but he stands firm – that debt is paid.

Cash pores over the wildlife park’s footage from the night of Franklin’s murder, zeroing in on the ‘Blood & Sand’ tattoo visible on the driver’s forearm. When Devlin realises they have Dingo’s tatts on file from his last arrest, the comparison is good enough for Cash and he orders for Dingo to be brought in for questioning.

A panicked Dingo runs straight to Rory, questioning whether the cop’s sister knows something. Rory quickly suggests they head back to hers’, where he and Cash face off over the case. The next day, Rory reports to Dingo that the cops aren’t giving up – they need to go to them.

When the two River Boys front up at the station later, Cash takes Dingo in alone for questioning and comments on his tattoos. Dingo gives little away in his interview. Afterwards, Rory assures him the cops have nothing on them really – without evidence of the body in the back seat, there’s not much to go off.

A sheepish Dingo is forced to admit he did hold onto a souvenir – Franklin’s police badge. Rory instructs him to get rid of it immediately. Soon Dingo is at Mali’s place, with a locked bag for him to hold onto. Mali tries to protest, but Dingo insists that he owes the River Boys a favour.