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Magic Moments
> 2016
> Lassiters Explosion Reveal
Episode 7394
Written
by Libby Butler, Directed
by Declan Eames, Produced
by Natalie Lynch
Channel Eleven: 23/06/16, Channel 5: 23/06/16
Gary informs Paul that he has been granted parole, leaving Paul at the mercy of his fellow prisoners... Sheila is surprised as Gary tells her he will be
parenting Xanthe from now on... John and Julie share a knowing glance at the complex... Jacka is on the phone to someone, informing them of Paul's jail
sentence... Mark tells a relieved Jack that his story checks out... Julie is arrested by the police for her part in the hotel explosion... John walks into
the police station waiting area dressed as a priest...
Interviews are commencing at the police station as Mark begins to question Jacka Hills and Julie Quill for the parts they played in the hotel explosion.
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Meanwhile John has left the station and is in Harold's with Paige, as she waits for an explanation. John informs Paige that his real name is Jack Callahan,
Father Jack Callahan.
At the station, Julie begins her story; she tells Mark that after purchasing the Lassiters Hotel from Paul she wanted to rub his face in it, so she formulated
the plan to build a second tower at the complex. She tells Mark that she spent a fortune on environmental plans and feasibility studies to help push ahead
with the development, but due to Tom's bribery charges the council knocked back her plans. Mark wrongly assumes that the Citizen of the Year awards were a
way for Julie to relaunch her bid to rebuild the hotel, but she tells him that this was just a front for her main objective. Having been left with little
cash flow to keep the business afloat, Julie noticed that the boiler had started malfunctioning and began looking into her insurance policy. To cleanse her
conscience about the actions she was about to take Julie informs Mark that she went to her local church, however her usual priest was on holiday. She found
a new priest there; somebody she hadn't seen before but who was prepared to listen to her confession.
 ..
Jack also wants to get things off his chest and tells Paige about his upbringing in Queensland, how he went to a Catholic school and after graduating
decided to become a priest. He talks about his life as a priest, how he would go on missions working with troubled kids in shelters, which is how he met
Dustin. Paige recalls a flashback that Jack had about a fire, and he confesses that a shelter he used to work at burnt down, trapping a girl called Clara
who had hair just like Paige's. After Clara's death Jack tells Paige that he began questioning his faith, asking himself how he could trust in a God that
had allowed someone he was close too to die. He decided to take administrative leave and travel around Australia but ended up in Erinsborough after staying
with a priest at Elliot Park. Paige is confused, asking Jack why this priest didn't raise the alarm that he had gone missing, but Jack confirms that the
priest was on holiday and doesn't even return until next week. She then asks where Julie Quill fits in.
At the station a remorseful Julie confesses to Mark that she went to see Jack at the church to ask for forgiveness for what she was about to do,
reiterating that she had no intention to cause harm to anyone, her sole focus being to blow up the boiler to trigger the insurance payout.
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Back at Harold's, Paige asks Jack how he could have helped Julie when he was taking a break from the church, but Jack confirms that he did nothing more
than counsel her. After speaking to her and knowing that there was imminent danger to life, Jack tells Paige that he chased after Julie, pleading with her
that there must be another option and losing his wallet in his haste. He recognised that the car Julie was driving was linked to Braun and Bell but after
following her to Lassiters, he lost her.
At the police station, Julie tells Mark that after leaving the church she went to Braun and Bell to pick up the boiler room blueprints, and later met
Jacka at the back of the hotel to hand them over to him.
 ..
In the other interview, Jacka confirms that Julie paid him $10,000 to tamper with the boiler and knew that this was an offer too good to refuse.
Jack tells Paige that he ran into Wendy Iris after losing Julie at the hotel, and she confirmed to Jack that Julie was in the boiler room. Paige doesn't
understand why Jack didn't go to the police straight away rather than trying to stop Julie single handedly, and he tells her that he didn't think that
Julie would be able to cause such a devastating explosion.
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A devastated Julie confirms to Mark that she didn't think the explosion would be so severe, telling him that Jacka had gone too far and made a mistake
after tampering with the boiler. Mark doesn't believe Julie's story, asking her if she really thinks that intentionally damaging the boiler could end with
anything else but a loss of life. She desperately tries to defend herself, telling Mark that she was on the mezzanine herself and would have been risking
her own life if the explosion was too powerful.
In the other interview, Jacka is unrepentant, telling Mark that Julie refused to pay him the $10,000, so instead he raided her office to find the cashbox.
After discovering it empty, he tells Mark that someone must have got there before him and stolen the money.
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Julie confirms that Tom must have taken the money, but it was irrelevant as she wasn't going to pay Jacka the $10,000 after his miscalculation with the
boiler led to a bigger explosion than was required. Mark doesn't understand how Julie persuaded Jacka to keep quiet after not paying him, but she confesses
that she told Jacka that they were both in serious trouble and the only way out of their situation was to palm the blame on to someone else, in this case
Paul. Julie tells Mark that after all the things that Paul had done in the past this was in some way karma, and it didn't take much for her to quietly shift
the blame for the explosion onto him as he was already the prime suspect. She then brings the focus on to Jack Callahan, telling Mark that he was the fly in
the ointment - he was the only person who could link Jacka to her but due to his memory loss he didn't know where he had been or what he had witnessed. She
therefore used Wendy Iris to plant the seed in Jack's head that he was somewhere else when the crime took place and would therefore not be able to implicate
her or Jacka in the crime. Mark is astonished at the depths of Julie's lies, telling her that her actions have caused the deaths of two people, one of whom
was her colleague Terese's son. Despite her confessions Julie insists that she didn't mean to hurt anyone, as Jacka also pleads for mercy. Mark takes Julie's
remorse on board but charges both her and Jacka with two counts of manslaughter for an unlawful and dangerous act. They both looked resigned to their fate as
Mark reads them their rights.
Back at Harold's, Jack tells Paige that he never meant to hurt her. They both look solemn as Paige asks Jack to confirm that this is all he has to tell her.
His silence confirms that it is.
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At no. 22, Piper and Terese are eating dinner, both lost in thought after the events at the Lassiters Hotel earlier in the day. Terese tells Piper that she
doesn't have much of an appetite and is still thinking about the plaque ceremony - she had hoped that the event would bring her some closure over the deaths
of Josh and Doug, but Julie's arrest put paid to that. Piper asks her mum if she believes that Paul may be innocent, but Terese replies that she is sure he
had something to do with it as the case against him was so strong. Just then there is a knock at the door, it's Mark. He apologises for interrupting but
confirms that there has been an update on today's arrest, breaking the news that Julie and her accomplice Jacka are responsible for the Lassiters explosion,
having both confessed to the crime. He also confirms that Julie framed Paul to take the fall and therefore he is innocent of any involvement. Terese is
startled at the sudden turn of events as Piper goes to comfort her.
The next morning Paige is searching for Jack, eventually finding him sitting on a bench outside Lassiters looking contemplative. He tells her that he used
to sleep under the stars when he was a kid and Paige mentions that he is still wearing his priest clothes from last night. Jack tells Paige that even though
his memories have returned he is still struggling to get used to wearing his collar. Paige suggests to Jack that maybe being a priest isn't who he is anymore,
and Jack agrees that this may be the case but he's not sure as his head is still spinning. She tells Jack that it must be weird having this whole other life.
As Sheila walks past looking confused, Jack tells Paige that it is probably going to be weirder for everybody else to get used to.
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At the Waterhole, Sheila is dying to tell someone her news, and after spotting Aaron she goes over and tells him about her surprise sighting of Jack wearing a
priest's outfit. Aaron is one step ahead of Sheila and tells her that Jack is indeed a priest, which leaves Sheila feeling excited at the idea of a
representative of the Lord living under her roof! Both Aaron and Sheila are astonished that not only has Jack had to regain his memory, but he's now
realised that he is the key witness in a major crime. Sheila is upset that Xanthe didn't mention the $10,000 she took from Tom's hotel room earlier, as
this would have helped the police crack the case sooner. As she contemplates this Gary walks into the Waterhole and introduces himself to Aaron; before
they can engage in small talk Gary asks Aaron to set up a meeting between himself and Tom regarding the money missing from his hotel room.
Lauren is doing some paperwork at no. 32 as Brad arrives - she tells Brad that Toadie called and Paul is being released from prison within the hour. They
are both unhappy about what has happened with Paul, but Brad is even more upset about the rift between himself and Lauren, telling her that he was very upset
about what happened with Ned, and this frustration and anger was exacerbated by the deaths of Josh and Doug. Lauren tells Brad that he will get through this,
and they reassure each other that from now on they will be a partnership. As they kiss, Brad receives a text from Mark.
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Back at the Waterhole, Aaron is talking to Tom. Tom is still incredulous that his step-mum Julie was responsible for the explosion and informs Aaron that
Archie has gone to stay with Shay in Singapore. Tom isn't sure what he wants to do next, but Aaron assures him that Gary is keen to sort out the $10,000 that
Xanthe took from the hotel room, so at least he'll have some money. At that moment Gary arrives and puts paid to Tom's hopes of getting the money back,
telling him that he wonÕt be paying him anything as he is of the belief that the $10,000 is illegitimate funds. Tom tells him that he'll go to the police,
but Gary contends that after what has happened with Julie, the police will not be willing to help him, and he should be satisfied with the $3,000 that he's
already got. As Gary departs, he warns an uncomfortable Tom to stay away from his daughter.
The Willises have arrived at the police station to confront Julie after her admission of guilt for the hotel explosion. Julie thanks them for coming to see
her and apologies profusely for her actions in the deaths of Josh and Doug. She tries to defend herself by talking about how upset she was when Tom went
missing, but Piper suddenly leaps up and slaps Julie, angrily telling her that she should be ashamed of herself for trying to illicit sympathy after what
she did. Devastated and full of vitriol, Piper tells Julie that because of her not only has she lost two people she loved more than anything, but her niece
Matilda will now be growing up without a father. She is also angry that Julie did all of this just to trigger an insurance payout, and that she tried to
frame somebody else to cover her tracks. Julie vainly tries to plead for mercy but Terese tells her coldly that such meaningless apologies will do nothing
to bring back her son Josh. Mark escorts Julie out of the station as Terese, Brad and Paige circle around Piper, who is still emotional after her outburst.
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Outside the Waterhole, Jack has removed his collar and is walking outside - he receives a text from Paige asking him to meet her at the lake in an hour.
As he walks through the complex he sees Julie being taken away by Mark, as two other police officers escort Jacka away. Steph looks over from the law office
and makes eye contact with Jacka, but he is swiftly put into the back of a police car. Mark also notices Steph watching and gravely looks over at her.
Having arrived home at no. 22, Piper apologises to Terese for slapping Julie, but Terese tells her that she would probably have hit her if she had the chance.
Terese feels guilty about Paul's wrongful conviction and tells Piper that he'll never forgive her. She wishes that she had sought answers rather than trying
to blame him for the crime, but Piper defends her mother's actions by telling her that she was grieving. She assures Terese that Paul will forgive her
eventually and that he loves her. Terese tells Piper that there is too much water under the bridge for things to return to how they were.
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At Robinsons motel, Mark has come over to talk to Steph. He admits that he did consider her theory that Paul may be innocent but had to follow police
protocol, arguing that all the evidence pointed to the fact that Paul was guilty. Steph isn't happy with Mark's explanation and pleads with him to admit
that at a certain point he stopped investigating the crime and focused all his attention on convicting an innocent man. Before she can continue Amy walks
into the hotel, telling Steph and Mark that she is going over to the prison to pick up Paul. Steph, however, is adamant that she will be the one to pick
him up as she feels that everyone has been against her and Paul since the beginning of the investigation, and this will be a small bit of catharsis for
them both. As she leaves Steph mentions that there will be a welcome home barbecue at no.30. Amy jokily asks Mark if he will be invited to the barbecue,
but he tells her it's unlikely.
Jack is at no. 26, but, still feeling uncomfortable, he has his collar back on but then decides to take it off again, unsure of how he is going to move
forward with the priesthood.
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Later in the day, Jack is on the footbridge with Paige at Lassiters lake. He tells Paige that she has put her life on hold for him but it's now time to
return home to see his family and try and figure out who Jack Callahan really is. Paige tells Jack that she can come with him, but he admits that this is
something he must do on his own. She then tries to kiss him, but John tells her that he can't follow that path just yet, he made a promise and needs to
honour it. He walks away from Paige as she tells him that she will be waiting for his return.
 ..
Outside on Ramsay Street, Gary and Sheila are putting the bins out. Gary looks worried and Sheila asks him what's the matter. He tells her that he's
dreading Paul's return as they didn't leave things on the best of terms in prison. Gary admits that he set Paul up to get hurt by the other inmates,
telling an angry Sheila that he only did it because she warned him how dodgy he was and didn't want to get involved in his problems. They both wonder
how upset Paul will be as a car arrives on Ramsay Street, Steph having returned from the prison. As they contemplate whether he will be a changed man
now that he's been released, a battered and bruised looking Paul exits the car and gravely glances over at Gary, who returns the look with a grimace.
Paul then looks over at no. 22 and spots Terese. He shares an uneasy glance with her as he makes his way into no. 30.
Featured Regular Characters: Jack Callahan,
Paige Smith, Mark Brennan, Piper Willis, Terese Willis, Sheila Canning, Aaron Brennan, Brad Willis, Lauren Turner, Steph Scully,
Amy Williams, Paul Robinson
Guest Cast: Damien Richardson as Gary Canning,
Kane Felsinger as Tom Quill,
Gail Easdale as Julie Quill,
Brad McMurray as Jacka Hills,
Kevin Clayette as Dustin Oliver
Trivia Notes
• The opening titles are updated with this episode, to change John's name
to Jack
• Past characters Josh Willis, Doug Willis and Matilda Turner are mentioned
Summary
by Michael
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