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Guest Character Profiles > Jacka Hills Brad McMurray

Jackson [Jacka] Derek Hills 2016

After realising that she'd been backed into a corner and might never be allowed access to her son Charlie again, a devastated Steph Scully headed off on her motorbike to clear her head. After stopping in at the garage, she picked up Mark Brennan, who too had been having a few problems and decided that a bike ride might be a good idea. The pair then met up with Steph's old friend Jacka, and they all went back to a room at Robinsons Motel, where Steph caught up with Jacka and some of her other old bikie friends. Things were a little subdued, as Mark explained that he was a police officer on leave, but when Steph's business partner Paul Robinson, who owned the motel with her, realised what she was up to, he made it clear that they'd all have to go. After seeing the way Paul had spoken to Steph, Jacka and the other guys later returned and found Paul cleaning up the room - and got their revenge by stealing his false leg and leaving him helpless on the bed.

The following month, Steph had hoped to save money at the motel by arranging for Jacka to get her some alcohol for the minibars. When the delivery arrived, Mark quickly spotted that it matched some products that had been reported stolen, but Steph asked him not to do anything about it until she'd had a chance to try and sort it out, as she didn't want Paul to question her business abilities. Steph quickly got in touch with Jacka, who warned her not to mention his involvement, particularly to Mark. Unfortunately, believing that, given his dodgy contacts, Paul must be involved, Mark had already reported the stolen goods. When Paul found out what had happened, he was furious, and told Steph that they couldn't risk the motel being the target of a revenge attack, so she'd have to lie to Mark in her police statement, and keep Jacka's name out of it, or she'd risk losing her livelihood and any chance of ever getting custody of Charlie. However, Steph decided that she had to be honest and she told Mark everything, with Jacka being charged and getting his own back by spray-painting 'DOG' across the front window of the motel. The following week, when the Lassiter's boiler exploded causing death and destruction, Jacka was seen quickly leaving the grounds of the hotel, carrying a cash box.

With Paul then firmly in the frame for the disaster - which had left Josh and Doug Willis dead, and Tom Quill missing - as he had a motive, and blueprints of the boiler room had been found in his briefcase, he and Steph tried to work out who could be framing him, with the vengeful Tom their prime suspect. With Paul being watched closely by the police, and no money to pay a private detective, he and Steph wondered about approaching Jacka to do a little digging for them. However, when Steph reluctantly approached Jacka, he refused to have any part in it, convinced that she was acting on behalf of Mark and trying to set him up. The mystery surrounding Jacka deepened further a couple of weeks later, when she was seen making a call to a mystery accomplice, saying that he had planted the blueprints of the boiler room in Paul's briefcase, and that nobody suspected him. A couple of days later, Jacka said a brief hello to Ned Willis - another newcomer to the area, who'd arrived on the day of the explosion - as they passed each other outside Harold's Cafe, with Ned telling his half-sister Piper that he knew Jacka through some mutual acquaintances.

When Jacka caught up with Ned again the following week, he learnt that Ned was leaving town, as his father Brad had called the police, believing that Ned had been the one who'd caused the Lassiter's explosion. Jacka was surprised, stating that he'd heard that Paul Robinson had been arrested for it, but Ned simply said that he didn't do it, and that he couldn't be around his dad at the moment. Jacka told Ned that he was sorry to hear that, but offered to aim for a longer catch-up next time he was in town. A few days later, Jacka turned up at the motel office, which he found empty - and he then spotted a whiteboard that Paul had been using to try keep track of information about the explosion and try to work out who was framing him. When Jacka spotted his own name on the board, he lost his temper and immediately started wiping off the writing.

A couple of weeks later, fearing he'd never prove his innocence, Paul decided to do a runner, hiding out in nearby bushland and contacting Jacka for help, unaware that he was dealing with the enemy. Jacka went to Paul's aid, and Paul asked him for a fake passport, so that he could get out of the country. When Jacka quickly put the price up, Paul was forced to agree, and he contacted Steph to get him the money. Meanwhile, Jacka returned to Erinsborough, where he made a call to his mystery accomplice, explaining that Paul had turned to him for help, and that he was going to provide him with a passport that would guarantee that he'd be stopped at the airport before even making it out of the country. However, the police caught up with Paul before he could get too far, and the following week, he went to court, where he was found guilty of manslaughter, and Jacka was quick to gloat on the phone about how Mr Robinson had received a sentence of 18 years and wouldn't be bothering anyone for a long time.

Only two weeks later, the truth about the explosion finally came out, as the mysterious John Doe got his memories back, realising that he was actually a Catholic priest named Jack Callahan, and finally knew why he'd been at Lassiter's when the boiler blew up. Hotel owner Julie Quill had actually been behind it all, paying Jacka to do the work for her, hoping that it would cause enough damage to claim the insurance, but not to injure anyone. Julie then confessed what she was planning to a priest - Jack Callahan - in Elliot Park, and when the disaster proved to be bigger than either of them had intended, Julie and Jacka had framed Paul for the crime. But with Jack's evidence, along with that of receptionist Wendy, who'd been bribed to lie - Julie and Jacka were unable to worm their way out of the situation, and were both charged and taken away.

Tenure
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