Neo stifled a yawn as he pulled the station door open and stepped into a sea of chaos. Several officers were on the phone, others were scouring over the map he and Charlie had found, and Gwilt was marching towards him with heavy black bags under his eyes.

'Chief.'

'Gwilt,' Neo replied, looking around the busy room. 'What's happening?'

Gwilt motioned to Neo's office, and they headed over. A few curious pairs of eyes followed Neo, not that he was surprised after everything that had happened with him and Charlie the day before. No doubt word of their closeness in the Sailor's Mate had become public. And that he'd been the one to take her home. Though he doubted that many knew where she'd actually stayed the night.

Gwilt shut the office door and sat in the chair across from Neo.

'The electricity board are stopping any more exploration of the tunnel.'

Neo raised his eyebrow. 'They're aware this is a missing person's case?'

'They've been informed,' Gwilt replied with a clipped tone.

'So what's their excuse?'

Gwilt shook his head. 'They're embarrassed since they have no record of the tunnel or the electricity point. They're worried about the safety of the tunnel and have requested a few days until they can justify its safety.'

Neo huffed. 'And will they consent to an officer being present when this is carried out? We need to know if there are signs the Bennett family has been there.'

But Gwilt was already shaking his head. 'I already asked. It's deemed too dangerous for non-trained personnel. Also, as this is a police matter, they will inform us of anything they find, however their sole focus is the tunnel.'

'Shit,' Neo cursed. 'How long until they can get a team down there?'

'It's the weekend, so right now, Monday. They're trying to chase some people down but haven't been successful. They'll let me know if it's any earlier.'

Neo blinked. 'You're joking? Monday? What, have people lost the ability to work weekends? This is a fucking missing person's case,' Neo fumed.

'I know, boss, but there isn't much we can do. We were just lucky that CSI could finish their job before the electricity board threw them out.'

'Aye lucky.' Neo rolled his eyes. 'Any more news about the other dotted lines?'

Gwilt sighed. 'I wish I had better news, but one has caved in completely, and the other one appears to never have been built. We've tracked down a restorer who's coming to work on the map. Once it's cleaned up, it might tell us more.'

Neo tapped on his desk, thinking whilst Gwilt sat waiting for his verdict.

'So what you're saying is we've hit a stalemate until the electricity board allows us access to the tunnel?'

'Got it one.'

Neo groaned. 'Perfect.'

His office line rang before he could curse out their luck.

'DCI Denzel.'

'I have Barry on the line.' The receptionist's voice sounded through the speaker.

'Put him through.'

Neo clicked the loudspeaker option on his phone and Barry's tired voice sounded through the room.

'Neo, I got your DNA results fast-tracked but you owe me one, man.'

'Just add it to my list.'

Barry chuckled despite how knackered he felt. 'That's getting to be a pretty long list.'

'Don't pretend you don't love it,' Neo cheeked.

'Too true.'

Gwilt cleared his throat, making Barry pause.

'Morning Thomas, and how is my favourite DS this morning?' Barry said, a smirk clear in his voice.

'£50 poorer,' Gwilt said, glaring at Neo. 'Now you've got the results for us?'

'So touchy. I'm just running it against the DNA on file for Jack Teece. Fortunate the kid had a troubled past with the law.'

There was silence as the whirling of a machine sounded in the background. Neo absentmindedly reached into his pocket to fiddle with his cigarettes before realising he never got around to buying his smokey hit. He returned to tapping his fingers against his desk.

A blaring beeping sounded and Neo felt the hairs on his arm stand to attention. His gaze met Gwilt's and the two men shared a pointed look. The next words out of Barry's mouth had the potential to change everything.

'DNA results are a 97% match for those of Jack Teece.'

Silence descended heavily in the air. They'd all known it had been a possibility, but having it said out loud made it real. It made things much more complicated.

'Could you pinpoint a time of death?'

'Not with any accuracy,' Barry murmured. 'All I can tell you is that Jack Teece was still a teenager or in his early twenties at most when he died.'

'So it wouldn't be out of the question to suggest that he died the same night as Lucy Phillips and George Turner?' Gwilt pondered.

'I would say it's very much a possibility,' Barry agreed.

'What do you have in mind?' Neo peered at his sergeant with a thoughtful expression. He could almost see the cogs in Gwilt's head rotating with an idea.

Gwilt stood and retrieved a file from one of Neo's cupboards. He flicked through it before finally finding the black and white photograph he was looking for. He handed it to an intrigued Neo.

Neo peered at the grisly photo that showed a close-up picture of Lucy Phillip's neck. He frowned as he took in the details.

'I don't remember seeing this photo?'

'That's because it's not part of the original file. I had our IT guys see if they could blow up the image for us.'

'I'm feeling very left out right now,' Barry grumbled.

Gwilt grumbled something under his breath before picking up his phone.

'There I've emailed a copy of what the IT guys did. I might need your expertise to see if my theory would work, anyway.'

'You know I always have time for a dishy DS.'

Gwilt ignored Barry's tease.

'So after what Barry said about Jack's hands, well, being hacked off. I started to wonder why anyone would do it. Which brought me back to these photographs. The only way they pinned Jack Teece to the murders was his fingerprints and, in fact, his DNA.'

'His fingernail broke off inside Lucy Phillips skin,' Neo supplied.

Barry winced. 'Ouch, that would have taken some force.'

'And that's what made me think. The original investigation deemed it was a lover's quarrel. Now a hormonal teenager whose love was not reciprocated could conceivably kill his two friends in a fit of passion. But that description no longer fits. We know that Jack and Lucy already had a relationship that resulted in at least one abortion, and that her and George's relationship was a show for the boy's parents. And now the very weapons, so to speak, have been separated from the body. It doesn't add up.'

'And your theory explains things?' Neo asked.

Gwilt damped his dry lips. 'Barry, how much force would it take for someone to squeeze another person's hands over someone's throat?'

Barry spluttered a little as he tried to answer. 'What?'

'If someone held Jack's hands over Lucy Phillips and George Turner's throats and strangled them. What would the damage be to Jack Teece's hands?' Gwilt rephrased his question.

Barry didn't reply for a while, his thought process sluggish as it tried to catch up with Gwilt's.

'Considering the bruising on their necks, the force would likely have broken his fingers.'

Neo held up his hands. 'Wait. Wait. You think that someone cut off Jack Teece's hands and framed him?'

Gwilt pulled a magnifier from his pocket and held it over the picture. 'I think Jack Teece was dead before Lucy and George were even killed. And his hands were used to conceal what really happened. You can't see it easily in the other photos, but here you can just make out a darker line underneath the bruising caused by Jack's hands on Lucy's throat.'

Neo took the magnifier from Gwilt. Rustling sounded from the phone as Barry found his own.

Neo looked at the area of skin and swore. There was a thin line around each neck where the skin was just a tinge darker than the rest.

'Barry? Are you seeing the same thing as me?'

'I think Gwilt could be right. That mark would be consistent with strangulation by a thin piece of fabric,' Barry said in shock.

'Like a scarf?' Neo's mind flashed to Lucy Phillips' bedroom, to the number of scarves knotted around her bedpost.

'Possibly.'

'Gwilt-' But Gwilt was already rummaging through the file before Neo had finished.

He shook his head. 'There was no scarf recovered from the scene and Lucy Phillips wasn't wearing one.'

'Doesn't mean she wasn't wearing one earlier in the night. No one was looking for a scarf as a weapon, they wouldn't have asked the question,' Barry said. 'From the toxicology report there were traces of opiates in George's and Lucy's systems. It was originally dismissed because of the amount of time the bodies were in the pond, but if the results were correct it could explain why there were no defensive wounds on the bodies.'

'But it means the real killer was never apprehended,' Gwilt murmured, sharing a concerned look with Neo.

Neo's office door crashed open before he could respond, and Superintendent Palmer marched in, interrupting their impromptu meeting.

From the expression on her face, Neo knew his time of reckoning had arrived.

'I told you I didn't want Charlotte Hoggins anywhere near this investigation, Denzel.'

'In fairness, Superintendent-.'

'In fairness DS, I was speaking to DCI Denzel.'

Neo waved Gwilt off. 'Barry, I'll speak to you later.' He hung up before Barry could reply. 'Superintendent-'

'I thought I was very clear about what would happen if I found out Charlotte was anywhere near this case. So why is it that I seem to be receiving reports about you running around Marton together?'

'Because this is still an investigation, and she had credible evidence-'

Palmer snorted. 'I highly doubt that-'

Neo stood abruptly. 'Or have you not heard about the body that she uncovered?' he replied angrily.

'A John Doe is hardly credible evidence,' Palmer scoffed. 'From this moment you're on leave, DCI. I want you off this case and out of this office.'

Neo gaped at her. He could see the look of confusion on his officers' faces as they listened in through the open door.

He felt his blood boil, but dutifully took his warrant card from his jacket pocket and threw it to the table.

'You're the boss, Rosy.' He grabbed his coat and brushed passed her. 'Oh, I almost forgot.' He turned, feeling a sick sense of satisfaction at what he was about to do. 'That John Doe was just IDed.'

'I haven't time for this-'

'It's Jack Teece.'

The bluster faded from Palmer's face as she blanched.

'I think you'll find DS Gwilt has some interesting theories on the Felton murders, which will come in handy when you reopen the case.'

Palmer's face snapped to his as she looked between him and Gwilt.

'Reopen the case?' she repeated.

'You've got no choice in this, Rosy. New evidence has come to light. You had Jack Teece pegged wrong.'

Palmer's reaction was more controlled than Neo was expecting. In fact, she almost seemed pleased.

'If that's the case, we'll certainly have to reopen the case. And if you're right about Jack, then we'll have to focus on the other suspects highlighted at the time.'

Neo's blood cooled instantly as he realised what it meant. Gwilt's eyes widened as they clashed with his.

'DS Gwilt, please arrange for Miss Charlotte Hoggins to be taken into questioning regarding the murders of Lucy Phillips and George Turner.'