'The first thing I'm going to do is have a shower. Those bedrolls just make my skin crawl.' Charlie shuddered whilst Trap laughed at her.

'Just be grateful that that Palmer woman sleeps or else you'd still be in the cell. She was relentless when it came to keeping you there,' Trap grumbled. 'Had to pull in some of your favours to spring you.'

Charlie cursed. 'Who'd you call? And what do I owe them now?'

'I'm sure they'll have all left their messages by now,' Trap teased whilst Charlie groaned.

'You're making me miss my cosy prison cell,' she huffed.

'With all those scratchy blankets and funky toilets? Somehow I think not,' mocked Trap.

Charlie declined to comment as they pulled into Neo's driveway, knowing that Trap was a hundred percent right. She didn't care how many favours she owed; she was just grateful to be out.

'I promised the DCI that I'd bring you back here. Besides, I was the one that was up all night bargaining for your release, so I deserve some shut eye,' said Trap.

Charlie patted his shoulder before they headed to the door and Trap withdrew the key Neo had already given him.

The sound of quick feet greeted Charlie as she stepped through the door and Dante's and Willow's heads poked over the banister.

'Charlie!' they chorused before running down the stairs to greet her properly.

'Hey you two. Missed me much?' she teased when she could finally extract herself from their arms.

'Trap wasn't sure he could get you out before the 24 hours were up?' Willow frowned, looking at Trap.

'We got lucky. Now someone point me toward a bed.' Trap yawned as he sauntered passed and followed Dante upstairs.

'Where is your dad?' Charlie couldn't hide the note of disappointment in her voice at Neo not being there.

Willow shrugged. 'He left over an hour ago but he didn't say where.'

Charlie nudged Willow towards the stairs. 'Go head back to bed, you all look dead on your feet.'

'Considering you spent the night in a detention cell, you seem far too refreshed.' Willow narrowed her eyes whilst Charlie chuckled at her.

'There's not much else you can do in a cell other than sleep,' she reminded her. 'I'll give Neo a call and let him know I'm out.'

'Your phone and laptop are in the kitchen. Some's been calling repeatedly since last night but every time dad answers they hang up,' Willow replied, already dragging her tired body back upstairs.

Charlie's face dropped into a frown as she headed towards the kitchen. She dialed Neo's number whilst also flicking through her missed messages. Most were from contacts Trap had been in touch with, one from her parents, and multiple calls from the same unknown number.

Neo's phone went straight to answer machine for the third time so she gave up and just left a message. He'd get back to her when he could.

She focused on dialling the unknown number, hearing it ring five times before someone answered.

Silence passed down the line whilst Charlie waited for the caller to answer.

'Lovely weather we're having.' A robotic sounding voice echoed through the line.

Charlie's face pulled up in a smile. 'But the cold's a bitch in Mongolia.'

'Thank fuck it's you, Charlie. Every time I called, this odd guy kept answering your phone.' A deep human voice replaced the robotic voice.

'That's what happens when you get arrested,' Charlie replied drily.

'What?!'

'It's a long story Alex, but I'm guessing that's not why you called me?'

'True, but when this is all over, you owe me an explanation,' Alex demanded. 'So I did some digging into Harry Bennett. The gang he works for haven't heard anything from him in over a week.'

'Nothing?' Charlie double checked.

'Nada. In fact, they're desperate to get him back so much that they were very helpful with information,' Alex confirmed.

'You found something?'

'Oh, I found something. Did you know Harry Bennett met his wife through the gang?'

Charlie blinked at her phone. 'You mean Jane was a part of the gang?'

'No, she was one of their customers. Got pretty addicted too until Harry bailed her out.'

'So Harry helped Jane get clean?'

'Not exactly.'

Charlie huffed. 'Can you get to the point then, Alex. It's been a really long night and I have a missing family that still needs to be found, as well as, you know, not ending back up in jail.'

'Touche,' teased Alex before they became serious. 'Harry Bennett believed his wife was clean, but she was still using, just not at levels that would have got her noticed. She wasn't getting her drugs directly from the gang anymore, but I think she was using her job as a nurse to maintain her access.'

'Do you have anything to support that?' queried Charlie.

'Jane Bennett works in multiple hospitals as a bank nurse. All the hospitals have reported incorrect stocks of Clozapine. It's an anti-hallucinogenic drug. It's flagged every time, but it's Jane herself who's flagging it. She pockets the drugs and then reports that they never arrived in the first place. No one really cares because it's the NHS and they already bled money. What's a couple of missing boxes on an order? They just order more the next time.'

Charlie's head spun. 'But they never linked it to Jane?' she asked, as she googled Clozapine, her stomach sinking when her fears were confirmed.

'Nope, but doesn't it seem strange that she was addicted to an Anti-hallucinogen? I mean, it's no morphine or Valium,' wondered Alex.

Charlie bit her lip. 'Unless she has schizophrenia, like her mother.'

'Fuck.'

'You can say that again. And you said she's been off the medication for a few months?'

'Fuck,' Alex repeated. 'She hasn't filed a missing drugs form in over eight months and I can't see her getting the medication from another source. She knew her husband would have found out.'

'If she has schizophrenia, and she's no longer taking medication...'

'She's in danger. She won't be able to rationalise her decisions. Conceivably, she could hurt herself.'

'Or kidnap her own family?' Charlie finished Alex's thoughts. 'I was looking at the wrong person,' she cursed.

'There was no way you could have known. Even off her medication, Jane Bennett was good at hiding her problems. No one at the hospital ever suspected her.' Alex tried to console Charlie.

'I have to go after her before she does something she can't take back.'

'Don't rush in and do anything Charlie-'

'Thanks Alex for what you've done, but I need to see this through to the end.' Charlie hung up, grabbing her keys.

'You're going after your friend by yourself?'

Charlie twirled around to see Dante and Willow stood in the doorframe.

'I have to,' she replied to Willow. 'Jane isn't well. This isn't her fault and I can't let her do something that will kill her when she's back in her right mind.'

'So call for backup or wait for dad to come back,' argued Dante.

'I can't wait. Jane's kids are only young. I can't imagine what they've already gone through; I can't prolong their suffering,' Charlie said, clenching her hands at the image of what those kids could have already seen.

'Then take Trap with you?' Dante urged.

But Charlie was already shaking her head. 'I've asked enough of Trap. He can't get involved in this. Jane will listen to me. I have to go.'

'Then we're going with you,' Willow said, looking at Dante, who bobbed his head in agreement.

'No. Absolutely not. I don't know what Jane's going through, gone through. It might not be safe.' Charlie shut them down.

'You still have to get passed the officers on guard at the tunnel,' Willow pointed out. 'We could help with that and then we'll wait for dad.'

Charlie gritted her teeth, not liking how much Willow's idea made sense.

'You need us.' Dante shrugged, a small smile forming on his face.

After a short deliberation with herself, Charlie grudgingly accepted their offer.

'But you do exactly what I say, deal?'

'Deal,' they agreed.

'Well, in that case, we're going to need some purple makeup.'

                                                                                ***

Charlie watched the guarding police officer from her hiding position. Just as she thought, there was only one. A police force as small as Marton wouldn't be able to spare that many officers, not when there were two big active cases ongoing.

She held her breath when Dante came into view, looking dishevelled and sweaty.

'Help! Help. My sister fell, and she busted up her ankle.'

'Dante?' The officer stepped forward and put his hands on Dante's shoulders. 'Calm down. What do you mean Willow fell? What are you even doing out here?'

Dante pretended to catch his breath. 'Dad said you had to stay here and guard, so we were bringing you some coffee and a scone. But Willow tripped over a tree root and I can't move her. She thinks she's twisted her ankle.'

'Okay, okay. Let's go see what we can do.'

Charlie wanted to applaud as she watched Dante lead the unsuspecting officer away.

She stepped out from her position and headed towards the tent. She shuddered as she stepped inside. The image of Jack's remains streaked across her mind and she had to close her eyes until the image disappeared.

Taking a shaky breath, she descended the steps, flicking on her high-powered torch.

The smell was just as bad as it had been the first time. Damp and decay. But she pushed passed it.

She didn't even look at the place where Jack had been found, instead she focused on the rest of the tunnel that she and Neo hadn't had time to investigate.

The sound of scampering feet echoed down the corridor making the hairs on her neck stand to attention. She couldn't see the rats, but somewhere in the dark, they watched her.

The tunnel grew colder and damper the further away from the entrance she went. Compact dirt made up the floor but the rats' movements made it impossible to see if there were any tracks. Their small footprints were everywhere and Charlie gave up looking.

She stopped as the tunnel forked in two different directions. The first tunnel continued towards Felton Manor and the second one branched off towards the Marshes.

'So much for not being built,' Charlie grumbled, realising that this was one tunnel marked on the map that the police hadn't been able to find.

She flashed her torch around, trying to decide which way she needed to go when her torch fell on a crumpled, shiny wrapper. Peering closely, she watched as a giant spider scuttled out, when she nudged it with her foot.

It was the same brand of protein bars she liked to pick up at the Sailor Mate.

'I guess that explains who's been stealing from Rob and Babs,' she said to herself.

Trusting her gut, she crept along the tunnel. After a few metres, her torch flashed against a steel door. The paint was chipped and faded, but it still looked sturdy.

Given the location, Charlie wondered if it was an old store room for Felton Manor. Maybe it wasn't just concubines that Sebastian Felton smuggled out of the Sailor's Mate, she wondered.

She cringed as the door's hinges protested as she pushed it aside. It wasn't as heavy as she'd imagined.

She blinked as light hit her eyes. After spending so much time in the dark tunnel, it was jarring to see the camping lights. Black spots danced in her vision, keeping her off balance.

She could hear hushed whispers somewhere to her right and squinted, trying to make out shapes. Shelves and barrels packed the room, with only a small section of flooring left cleared as the tunnel continued on the other side of the room towards the marshes, Charlie guessed.

A pair of fearful eyes peeked out behind a row of shelving before the little girl scurried back under the bottom shelf.

'Hey it's okay. I'm here to help you,' Charlie tried to soothe her, but the girl only pressed herself further under the shelving. 'My name is Charlie. What's yours?'

'E-emma,' the little girl whispered. 'A-and he's Danny.' She pointed to the bundle hiding behind her.

Charlie swallowed and through sheer will kept the calm smile on her face when she felt anything but cheery. The little boy's cheeks were flushed, and a sheen of sweat covered his face. There was a rattling quality to his breathing that unnerved her. It was easy to see Danny was sick.

'Emma, I'm here to help you and Danny, but I need to know where your mummy is. Can you help me?'

But the little girl was already shaking her head. 'Mummy's sick. She shouts, she's not mummy anymore. Mummy would never hurt us, but she does. She scares me. I want my mummy back.' The little girl sucked on her dirty thumb as she rocked back and for.

'Shhhh. Shhh,' Charlie said, crouching down. 'Your mummy is sick, but I can help make her better again, but I need you to help me Emma, can you do that?'

Emma's big brown eyes stared back at her. The little girl opened her mouth to say something, but then all the colour drained from her face.

Charlie didn't have time to react before pain radiated out from the back of her head and she collapsed against the shelving. Emma's scream was the last thing she heard before everything went black.