And the story continues…..

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The Wolves of Beddhafn – chapter 9

The Doctor set Sarah Jane down on one of the sickbay beds, steadying her with a hand on her hip as she swayed, and set about pulling bottles and packets out of various drawers, humming to himself as he worked. He filled a glass with water and added a pinch of powder from one of the packets he had produced, giving it a swirl with his wrist before handing it to Sarah with a flourish.

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously, giving the liquid a cautious sniff.

"Just a mild restorative," the Doctor assured her, "something to help clear the sedative out of your system."

While Sarah drank the strange tasting cordial he had given her, the Doctor produced the paperwork he had taken from the classroom and started to flick through it, scattering the pages across the bed next to her. He tapped the top of the most recent one that had Julie's class details on it.

"See here? Group leader, Rebecca Evans." He thumbed through a few more pages and pulled out another sheet. "And here? Group Leader, Rebecca Evans, and who do we see on the class list? Stephen Grey."

"It could just be a coincidence, Doctor," Sarah said doubtfully, "after all, there are only five groups each week; it was a fairly big chance that they would have had the same leader."

"Hmm," the Doctor agreed. "Let's take a look at the paperwork for the other pupils. It means going back into the house though; we shall have to be mindful."

Sarah shook her head; she was feeling better by the minute.

"No, it doesn't" she said, reaching into her coat and pulling out the folded papers.

"Oh, you're a good girl, Sarah" said the Doctor indulgently, giving her a wide grin.

Together they leafed through the papers.

"There, look," Sarah said, feeling the first twinges of excitement at the story starting to come together. "Susan Underwood's group leader was Rebecca Evans as well."

The Doctor shook his head as he held up Michael Jenkins' paperwork. "Group leader, Bronwen Jones."

"Oh," Sarah sagged, disappointed. She idly ran her eye through the wad of papers in her hand, her mind running nineteen to the dozen as she mentally stepped back to square one.

"Wait," she said as something odd leapt out at her.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in question; human brains could be so irritatingly slow, but Sarah was intelligent and he could spare a few seconds to allow her to collect her thoughts. They were normally worth the wait.

"Look," she said, holding out one of the signing in and out sheets. "Susan Underwood's class were out in the field the day before she disappeared. They all signed out at around quarter to nine in the morning, but Susan didn't sign out until after two o'clock."

The Doctor's interest was piqued. He swiftly flicked through the papers he was holding.

"Same here," he said, "the day before his disappearance Michael Jenkins signs out at one forty five in the afternoon; the rest of his class were out from nine."

The two of them both reached for the paperwork for Stephen Grey's week and the Doctor got there first. Sarah twisted round from her perch on the bed to look over his shoulder.

"Aha!" he said in triumph as he found what he was looking for; "According to his timetable he was supposed to be at the beach until after lunch on Saturday; but Stephen signed out several hours later than his classmates."

Sarah looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"And Julie was in the same position; her injury meant she couldn't be out in the field, she had to rejoin her classmates when they were back in the labs."

"Four pupils; all disappearing from their bed at night, all for some reason or another out of action the day before." The Doctor ruminated.

"Deliberate injuries?" ventured Sarah.

The Doctor shook his head. "No; I would guess the injuries - if they were all injured that is, lets not jump to conclusions - were normal occurrences, but they provided the opportunity for those pupils to be left alone in the house and more strongly exposed to the sedative in the air. Whoever abducted them would know they'd be the least likely to wake. They saw their chance and took it."

The Doctor and Sarah contemplated each other for a moment. For the tiniest fraction of a second Sarah saw his gaze uncharacteristically soften. He lifted a hand to her cheek and tilted her head to look at her properly, running his thumb across her chin.

"How are you feeling? Better?"

"Mmm, much," she nodded.

"Good," said the Doctor, stacking the papers and shoving them somewhere into the recesses of his coat, "because we've work to do."

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On the front drive, the Policeman they'd seen earlier talking to Neil Dixon was still at his post. He held a clipboard and nodded to acknowledge them as they approached.

"I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to properly introduce ourselves. I'm Doctor Smith; this is my friend Miss Smith. No relation." he quantified as he had done for Professor Carter.

"Sergeant Wilkes" the policeman answered, his clipped tones and military stance reminding Sarah irresistibly of the Brigadier.

The Doctor glanced at the clipboard in the sergeant's hand.

"We're wondering about one of the centre staff, Rebecca Evans;" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Is she still here?"

At Sergeant Wilkes's suspicious look, Sarah chipped in.

"We thought we'd see how she is, since she taught the missing girl, albeit only briefly. It's part of our role as school inspectors, you know." She gave him what she hoped was a winning smile.

The sergeant grunted and began to scan through his clipboard.

"Rebecca Evans is out with the village search party," he confirmed. "She and the one of the local men are covering the area at the far end of the village around the church."

The Doctor inclined his head and offered Sarah his elbow.

"Shall we?"

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As they passed through the village, Sarah couldn't help but notice how quiet it was again. The pub was closed since it was still only just after ten in the morning, the shop seemed deserted and there was not a soul about. They walked through the green, and as they approached the church Sarah could make out two people sitting on the churchyard wall, their backs to herself and the Doctor, sharing a thermos.

"Hello there," called the Doctor, and both heads turned at his greeting.

"Rebecca Evans?" he asked of the woman. She was around Sarah's age; a little taller and more heavily built, wearing jeans under a baggy jumper and her long sandy coloured hair secured in a single plait. She had the ruddy complexion of one who spent a great deal of time outdoors.

"Yes," she answered cautiously. "You're the school inspector, aren't you?"

"In a manner of speaking." the Doctor answered.

"Owain Jones," said the man next to her, immediately recognisable as the landlord who'd served them the day before. He hopped down from the wall and leaned across it to shake the Doctor's hand, giving Sarah what she presumed was meant to be a dashing smile, but which unfortunately came off as more of a leer. Sarah shuddered.

"Rebecca," she said, turning her attention back to the woman who looked rather disinclined to speak. She was still sitting on the wall, her head only turned just enough to acknowledge she was being addressed.

"You were teaching Julie this week, weren't you?" Sarah probed, trying to speak gently. Rebecca nodded, looking down at the thermos lid half full of tea in her hands.

"How did she hurt herself?" Sarah asked.

Rebecca shrugged. "She slipped and fell on the rocks at the beach. It's easy enough to do, especially when the tide's not long gone out. The seaweed makes it slippery."

"And what about Stephen Grey?" the Doctor asked. "Did he hurt himself, too?"

Rebecca stiffened at his words and Owain sent her a sideways glance.

"He was in your group as well, wasn't he?" the Doctor continued, resting his elbows on the wall and leaning over it so it was harder for her to avoid his gaze.

"He almost broke his arm mucking about on the sand dunes." Rebecca told him, her voice quiet. "Stupid boy wouldn't listen and he ended up falling down the slope onto the beach."

"So he had to stay at the house the next day? The day before he disappeared?" the Doctor prompted her.

"Yes," Rebecca nodded. "The next day we were going to the most inaccessible of our beaches, even rockier than the one Julie injured herself on. It wouldn't have been safe for him to try and balance with an arm out of action."

"And Susan Underwood?" asked Sarah with a withering look at Owain who was quite obviously giving her the eye.

"Susan Underwood?" for the first time Rebecca turned her head to fully face them. "Who?"

"Susan Underwood is the pupil who went missing four years ago from Beddhafn." The Doctor explained, with the air of someone who knows he is not imparting anything new. "She was in your group as well. I would have thought you'd remember something like that."

"No. Sorry, I don't" said Rebecca bluntly.

"Come on," said Owain, "we've got to cover the rest of this patch before I have to go and open up." He nodded to the Doctor and Sarah and took the cup from Rebecca's hands, emptying the dregs before screwing it back on to the thermos. Rebecca jumped down and followed him as he picked his way across the churchyard, her arms wrapped around herself and her head down.

"She knows something, Doctor," said Sarah.

"I would agree, Sarah. I would agree."

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Thanks for coming this far with me! Next chapter up soon.