Maggie stood up and pressed her hands to her heart. "I did, I told you everything, I swear it. May I be struck by lightning if I didn't."
The Doctor knelt next to her, on the other side of the force shield. "Kensington was a wild goose chase, and you are the one who sent me off on it. So you'd better tell me now, anything and everything you know about these people."
"I told you, they just hired me to be a front. All I know besides that is that they're professional kidnappers. Other than a description of them, that's all I can tell you." She put her head down and sighed. "Please let me out. I'm of no use to you any more."
The Doctor felt his temper rising, but he wasn't sure whether he was more angry at Maggie or himself. "I want names, dates, locations, vehicle descriptions, every single thing you can remember. Now."
"I'm trying really hard to remember, but this whole business has got me good and spooked." She ran a hand over her head nervously. "Right then, I spoke with a man called Blevins. Big burly fellow, big black mustache, like it was too big for his face. I'm don't remember what he was driving. A black Wolseley, I think. I swear I have no idea what the plates said. Three-nine something, but I don't remember if it was the start or the end. I mean, it was a month ago, I'm lucky I remember that."
The Doctor considered what she'd said. There had to be more she could remember. There just had to be. "Maggie, would you consider putting yourself into a trance to try and remember more information? Like maybe the whole number plate?"
"What, after the way that spirit was able to me over like that? Not on you're Nellie, mister."
The Doctor hadn't considered the possibility of his mother re-emerging. On that score, he wasn't sure whether he was more disappointed in her answer or relieved. But there were bigger questions at stake. "So you're never going to go into a trance again?"
"Not until I can take steps to make sure that never happens again with that spirit," Maggie shivered at the thought.
"Look, I understand how you feel, but this is really important. A little girl's life is at stake here. I just want you to try and remember that number plate."
"I'll try, but I can't promise you anything. However, you have to make me a promise."
"What's that?" he asked warily.
"When I enter the trance, if that spirit starts to enter me, you need to call my name out and keep repeating it until I come round."
The Doctor considered what she was asking. "I promise to try," he said, not at all sure he'd be able to follow through with it, should it come up.
Maggie shook her head adamantly. "You have to do better than try, or I'm not doing it. I don't want to see anyone hurt, much less a child, but I have no intention of letting an unfriendly spirit take over my body."
"All right," the Doctor growled. "I promise. Now do it."
Maggie closed her eyes and started to rub her forehead. "I'm going to make myself relax now," she said. "Don't say anything unless I start to sound or act strangely."
The Doctor took a deep breath and tried to make himself relax.
Maggie's breathing started to slow down a bit and her head rested on her chest. "I see a car, the plates say three nine sev... Theta, you must listen to me," she said as her voice took on his mother's voice.
He'd thought that the choice would be more difficult, but considering what he really needed right now, it wasn't. "Maggie," he said firmly. "Maggie, can you hear me?" Part of him wanted to scream at her. Couldn't she see that he was doing something important? "Maggie," he said again.
Her body began to grown tense, and after a minute she was able to come out of the trance. She looked over at the Doctor as her eyes slowly opened. "I'm sorry, I just can't do that again without taking steps to protect myself."
The Doctor wanted to just rip the information out of her mind. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to control himself. It wasn't Maggie's fault; even if she did go back into the trance, it seemed they wouldn't get the information he wanted. He pushed his anger back and tried to ignore it. "Was there anything else you can remember?"
"That's it, I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do for you," she said rubbing her head. "Oh, I've got such a headache now."
"Maggie," the Doctor said seriously, "If you're lying to me, you're going to be very, very sorry."
"I'm sorry already," she snorted. "Sorry I ever saw any of the bloody lot of you."
As before, it seemed to the Doctor that she was telling the truth. Which was a shame, for two reasons. First, he almost wanted her to be lying to justify the anger brewing in him, but secondly, and more important, because it meant that there wasn't much more she could do to help.
There was no point in calling Donavan. The police would already know about Belvins, and the description of the car was too vague to justify having to explain where the got the information in the first place. He sighed. Another few years and he could have just called Alastair for help. Of course, then he would be risking calling while his second self was there. As though he weren't playing with enough fire. He rubbed his eyes. It was academic, anyway. It was 1957, and UNIT hadn't been formed yet. He ran through other options. A couple of years earlier he could have called on Winston, but he was still recovering from the stroke he'd suffered the previous February. The Doctor would just have to work with what he had.
Without another word, he went back to the console room to think, pushing back thoughts of his mother to concentrate on Sarah Jane. Immediately, he saw the sensor flashing, having recorded a call from right here in South Croyden. He whipped out Martha's phone and dialed Lavinia. "What happened?" he asked as soon as she answered. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't call because the call wasn't about the kidnapping," said Lavinia, sobbing. The Doctor could tell that she was reaching the end of her rope. "It was Sarah Jane's etiquette class. They are canceling lessons for a while because several of the children in her class have come down with influenza. Now on top of everything else, I'm worried that Sarah Jane could be ill too, with nobody to even care for her. Why haven't they called, Doctor? I just want this over and to have her home and-" She stopped for a moment as he heard the doorbell ring. "Doctor, Inspector Roberts is here, hold on."
"No, don't tie up the line," the Doctor said. "I'll call you back." He hung up, trying to remember whether Sarah had ever mentioned having the Asian Flu as a child. Lavinia was right about one thing; Asian flu would be an epidemic. And it would be arriving in the UK right about ... now.
Inspector Roberts didn't look much like a police inspector in his workmen's clothes, but after that first call from the kidnappers, he'd thought it best to be somewhat circumspect. Immediately when Miss Smith came to the door, however, he was glad he'd risked coming. "What's wrong?" he asked, leading her back inside.
Lavinia told him about the fact that Sarah Jane could be ill. She tried not to cry but she was worried and scared. "Why hasn't anyone been able to find her yet, Inspector? Have your men even got a clue as to where she is or who's got her?"
"We're working on that," Roberts said, guiding her to a chair. "We thought we had her, near Kensington, but it turned out to be a diversion." He shook his head. "A strange one, at that. The people involved reported being questioned by someone who fits the Doctor's description, but unless he sprouted wings and learned to fly, I don't see how he could have gotten there that quickly." He looked over to the phone. "What happened to that do-dad the he put on the phone?"
"No luck so far. This is a new one though, he had to replace the other. He says this one is more sophisticated than the last one. He's still hoping he can find out where Sarah Jane is with this one."
Roberts looked at the box spliced into the phone line. It was the kind of thing that made an investigator suspicious. "So where is he now, then?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, but I do know that wherever he is he's doing everything he can to find Sarah Jane. That's the kind of man he is," said Lavinia defensively.
"How long ago did he leave?" Roberts asked.
"Just a few minutes ago."
Roberts could see she was getting agitated, and it was the last thing that he wanted. "Miss Smith, you don't need to worry about the Doctor. I'm not considering him a suspect. We've gotten Maggie's full name from the person who rented her the house for the seance and we've got an arrest warrant out for her. I just wanted to come by to see if there was anything else you could tell us that you didn't have time to say before the kidnappers called."
"I wish there was. Believe me I've racked my brain and I can't think of a single thing." Lavinia wrung her hands. "What if the people that have her don't know how to care for a child who's ill? She could have a very high fever and they might not even notice it." Lavinia was pacing now. "She could be lying somewhere and just getting worse with no comfort or medical attention. It's all my fault, I should never have left her to go to that silly seance. If anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself."
Roberts had worked four kidnappings in his career, and in every single one of them, he'd heard almost the exact refrain he was hearing now. "Miss Smith, I know that that's how you feel right now, but you have to realize that you didn't do anything wrong. It's not like you left Sarah Jane alone, you left her with a responsible adult you've known for years. This is not your fault. It's the kidnappers' fault, and we're going to find them and bring Sarah Jane back to you safe and sound. You have to believe that." He pulled two tissues from the box and handed them to her. "You have to believe that because you need to pull yourself together. The next time the kidnappers call, I'm going to need you to ask to talk to Sarah Jane so we can make sure she's all right."