You have no idea how many times I had to stop myself writing "down there" in reference to Wales and having to stop myself realising that I'm meant to be in Birmingham.

Steve took off his suit jacket and placed it on the back of the chair. He clicked the monitor button on before sitting down at his desk. He could hear Ted's footsteps behind him and Steve spun around in his chair.

"When Lindsay arrives, tell her that I want to see her in my office."

"No problem sir." Steve said as Ted turned on his heels and retreated back to his office.

It was early afternoon when Lindsay arrived at work. Steve had started earlier than her and had already left the flat before she did. He was sitting at his desk when Lindsay arrived. Lindsay went straight to his desk after swiping her way through the entrance with the entrance card she got from downstairs.

"Hey Steve. What's going on?" Lindsay asked.

Steve looked up at his computer. "Nothing exciting. We have just small cases at the moment. The gaffer asked me to tell you that he wants to see you when you arrive. It's probably just to welcome you to the team. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, OK. I'll go and speak to him just now before I put my things down." Lindsay placed her handbag back on her shoulder and walked across the office to Hasting's office. She knocked on the door opening it up when she heard him say "Come in." She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"You wanted to see me Sir."

"Lindsay, welcome to AC-12. It's your first day. How do you feel?" Ted asked.

"Grateful to be here sir. I promise you that I won't cause any trouble for the department."

"I hope you don't, Lindsay. I don't have any problem reminding you that you are on probation for 2 and a half years and that you will be staying in AC-12 for that duration. Try to get along with your colleagues Lindsay, you're here until 2018. That wasn't why I brought you in here. The reason I brought you here is because I've had a phone call from Chief Superintendent Prosser in Wales apparently Carly Kirk is in Aberystwyth. I want you to go there now and find her before word gets around."

"You want me to go to Wales Sir?"

"Yes, I do Lindsay. When you were in missing persons you were tasked to find her and if there's any truth to what you said then she's part of an AC12 investigation too. You know the most about her and her case. I need you to go and bring her back to her foster parents. Can I trust you with that?"

"Yes Sir. You can, absolutely. By myself sir?"

"Yes. I will send down Kate or Steve if I can spare them but you are a DI. I believe that you're capable and proficient. You haven't told me any differently."

"There's no problem sir. I will go to Wales and I will bring Carly home."

"Good. Go ahead then, your service vehicle should be downstairs waiting on you."

"Thank you, Sir." Lindsay nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. She walked past Steve's desk while leaving.

"What did the gaffer want you for?" He asked Lindsay.

"I've to go to Wales Steve. Apparently, Carly Kirk has been spotted down there and I've to go down there to pick her up before anyone finds out so keep it to yourself."

"Yeah sure."

"I don't think I need to ask but you'll look after Bella won't you, she's all I have now. Apart from you of course."

"Of course, no problem. I'll see you when you get back then. However long that is."

"Yeah, I'm going downstairs to get my car and then I'll stop off at the flat to get some clothes. I'll guess I will get going. See you when I get back Steve."

"Enjoy Wales."

Lindsay left the AC-12 offices and took the lift down to the bottom floor. Stopping on the way to the underground car park to collect her keys from the front desk and to sign the car out. She popped out of the lift and made her way across the car park, stopping periodically to look at the registration details on the keychain she had in her hand. A red Audi S4. Registration BA14 GUV. She clicked the button on the fob and heard and saw a car in the distance unlocked. She walked over to it and inspected it before driving off in the direction of Steve's flat before driving the 2-and-a-half-hour drive across the country until she reached Aberystwyth.

When she arrived at her destination, she pulled her car to a stop beside the pavement at the front of the station. She picked up her bag from the passenger side footwell and was just about to get out when there was a knock on her window. A cop in uniform was standing outside her car. She clicked the button to roll the window all the way down.

"Sorry ma'am you can't park here. Police vehicles only." The officer said.

Lindsay lifted her police lanyard off her neck and held it up to show the officer. The officer checked it and Lindsay let it go.

"Apologies ma'am. Sorry about that."

"No problem." Lindsay replied. "Where can I find DCI Mathias?"

"He should be inside ma'am. Just ask at the front desk."

"Thank you." Lindsay replied and rolled up her side window. She switched the ignition off and took out her keys. Locking the car door behind her, she quickly walked up the steps into the station and stopped at the front desk to ask for information. An officer came over to greet her. He saw the badge around her neck.

"Hi, I'm here to see DCI Mathias."

"He's currently in the press room ma'am. Giving an appeal to help find that missing girl."

Lindsay was confused and dubious of this fact of information. Hastings hadn't told her anything about that.

Lindsay lifted her thumb and pointed it behind her. "Is it...?"

"Yes ma'am. It's down that corridor towards the end. There will be a sign on the door."

She turned and followed the officer's instruction coming to a stop in front of a door which had the sign saying "Press briefing. Enter here." She opened the door slowly, not wanting to alert anyone to her presence. As she entered the room, she slowly closed the door behind her. She stepped into the room and stood at the back behind the rows of press, not wanting to disturb anyone. Lindsay had caught someone's attention though, the man she expected to be DCI Mathias was sitting at a table at the front of the room. Cameras trained on him and his fellow officers who were sitting beside him. She spotted him under the lights wearing a blue shirt and tie combination. Lindsay found him to be attractive in a ruggedly handsome sort of way, he had a full beard which had some dusting of grey hair through it and kind eyes. Lindsay liked that in a man. He looked up at her as he spotted her coming in the room and quickly his eyes went down to finish the sentence he was saying.

"If anyone out there has spotted her then we kindly ask that you phone the station and make us aware. A reward is offered for her safe return. Thank you."

The room quickly became a buzz with activity. Cameras were turned off. The journalists were quick to pick up their coats and the team walked off the stage and out the room by a door adjacent to their table. She quickly tried to push out the room before the crowd behind her swallowed her up. She stepped out into the hall and saw the man talk with his team in a small group. Each member breaking off to do a task they were assigned to do. Lindsay stepped forward down the corridor and let the crowd filter out behind her.

"DCI Mathias?" Lindsay called and turned around to face her. Tom walked quickly towards her up the corridor.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'm DI Lindsay Denton from AC-12. I'm here to help with the Carly Kirk investigation." Lindsay held her right hand out and Mathias took it in his and shook it. She smiled at the contact.

"I heard you were coming. It's nice to meet you. I'm Tom. If you come with me, I'll introduce you to the team."

She followed him down the rest of the corridor and into one of the offices. His team sat around a table discussing the information of the case. A cork board full of information about the case hung on the wall.

"Team. This is Lindsay Denton. She's a DI from AC-12 to help us with the Carly Kirk investigation. This is Mared, Llyod and Sian." They nodded to each other and exchanged pleasantries around the room.

"Why are AC-12 investigating a missing person?" Llyod asked.

"Llyod!" Tom said harshly.

"No, it's OK. I was part of missing persons before I became part of AC-12, so when Carly became part of our AC-12 investigation I was the obvious choice since I know most about her case compared to my colleagues so I was asked to come here to bring her home."

"Who is she going home to?" Mared asked.

"Her foster parents." Lindsay replied.

Mared smiled but inside she felt a twang of disappointment. Not towards Carly but to the life that this young girl must have already gone through. The pain she must have felt.

Llyod nodded and the rest of the team was too happy with the answer they were given.

"So, what do you have?" Lindsay asked.

Sian stepped up to the board.

"We have CCTV of Carly arriving at Aber train station yesterday at 3PM. From there we see her stop at the pier for some food and then go up and down the seafront stopping at hotels to ask for a room. All out of her price range until she comes to Gwesty'r Adar where she sees a sign in the window offering a room in exchange for work. She goes inside but the boss who works there says no because she doesn't have any documentation. The owner said she found it strange how young Carly looked and that she was carrying a backpack in which Carly made reference to that being the only things she owned. She phoned the station where Seargeant Wilson went down to talk to her about the situation. When he came back to the station, he recognised her face as the same one on the missing persons posters and made it known to Superintendent Prosser and that's all we have at the moment."

"I think you've done a great job so far so thank you for that." Lindsay said. She turned around to Tom. "I'd like to speak with that officer if that's ok."

"Yes, of course." Tom sat down on the table a file that he had been holding onto. And turned to his team. "Keep searching for Carly. She can't have gone far."

The team looked at their boss and nodded.

"Shall we...?" Tom asked Lindsay. "Yeah." She followed Tom out of the room both in search for the copper they needed to find.

Ted had been hauled up in his office for the better part of the afternoon. He hadn't wanted to step out of it. He wanted to keep the information he had to himself for the time, until the right detective arrived at work. His other detectives were working on smaller cases but ones which would keep them busy for the meantime. He needed his choice to be the right one. He looked through his glass office window and spotted her just as she arrived at the office.

"KATE! GET IN HERE." Hastings shouted into his office; the open door helped to carry the sound through into the next room.

Giving a look to Steve as she walked by his desk, she arrived a couple of seconds later at Hastings office and poked her head in.

"You wanted to see me sir."

"Come in shut the door."

She stepped inside and closed the door behind herself, wondering what her boss was going to say that he wanted to keep secret.

"I need you to go to Wales."

"Wales, sir. Why?"

"Carly Kirk has been sighted by an officer. Denton is already down there and I need you to join her but that's not all. A burnt-out car was found in the Moss Heath area of the city and a man's body was in the driver's side of the car. They are having to use DNA to identify the body which is going to take a while but the number on the chassis of the car is a match to Steve's stolen service vehicle. Now we know the person who had access to that vehicle is on the run. We are expecting the DNA of the body to come back as Dot's. It would make sense if it was. We saw what the OCG did with Carly or what they made us think with Carly. I believe that the OCG might have taken their chance to get rid of Dot but we can't be too careful."

"What you're saying sir is that if the body in the car is not Dot's then he still could be on the run?"

"Precisely. We can't be too sure and so what I want is my best officer to go to Wales, help bring Carly home and keep an eye out for Dot just until the DNA gets returned."

"What about...?"

"I need Steve here to keep an eye on him. They used his car so who knows what else they'll try to frame him for."

"I can trust you Kate. You're my best investigator. I can trust you to bring Carly home and I trust you not to mention a word of this to Steve, not about the car. I'll let him know when the DNA comes back."

"You can trust me sir." Kate nods her head and retreats from the room. Closing the door behind her and leaving her boss inside his office.

She walks across the office and is just about to leave when a shout comes across the office."

"Away already."

It's Steve. She steps back in and walks over to his desk, takes up the empty seat beside him and speaks to him in a hushed tone.

"I'm going to Wales."

"You too? Lindsay is already away."

"Yeah the boss wants me to help her out while she's there."

"You're both leaving me alone with a small case of bribery to deal with. Mark won't be happy."

"Oh god, I know. I need to go home and pack a suitcase just in case this takes longer than a few days. He'll be there when I go home. Not looking forward to telling him. I was hoping for a small case for when I came back but what the boss wants, the boss gets. Anyway, I best be going. I'll see you when I get back."

Kate got up and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder.

"Best make it quick, I'll go stir crazy."

Kate laughed and smiled back at him as she left his desk and the office. Not looking forward to the bollocking she was going to get off her husband before she left for Wales.

Tom and Lindsay's short stroll lead them to the front desk where Lindsay had arrived less than half an hour ago.

"Seargeant Wilson can we talk to you please?" Tom asked through the window.

Seargeant Wilson looked up from where he was sitting at the desk in the middle of the room and put his papers down. He stood up from the desk and exited the room taking a few seconds to round the corner and meet up with them in the hallway.

"Can we go out for a cigarette? I'm due a break."

Tom and Lindsay both nodded and the trio walked out the front of the station to stand on the steps.

"What's this about?" Seargeant Wilson asked.

"I'm here to ask you about Carly Kirk and what you know about her?"

"You're accent. You're not from around here."

"Birmingham. AC-12 and nether is Carly Kirk. So, when did you first find out about her?"

"The owner of the Gwesty'r Adar phoned in to say that a young girl had inquired about a room. She saw the sign outside that said that she was offering a room in exchange for working as a cleaner in the hotel. Carly didn't have any documents and the woman noticed how young Carly was. She remarked about how it looked as if the items Carly was carrying was all she had and Carly said she was a traveller. Carly didn't get the room. The owner wanted it all above board but it didn't sit right with her how Carly looked like her grandchild who is only in high school so she phoned us to look into it. I went to the hotel and looked at the CCTV and said that I would keep a lookout for her. When I came back to the station though we got an email through about a missing person and to post the flyers around the building and the neighbouring street. That's when I recognised that the young girl in the CCTV and the missing girl on the poster were the same person. Carly Kirk. I went to see Prosser about the girl and from what I know he made a phone call to your lot and that's why you've arrived."

"Indeed I am. Do you know where she went after that?"

"No. It seems that she made her way back into town but after that it went to the detectives and if they haven't found anything then I don't know where she is. A description has gone out to everyone on the ground but there hasn't been anything back."

"Well, thank you for your time officer."

"No problem." The officer stopped smoking his cigarette and threw it to the ground and stamped on it.

"I'll just get going" He turned and quickly walked up the steps and back into the building.

"Where to next?" Tom asked.

"We should go to the Gwesty'r Adar. I want to speak to the hotel owner and see if she could tell how Carly was feeling after the incident. I think we should take your car since you know you're way around."

Tom nodded and they both got into his vehicle, driving a few streets up to the hotel. Parking the car beside the kerb they left it there and headed inside. Tom tapped the bell on the counter to bring them to the owner's attention. When she arrived Tom and Lindsay took their warrant cards out of their pockets and showed them to her when she arrived.

"You're here about that missing girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are." Lindsay said.

"It's a shame. I knew there was something wrong. I should have stopped her from leaving. She looked far too young to be travelling. She said she was going to be college student and was using this time as he freedom before she started in September. You could tell she was trying to make herself look older but you couldn't have been any older than a high school student. I have a grandchild around her age that's how I knew."

"How did she seem to you? Did she seem in distress or?"

"No. I mean she seemed sad about not getting the room but she seemed in good spirits. Said she was going to take in the sights and try her luck elsewhere. I told her to keep the things she had on her close as she was a traveller and you never know what could happen."

"What was she carrying?"

"A black backpack. I could show you if you like? I have the CCTV."

"Yes, please do." Lindsay replied.

The woman went through the bar into the next room and brought back a laptop. She clicked through a couple of the files until she found the CCTV of the day before. She played the video and clear black and white image of the room they were currently standing in started to play. The video feed from behind the bar which pointed at the door showed Carly in a casual outfit talking to the woman for a couple of minutes and then left through the door she arrived through. She seemed in good spirits. A few seconds later she was spotted again through the window of the hotel as she wandered down the street. The woman stopped the tape.

"For what it's worth, I hope you find her."

"Thank you. If she comes back, please phone the station to contact me here."

Tom slid his business card across the table and Lindsay was thankful for that and then they both left the hotel.

"Back to the station?"

"Yes, I want to collate information and see how your team has gotten on."

It was mid-afternoon when Kate arrived into Aberystwyth. Driving up the street the police station was on, that her satnav had directed her down, it told her she was here. The street on both sides was filled with vehicles. Up ahead though she could see a marked police car pull out of a space and she immediately indicated her lights and pulled in behind a red Audi. Locking the car after she pulled in, Kate took her bag out of the car and ran up the steps into the police station stopping at the front desk to ask for directions. A young woman with blonde hair overheard her.

"You're looking for Lindsay Denton? She's out at the moment but she should be back soon."

A movement outside of the police doors caught Sian's attention.

"Oh, wait here they come."

Tom and Lindsay arrived back at the station later than they should have. Tom blamed it on the start of the holiday traffic coming into the town. They just arrived through the front door of the station when they were stopped by Sian.

"Ma'am this woman wants to talk to you."

Sian raised out her hand and the woman who was standing side on and she turned her body.

"Kate, what are you doing here?"

"Hastings thought you could do with a bit of a hand with finding Carly."

"Sent you to spy on me more like." Lindsay laughed trying to pretend that it wasn't the truth. "You should come through; we can show you what we already have."

The group walked through the station to the investigation room. Kate stopped to look at the information on the board when they arrived.

"This is DC Kate Fleming from AC-12. She's here to help out with the investigation."

Kate turned to greet everyone.

"Mared, tell me what you did when we were away talking to the hotel owner?" Tom asked.

"We compiled a list of places that Carly might go to as a runaway that we haven't checked already. Hostels, homeless shelters and churches."

"That's good. I think Mared, it would be a good idea if we split up and one of us takes Kate and the other takes Lindsay. They have the knowledge; we have the know-how and together we might find Carly quicker. I'll take Lindsay around town while..."

"Kate, I think it's a good idea if you interview Superintendent Prosser. With what you know of her case I want you to find out why a TV appeal was held and if she has connection to any locals."

Lindsay lifted her eyebrows while saying the last part of the sentence, giving off a secret hint to Kate so that none of the officers in the room would know what she and Kate were on about. With their plans set in motion, the group left the investigation room and set off to do the roles that they were asked to do.

Arriving at Prosser's office Mared knocked on the door and at his reply. Both of the investigators walked into the room and sat down at the seats in front of his desk.

"Mared, what can I help you and..."

"Kate Fleming, sir. From AC-12. I have a couple of questions to ask you about our current investigation."

"Ask away."

"When did you first hear about Carly Kirk?"

"I first heard about her yesterday from Seargeant Wilson. He got a call from the owner of Gwesty'r Adar. She had concerns of a young girl who had tried to rent a room from her in exchange for work. The owner didn't go ahead with it but he said that she had a strange feeling about the girl and wanted to let us know about her. I believe that when he came back from seeing the CCTV, he saw a photo of Carly Kirk on a missing poster that he was to put up around the station and recognised her so he came to me with this information. I made a call to let your team know about the situation and made an executive decision to make an appeal to find her. After what I heard from Superintendent Hastings about how she was a vulnerable young girl and needed to be found quickly I believed that it was the best way to get her face out there. I believed that if she was already spotted then there would be a high chance of finding her again. Apparently, that does not seem to be the case because if it was then she would be found already. If she's hiding out somewhere then she'll be harder to find, is there reason to believe that she knows someone down here? And why are AC-12 investigating a runaway case? You investigate bent cops."

"Well sir, that's complicated. We don't know the reason why she chose Wales specifically but the reason why she has run and the reason why AC-12 is investigating is because Carly was being groomed by bent cops. They made her get blackmail on cops that they could use for their own gain; she was able to get away and hasn't been seen since so when she appeared in Wales, AC-12 were very interested in tracking her down and helping her before she disappeared again. This time for good if you get my drift."

All the information Mared was hearing just cemented the idea that Carly was vulnerable and needed to be found. She thought about her own daughter Elin and wondered if her life couldn't turn out like Carly's.

"And you believe that the appeal may have put her at risk?"

"Yes, there is a slight chance that may have affected our investigation but we won't know for sure until we find her."

"Well, I understand if you believe that I made the wrong call but with the information I had at the moment I made a decision that I saw fit. To help with your investigation yourself and DI Denton have our officers at your disposal. Anything you need to help bring that young girl home. Obviously, if you want to keep the net of officers close to stop information spreading then we can do that too."

"I believe that's the way we should go about it, Sir."

"Well I hope you find her and I wish you all the best." Prosser said.

Both women got up from their seats and left the room with the information they had just been given hoping it would get them one step closer to finding Carly Kirk.

Lindsay and Tom had been to nearly all the places on the list they were given before they had to turn back to the station. Lindsay was sitting in the passenger side of Tom's vehicle on the drive back to the station.

"I guess you'll be staying in town until Carly is found?" Tom asked Lindsay.

"It looks that way. I'm glad I brought a suitcase with me. it's in the back of my car."

"I guess you'll need to phone your partner and tell them where you are."

Lindsay laughed and Tom looked at her.

"I didn't mean to be rude. It's just, eh...I don't have a partner or a husband or a boyfriend so there's no one I need to call. The department already know I'm here so...oh, fuck."

"What?"

"I forgot to book a hotel and with the start of the summer holidays I bet they'll be booked up."

"Don't worry, I know someone. I can drop you and Kate off at it when we get to the station. I had to stay at it when my caravan caught fire."

Lindsay looked at Tom in surprise.

"Don't worry. No one was hurt. I was able to get a new caravan and I'm staying in one of the caravan parks just past the golf course."

The drive back to the station went quickly and Kate was already standing outside waiting for them to arrive. They quickly transferred both women's luggage into Tom's car, leaving both of the women's cars sitting outside the station where they would be safest and got inside his car. He drove down a couple of streets and dropped them both off outside the hotel.

"You can walk to the station from here but if you need to pick up tomorrow or if you need anything at all just phone me, Lindsay has my number." Tom said as both the women got the luggage out of his car and made their way into the hotel."

The owner of the hotel heard them come in and came over to greet them.

"Sorry about the mess, we're having building work done at the minute. It will be during the day but from what Tom's told me you'll be out when it's going on. Here are your keys to the bedroom. Both of them are upstairs on the first landing. Numbers 7 and 8. I've tried to make them as comfortable for you as I can. You must be hungry; can I get you anything to eat?"

After taking in everything Manon said and stating their order Kate and Lindsay went through to sit in the dining room. The décor of the room was outdated and shabby and Lindsay was glad to see that it was getting a revamp. The room reminded her of the B&B she had to stay in. Manon came back quickly with their dishes, sitting on the table and left them alone again.

"What do you think of Superintendent Prosser?"

Lindsay asked, stealing a chip from the edge of Kate's plate and dipping it in the tomato sauce. Kate gave her a look of surprise.

"He's cut from the same cloth as Hastings. He's nothing to worry about and the team seems the same way. They just want to help us find Carly and bring her home."

"Good, I'm glad that we don't seem to have a Dot situation down here."

"About that Lindsay."

"You seem like you're going to tell me something really bad."

"After you left a car was found in Birmingham, burnt out with a body in the front seat. They checked the car and it was Steve's stolen vehicle. Hastings seems to think that it's Dot's body in the front seat that the OCG have got rid of him after he ran, but we can't be too sure until we get the results back. All I'm saying Lindsay is watch your back, if Dot finds out where Carly is then who knows what he will do."

"Thanks for telling me that Kate."

The two women quickly finished their dinner and took their luggage upstairs to their room to get settled for the night. Saying night and closing the doors to the rooms beside each other. Lindsay made a start to taking her belongings out of the case and putting them in the wardrobe and drawers before pulling herself under the covers and trying to get to sleep. A constant dripping noise kept her awake for longer than she would like, she stepped up to look out the window to the heavy rain which must have started when she and Kate arrived. Looking up from where the drip was coming from, she made a mental note to tell Manon in the morning. Glad that she wasn't out there when it started.

Carly had been walking for hours. She had arrived in Aberystwyth earlier yesterday and without a place to sleep. She had tried to get a hotel for that night but with money running low she advised herself against it. Deciding to keep the money for food instead but here she was with no bed to sleep in far away from the centre of town with the only belongings she had she was carrying on her back. Then the heavy rain started, she tried to get shelter under a tree but the grass beneath her feet was muddy and slippery every time she moved to take a step. She spotted a dark house up a head and ran for it the best she could wondering if she made one wrong move that the ground would swallow her up. Upon entering the driveway, she saw the farmhouse in darkness and no cars on the drive. She didn't want to break in but if she had too, she would. She walked up the driveway when she spotted a barn at the back of the house. The chain that was locking it was loose and she believed that she may be able to slip under it if she really tried. It was better than breaking into someone's house. She didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for herself. For her name to be said at the station and for it to be passed onto the wrong people that she was in town. She pulled the barn door back as far as she could and jimmied herself under it. Glad that she was now in safety and warmth. She pulled the clothes she had out of her backpack and hung them up around the barn hoping that they would be dry by the morning and curled up in a bundle of hay near the back of the barn. Closing her eyes, hoping to get enough rest and that she wouldn't be disturbed in the middle of the night. Her stomach rumbled and she hoped that she would be able to find some food for tomorrow. Not wanting to think about the struggles she might have to go through to get herself some money if she couldn't find it legally.