Morning came and the sunlight hit the twos' faces with no remorse, waking them up, and as they slowly opened their eyes, they see the fog lifted, across from them, the empty store remained as such, the Bogeyman didn't come out of the sewers like the stories said.
Theodore unraveled his long arm from around Lila's waist, raising his head from hers, before he righted himself as he stood up, stretching out his limbs, popping his joints as he did.
Lila stood up from her spot, stretching her limbs as well, feeling them pop as she yawned while Theodore moved towards the fireplace, checking it, and found the fire went out during the night.
Disposing of the piled ashes and clearing out the fireplace, Theodore conversed with Al, discussing if the TARDIS found anything while they slept, and the TARDIS told him that there's been a development.
Constable Argyle Matthews went missing around 2 AM during his evening patrol around two quadrants assigned to his station, a man and his wife found the missing constable's broken lantern on their morning walk near the corner of Temple Road.
Al pointed out Temple Road's a block away from the inn, so he would've gone past the inn to get there, and back.
No witnesses because it was late in the night and the bitter cold prevented most people from staying out late, at all, except for the constable on his nightly patrols.
Since his disappearance, police began actively searching for the missing constable, more than they did the others, and Al thinks them becoming increasingly involve's going to alter how the Bogeyman captures people.
Theodore asked how sure Al was about the constable becoming a victim of the Bogeyman and the TARDIS informed him that the temperature at the time of his disappearance would've dissuaded even bed bugs.
He then pointed out the foolishness in kidnapping a constable.
Even the staunchest Shanghaiers wouldn't risk kidnapping a constable, even if meant extra money for their trouble, the heat from doing so isn't worth the risk, but someone disappeared a whole constable!
Now, not only are they dealing with their own issues, they're going to find the constables looking their way more as they're desperate to find Constable Matthews
Relaying this to Lila, she vaguely recalled waking up to seeing the constable walk by the inn again in the heavy fog with his lantern, but she fell asleep as he disappeared around the corner, where Temple Road started.
That'd mean, he disappeared right after he turned the corner, when Lila fell back asleep.
"Al's saying the constable's out in full force, the Bogeyman's not coming out unless he picks them off one at a time," Theodore hears Al commenting on what he thinks the Bogeyman's doing since the officers are out in full-force this time.
Which means, Theodore and Lila must brave a trip into the sewers to find the Bogeyman, since he may not come up for a while until the officers given up or he moves on.
The mere thought of going into a sewer system in this time's enough for Lila to audibly gag as she held her mouth before the moment passed and she's able to talk with Theodore normally as he shrugged before telling her that it's their best chance.
"Where would we even start?" Lila inquired where they'd even start their search, the Bogeyman could've been anywhere in the sewers, and he knew the sewer system better than they do, even with a map from Al, that they'd be at a disadvantage while the Bogeyman could've easily got them without them able to fight back.
Thinking on that, Theodore said he'll come up with something, but for now, it is morning, and they needed nourishment.
Breakfast, of course.
"Then we shall reconvene with Al and find a way through our situation, shall we?" Theodore looks towards Lila as she crossed her arms with a brow raised at him as he put on his pearly whites for her to see.
Shaking her head as she joined him, Lila sighs as they left their room, heading down the stairs, checked out of the inn, and searched for breakfast.
Along their walk, arms interlocked, they overheard excited conversations from strangers pertaining to the missing constable.
From overhearing their conversations, it sounded like the constable shouldn't had problems dealing with people, he was stronger than he looked, not as strong as Theodore, but stronger than most people here.
The Bogeyman managed to take him down, dragged him into the sewers, and that's what they got from eavesdropping on conversations while looking for a place for breakfast.
Settled on a quaint family-owned restaurant somewhere close by where the TARDIS's located while they think over their plan of finding the Bogeyman directly.
"He could be anywhere in the sewers, though," Lila points out that even with the detailed map of the sewers under the city, it doesn't mean much for something like the Bogeyman that managed to evade capture.
"I'm having Al scan for any unusual activity. If the rats are having a party, he'll know about it," Theodore said that he tasked Al to scan the sewers for anything out of the ordinary.
Wherever this Bogeyman called home, the moment he makes his move, Al's tracking him from that point while helping Theodore and Lila find their way towards his hiding spot.
He noted wherever the Bogeyman's hiding, it's big enough for him to hide his victims, and that's helping Al narrow down potential hiding places in the sewers.
For now, he's working on it, he'll let Theodore know where they can start looking, but for now, work under the assumption that the Bogeyman won't come out because of the increased police presence.
"It'll be easier if I can lock on a heartbeat, but it's crowded down there," Al mentioned that if not for the echoing and the rats that made the sewers their homes, he'd have it down to pat quicker.
Theodore left him to his work while he and Lila ordered their breakfast and discussed the situation.
He wants to try another approach, see where it takes them, causing Lila to ask him what he had in mind, and Theodore says he wants to hang around an orphanage that'd had recent dealings with the Bogeyman.
Maybe it won't come out into the open necessary, but it knows that orphanages won't have patrolmen circling them.
"And if you're wrong?" Lila asks him what he'll do then and he simply said that he'll try another approach, long enough for Al to triangulate where the Bogeyman is and what it is exactly.
When that's said and done, they'll try and locate the missing people, but Theodore won't promise they'll be in one piece, on the off-chance, and he's prepared to break the bad news to the MacDonalds when the time came.
"Here's hoping you're wrong," Lila exhaled as she hoped that the Bogeyman's victims haven't been munched or exported, yet.
Giving that kind of news to hopeful parents never ended well and no doubt the MacDonalds break down in despair.
The frequency of the disappearance didn't make sense for it to be a beast that's eating people, especially the way it targets its victims, but Lila isn't overlooking anything.
Breakfast came, traditional down to the curry, and the two consumed their weight in the breakfast, eavesdropping on every conversation passing through the restaurant.
Sounded like everyone's starting to be on edge with the disappearance of the constable, wondering who's the next one to go missing, and wild allegations that came out of some of the patrons in the restaurant's mouths are something left to be desired.
Still a good idea to listen in, in case it's anything useful, a stretch, but even the most benign of a description has its uses later.
"Going to track down Tim?" Lila asks if Theodore planned on finding the paperboy and getting his help in tracking down the prime areas that the Bogeyman prowled and while Theodore's adamant at bringing the boy into this, he admitted that he'll have to ask for help while Al's busied looking for hiding holes in the sewers.
Nodding, Lila affirmed the plan, asking Theodore where does she fall into the equation.
There's slight hesitation in Theodore's voice as he's trying to think of a way roping Lila into his plan until she pointed out that they don't know what draws the Bogeyman to his victim, as elective as his victims were, maybe he'll take a shine on Lila.
Recoiling, Theodore mustered that it's a good idea, he didn't want to risk her, but she pointed out that he can't lure the Bogeyman for the obvious reasons, and with him in her head all the time, she'll easily tell him where the Bogeyman takes her.
"It's a good idea, boss," Theodore head Al eavesdropping on their conversation and Theodore audibly told Al to hush, before quickly telling Lila that it was Al in his head.
While spreading butter on her toast, Lila tells Theodore that at least she has some advantage. With him in her head, he'll easily know if something's wrong, and come running.
Ever since he became a resident in Lila's head, Theodore acutely knows when something's wrong, not often, but he knows whenever she's in pain or so much as have a bloody nose, he's there to instantly ask if she's all right.
Theodore says it comes with the turf of getting to know the intricate parts of her mind that she grants him, otherwise, there's still things he doesn't acutely know because they're not melded.
That's something that Theodore's shy talking about, for obvious reasons, but he says it's the definitive trust between two Time Lords that they can show each other.
Unfortunately, it's a double edge sword, to the point few seldom meld, and it's rare when they do, because they're essentially entrusting their own minds to each other, under the mutual agreement that they won't abuse them, respectfully.
It's basically trusting your better half not to systematically destroy you mentally from the inside out, leaving you in a heap with drool pouring out of the corner of your mouth.
This kind of thing's only done once, further making it rare, and Theodore hadn't heard of anyone attempting to meld more than once, other than it's frowned upon.
For his father and his mother, one a Time Lord and one human, the meld still worked, but only his father could theoretically invoke mental harm on his mother since he was a telepath and she wasn't.
Of course, that wasn't the case, and the trust between the two strong enough, that they never had to fear repercussions.
"I don't know," Theodore still showed hesitation allowing Lila into becoming bait for the Bogeyman, despite her insistence that the Bogeyman might take a shine to her, and if he doesn't, no harm no foul, they'll try something else.
If he decides she's the one, well, Theodore's one mental call away.
"I'm afraid I'm hesitate because of the state of your knife," Theodore tells Lila that the reason for his hesitation comes from the state of her knife, having seen its fair amount of uses, it's starting to crack in places, parts of it have been broken off, and it's a shell of its once pristine self.
Due to the damages, Lila had to shelf it while trying to figure out a way to have it fixed discreetly while trying to find a replacement that won't get her into too much trouble.
She's embarrassed about calling in the warranty and having it replaced outright, because she doesn't know what to say to the company when they ask how her knife ended up in that way, and how to even explain to her dad how her knife went from pristine to almost about ready to break off the handle.
Getting a brand new knife to replace it's a little trickier because of the sticker price and findings a vender who sells it in London proper.
Damn those Daleks and their thick chassis, at least Lila could take out their eye stocks, but their chassis, why couldn't they have cheapened out on those?
Cybermen, too, Lila doesn't know how anyone could've had the strength to impale a Cyberman's head with a screwdriver deep into its brain-thing, but her knife, didn't do well against the last one.
Thankfully, fleshy aliens that get too ornery aren't immune, but far in-between, and some have acid blood.
Not Xenomorphs, thankfully, but acid blood nonetheless.
"Home team advantage in the sewers, but if I can keep him busy, you and Al have to get the victims out of there," Theodore pondered while thinking of a plan where he'll draw the Bogeyman out of hiding when Al finds his hiding place, then while Theodore's keeping the Bogeyman busied, Lila and Al locate the victims and bring them to safety.
Sounds simple enough, running's par course for them, now, but as they're going over plans, they overheard an upset child walking with her bedeviled parents as they're trying to keep her from making a scene.
The glass's think enough they couldn't hear most of it while the family walked past, but it sounded like the upset girl wanted a dolly that exactly looked like her best friend, down to her rosy cheeks, "but the man wouldn't let her have it."
Her father assured her that she'll got a dolly for her birthday, the sound of his voice, he wasn't there when the girl found the dolly of her dreams.
Her mother scolded her for running off on her and thankful she caught up to her before she gotten into trouble.
They disappeared around the corner, still conversing, and the two shared a look with each other as they sat quietly.
"What's the one way to a child's heart?" Lila finally said as she glimpsed to Theodore as his brow raised.
Theodore responded as his brow lowered, "Toys."
Recalling what Nathan MacDonald said, he said the victims disappeared into shops, but witnesses weren't observant.
What's the one way to gain victims when you can't go out in the day, but has a way to escape through the sewers undetected when the police become curious?
"Let's have a walk, you and me," Theodore paid for their breakfast and went with Lila on a walk around the city, towards where the family came from, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Looked like a set piece with everyone wearing clothing authentic for the period, the carriages moving past Theodore and Lila, the horses snorting as their driver guided them through the street.
Scouring the streets, the two didn't find anything initially, until they caught sight of a shop with dolls in the window.
Remembering what the little girl said, they went over to the large window, peeking inside, and seeing the dolls up close.
In a row, they looked like the typical dolls for the time that people bought for their children.
Studying them closely, Theodore sees that they have soft wool filled bodies stitched with porcelain limbs, and certainly not life-like.
Peering past the display, Theodore sees that the shop's filled with customers, there's plenty of children with their parents' buying dolls, and the cashier's a woman.
"Not this one, come on," Theodore motioned with his hand and Lila went off with him to continue their search.
Continuing further, they see a nondescript shop, no foot traffic, people walking past it without a thought.
Passing people along the way, they stood in front of the window, looking in, and they see there's also dolls lined up.
These ones looked incredibly… detailed… so much detail went into one doll, Lila saw one with large pores around her cheeks.
Their eyes looking straight, reflecting Theodore and Lila, and it drew them into the shop, with Theodore in front of Lila.
Going through the door, Lila sees rows filled with dolls, each doll unique than the last, their outfits, also, nothing like something mass produced.
Small, tall, there's different sized dolls, one looked no taller than Lila, with her curly gold hair tucked under her bonnet.
Call it a habit, but Lila had an urge to reach out to try and touch a doll next to her, but she heard a deep, "Don't. Touch. The. Doll!"
Retracting her hand like she's caught taking Christmas presents, Lila swiftly turned around, seeing a tall mall in front of her, and Theodore immediately stepping in front of her.
"Sorry!" Lila apologized to the tall man for almost touching the doll.
He's tall with a nose that makes Theodore's look tame in comparison, he's on a cane, and his long legs rickety.
Staring up at the man with his reflection in his shades, Theodore asks him about the doll, and the man said he doesn't like people touching the dolls.
They have a penchant for breaking them.
His long finger pointed towards the mess near the rubbish can, broken porcelain scattered with a lone blue glass eye looking towards Theodore.
"We're just curious. How much do these dolls cost?" Theodore inquired how much do these dolls cost, acting like he's considering buying one, and the man hesitated.
He says he collects dolls, not sell them.
All the dolls in his shop were sold to him.
"Then, why have them on the store floor if you're not going to sell them?" Lila spoke up as she leaned forward, looking at the mess with the eye staring at them.
Rubbing his long nose, the man says he doesn't have room to store them, yet.
Staring at him as he moved around the shop, sweeping up the broken porcelain, Theodore's eyes narrowed, and watched the man sweep the broken porcelain into the rubbish can.
"How'd you afford to buy all these dolls if you don't sell them?" Theodore asked the shopkeeper how he managed affording these dolls if he doesn't sell stock.
Tapping the pan against the ridge of the rubbish can, the shopkeeper replied with, "I manage. Quite well."