"Are you sure you want to do this, Sam?" Jack asked the teary DI.
"Abi's in no fit state, she's been through enough already, I can't make her do this. I'm the only other family he's got." Sam drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her raw emotions and gather the strength to look at the tiny body laid out on the frigid gurney in front of her. Jo hovered nervously in the background, having insisted on accompanying her lover, averting her gaze from the minute covered form, refusing to accept that it might be Joey's body lying beneath the plastic sheet. The attendant drew the cover down revealing a gaunt, drawn face. Sam gasped, her hand reflexively covering her mouth. "It's not him. It's not Joey." Jo swallowed down her nausea, forcing herself to look at the body, needing her own confirmation. Bile rose as she looked down at the emaciated form of the tragic infant no more than a few weeks old. Drawing Sam to her body, enveloping her in a warm hug as much in need of the comfort it gave as to offer support to the blonde, Jo turned to leave pulling Sam along with her.
"Let's go give Abi the news, she needs to know her son is still out there somewhere." Jo was careful not to surmise that Joey was alive, knowing that until he was found nothing could be guaranteed.
"Jo, before you go, can I have a word?" Jack pulled the DS to one side eager to share the latest developments with her. Once out of Sam's earshot, the DCI filled Jo in. "We've got an address for Lisa Carmichael, I've sent Zain and Mickey over there to take a look around, have a word with the neighbours, keep up surveillance. I've made sure they know not to approach Lisa, not to try and talk to her, we don't want to spook her if she is there and risk losing her. I thought, with your skills and training, you might prefer to talk to her yourself?" Jack handed over a slip of paper with the address on.
"This is down by the river isn't it? One of those newly renovated places so popular with commuters? Any more news on who she is yet?" Jo spoke quietly, still aware of Sam's presence.
"She's a volunteer at Longmarsh prison, similar work to Tessa, drama workshops, teaching inmates to channel their frustrations and express themselves safely through drama, writing, that sort of thing. We're looking into the organisation she works for, seeing if there's any connection to Hugh Wallis. Apparently, Hugh has been paying quite an interest in the workshops – which with his background isn't that surprising – but it could have provided some point of contact for him to meet Lisa. She's been away from work for the last couple of months, on maternity leave. There are no hospital records of the birth taking place so either she hasn't had it yet…"
Jo cut in, "she didn't look pregnant on the tape."
"No she didn't which means she might have had the baby away from hospital." Jack looked pointedly towards the corpse lying on the sterile table in the adjoining room.
"You're thinking that might be her baby?" Jo frowned, becoming more disturbed rather than relieved by her conversation with Jack.
"The body was found dumped on waste ground less than half a mile from this address. We're treating it as a serious possibility, which would give her significant reason for abducting someone else's child – or possibly make her susceptible to Hugh's emotional blackmail. I've got Suzie looking into phone records for Lisa Carmichael, see if there have been any phone calls from the prison since she went on maternity leave. If Hugh is involved in this in any way, we'll find it."
"Give me a minute with Sam, Guv, let me go with her while she tells Abi then I want to get down there and talk to Lisa." Waiting for Jack to acknowledge her request, Jo turned on her heel, briefly filling Sam in on the latest news during their short walk back to the ward on which Abi lay grieving for the son she was sure she had lost.
After breaking the news to Abi, Jo made her excuses and left, ignoring Sam's pleas to let her tag along.
"No way, Sam. You're daughter needs you to be here with her. I promise, if Lisa has Joey, I'll bring him here as soon as possible." Briefly hugging Sam, brushing off her thanks, Jo strode out of the hospital to find Jack waiting in his car for her. "Let's go," Jo ordered as she closed the door and strapped herself in. The two officers rendezvoused with Mickey and Zain, listening as they fed back the details gleaned from neighbours, Jo's impatience showing in her frequent glances at the narrow building thought to be housing the young woman caught on camera.
"And you're sure she's inside? Any sign of anyone else with her?"
"No one else has been seen but we did see a woman matching Lisa's description talking animatedly on the phone by the top window there. She looked fairly highly strung from the way she was gesturing." Mickey supplied.
"Ok, let's not waste any more time then. Mickey, you and Zain keep an eye on the back in case she makes a dash for it, I don't want her disappearing. Jack, you mind if I take the lead on this?" Jo asked her superior, hoping her nerve would hold if their target had Joey.
"Go ahead." Jack followed in Jo's wake, positioning himself behind her as she rapped on the door firmly, commanding the attention of the building's occupants. The officers exchanged a glance as the sound of a baby's cry emanated from inside swiftly followed by a gruff voice yelling for someone to keep it quiet. A tall dark haired man answered the door as Jo was about to knock again.
"Yeah?" The man eyed them suspiciously, the door only held ajar inviting no entry nor further investigation of the home, his body language setting alarm bells ringing in Jo's head reminding her of a deer just before it bolts from it's prey.
Flipping out her warrant card, Jo introduced herself and Jack, rolling her eyes when the door was slammed in their faces. Her radio crackled into life as Jo stood back to let the uniformed officers accompanying them force entry.
"Sarge, we've got a woman making her escape along the tow path at the back of the house. She appears to be carrying a child bundled up in sheets. Over." Jo looked to Jack who waved her away signalling that he would co-ordinate a search of the house and detain the man they had met briefly.
"All received Mickey, keep her in your sights but do not, I repeat do not, approach her. Over." Jo spoke hurriedly into the two way radio as she dashed around the side of the building, feet pounding through puddles, cracking ice on the frozen ground as she went.
"Lisa, we just want to talk to you. Please, we just want to ask you a few questions." Jo caught up with Mickey, a little breathless from the chase but heart pounding more from fear as she watched the distraught young woman clamber over barriers onto a dilapidated old iron bridge. "My name's Jo. Would it be ok if I talk to you? Can I come a bit closer so we don't have to shout?" Jo waited for some response from the woman, turning to Mickey and Zain asking them to retreat further up the riverbank as a sign of trust. "See Lisa, just me, no one else."
"You want to take him away, don't you?" Lisa called, gripping tightly onto the bundle in her arms.
"I want to know that he's ok. Can I see him? Just to check he's not hurt or sick." Jo cautiously approached the flighty girl, treading softly until Lisa began to back away. "Ok, I'm not coming any closer." Jo held her hands in front of her, standing the other side of the barriers warning of dangers ahead for anyone venturing onto the bridge. "Lisa, it's not safe to be on there and I'm sure you don't want anyone to get hurt, especially not the baby. Will you come back over here, talk to me on the path?" As if to illustrate Jo's concerns, the old metalwork issued an almighty groan, pitching slightly at the weight resting on it. Lisa's eyes widened as she shuffled slightly away from Jo, trembling as her gaze darted around looking for a means of escape.
"They took my baby once before, now you're here to do it again aren't you?" Lisa's teeth chattered as she spoke, a biting wind buffeting her where she stood above the raging river below.
"He's not your baby to keep, Lisa. Do you really want another mother to lose her little boy? No one should have to go through losing a child, you know how much that hurts. Don't make someone else feel that pain too, it won't make yours any less. He has a Mum and a Grandma who love him dearly and want him back desperately." Jo edged her way past the barriers, holding her breath as she stepped onto the rusting iron bridge, praying to whatever deity would listen that the old metal would hold their combined weight long enough to rescue Joey. "Come on Lisa, you're not a bad person, you don't want to hurt him. The longer you stay on this bridge, the greater the chance is of something bad happening. You don't want that do you? You don't want to hurt the baby?"
"I can't, he'll kill me." Lisa gripped the edge of the bridge as it swayed dangerously. Jo continued to close to distance between them almost imperceptibly. Her radio crackled into life making both women jump, Lisa in motion instantly scrabbling to jump from the bridge with Jo lunging to intercept her.
"We've got him Jo, Joey' safe. I repeat we've got him. He isn't with Lisa." Jack's voice barely was almost lost amidst the background noise as the creaking metalwork heaved and groaned, crumbling into the river below.