In the back of a police car, Caleb Morris fought against the restraints of his handcuffs, increasingly distressed.
"I have to get back, you don't understand. I have to get back. They need me! They're hungry, they need help! They need someone there! Please!"
"Who? Who needs someone?" asked the officer behind the wheel.
"They said they found the girl, right? Those detectives didn't mention anyone else missing right? Is someone still in that house?", queried the second escorting officer.
Caleb struggled further, sobbing "Please, I can't go with you" over and over again.
Cal approached the back door to the Morris house with caution, looking through the window before attempting to pick the lock. After a few minutes he felt the latch give way and he opened the door, signalling to Gillian to wait until he checked that the room was clear.
After a moment he signalled to his partner to follow him quietly. The pair stuck close to one another as they moved throughout the house, ensuring that there were no unexpected assailants ready to ambush them. There were no signs of life downstairs in the spacious house. Cal told Gillian to wait while he checked upstairs, and despite her protests he won the argument quickly.
"I'll need you to call for help if you hear something, won't I?"
Gillian stared at him, clearly displeased as he made his way quietly up the stairs. Listening out for anything concerning from upstairs, Gillian continued to look around downstairs, staying within earshot of Cal's movements. Having been inside Mrs Jennings home previously she began a mental comparison of the two houses. Both had been renovated, clearly. Mrs Jennings home was more modern and professionally decorated. The Morris brothers home seemed more outdated in its décor, but there were significant differences. Moving through the images in her mind of the older neighbour's home, Gillian noticed that in the space under the stairs where the Jennings house had a door, there was nothing but wood panelling in the Morris house. But there were scratches on the floor.
Amy Hamilton woke up screaming in the small hospital room, her parents rushing to her side immediately panicked. Her mother tried to soothe her while her father ran to get help. The girl was almost incoherent as she shrieked and flailed about trying to break free of her mothers loving caress and lullaby pitch.
A nurse entered the room and began to work on adding something to Amy's IV line to calm her down as her mother ran her hands gently over her daughter's hair and arms.
"It's ok baby, mommy's here", Julia sang out desperate to allay the fear in her youngest child.
"Noooo", Amy wailed, "No! let me go, I'm not a mom! I'm just a kid! I'm so sorry, I can't take care of you."
Kyle and Julia Hamiltons eyes met from opposite sides of their daughter's hospital bed, confused and terrified by what their child was reliving.
Gillian ran her hand along the part of the wall that aligned with the marks on the floor. There was a deeper gap between panels there. She pressed against it and felt it give way a little, so she pressed harder. The panel popped and came away from the rest of the wall. Gillian pried it open with fingertips, revealing an entryway. She remembered then the cladding at the base of the house outside. Where Janice Jennings home had a slight dip in the wall, and a small window to shine natural light into a basement, there was nothing in this house to indicate a basement. It seemed incredibly unlikely that such a difference would exist between houses on the same street.
The secret doorway, once opened, revealed a staircase leading down to another doorway. Moving down the stairs, Gillian discovered that the second door had a lock. She could hear something from the other side. It took her a fraction of a second to recognise what she heard. Gillian ran back up the stairway immediately, calling out to Cal for help as soon as she reached the top.
Pulling up to the police station, Wallowski, Hamed and Torres exited their car and approached the cars that held the Morris brothers. She waited until they were assisted out of their respective vehicles before addressing the older of the two.
"We'll call the attorney's office as soon as we get you two settled in separate interview rooms. Unless… you want to just tell us what you know first? Save everyone some time?"
"No. Thank you. We'll wait for the lawyers," came the smug reply from Charlie.
"Ok. Could be waiting a while," said Wallowski, matching him in self-righteousness.
Caleb looked between them, frantic, before focussing fully on his brother.
"Charlie, no! We have to get back. We have to!"
"Caleb. Calm down. Everything will be fine. They aren't going to find anything, and we'll be home before you know it."
Caleb looked incredulous. "Charlie, no. We have to-"
"Caleb! That's enough. We wait for the lawyers. We have nothing to hide."
Ria Torres didn't believe him for a second.
Cal came racing down the stairs, urgently grabbing Gillian's arms and holding her still.
"What's happened? What's the matter?"
Gillian shook off his grip and returned it by grabbing him by the elbow and pulling him to the bottom of the basement stairs.
"Bloody hell."
"There's a padlock on the door. And listen," she instructed.
Listening carefully, Cal turned to Gillian in shock.
"Is that…?"
"Crying," she nodded.
"Right," he exhaled and began looking around for something to break the lock open.
"Your lockpick?"
Cal looked sheepish, forgetting how they had entered the house in his urgency. He had the lock freed in virtually no time, and with Gillian pressed up against his back they opened the door.
