When Alfie returned home, Ada was attempting to put the children down for the night. When she finally succeeded, she reentered the sitting room where Alfie was pacing.

"What is going on?" Ada asked.

"I've called Edna, she's on her way." Alfie responded distantly, his mind racing before he stopped mid-stride, staring at the corner of the area rug.

His brow furrowed as he kneeled to straighten it.

"I'm not talking about the children, I'm talking about my sister. Where is she?"

Alfie ignored her as his eyes searched the area around the rug, finding a small wad of long hair that he knew belonged to his wife. He held the strands of hair in his fingers absentmindedly, looking for any other detail. When his eyes landed on the side table, he squinted. A small smear of blood lay on the corner and he quickly reached under the table for his gun. Missing.

"Alfie?" Ada pressed.

"I don't- I don't fucking know." He released a frustrated breath. "She-"

He stopped when he heard the knock on the door. Without waiting for him to answer, Tommy, Arthur, John, Michael, Finn, and Polly Shelby walked in.

"Well Alfie, we're here." Tommy pointed out. "What's going on?"

"When was the last you heard from Ruthie?" Alfie asked without skipping a beat.

Tommy gave a small shake of his head as he thought. "Last time week."

"What's going on? Where is she?" Polly asked, looking around the room.

"I had business across town. Came back and was told to come here. I did and I found this letter waiting on me in an empty house." Alfie handed Tommy the letter Ruthie had written.

Tommy looked up in confusion as he passed it to Polly who shared it with John and Arthur. Tommy and Alfie stared at each other, both knowing that Ruthie wouldn't have up and left.

"Then, Ada brought the kids home and Alfie found this." Alfie shared the other letter.

"Who's 'S'?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know. But I have an idea." Alfie paused, again speaking silently to Tommy. " She asked me a month ago what we did with Simon's body. I told her you lot took care of it and when I questioned her about it she said she just had a dream, but had started acting odd after. Last night she woke me up panicking that someone was watching from across the street. Then all this." Alfie ran a hand over his beard in frustration. "I thought she was just having another nightmare." He shook his head. "My gun is missing." Alfie said pointing to the table. "And the fucking rug was out of sorts, there was also a spot of blood, I think there was a struggle."

"Ada when did the children come to you?" Tommy asked.

"Around midday. She called asking if the children and Edna could come because she wanted the house to just the two of you because you were wanting another baby and a free afternoon."

"She wanted the children out of the house. She knew someone was coming and she wanted them safe." Tommy deducted.

"Why not just tell the fucking truth?" John asked.

"She came to the bakery after taking the kids to Ada. And I wasn't fucking there." Alfie hated himself at that moment more than he ever had. His wife, the love of his life, the mother of his children was missing and it was because he wasn't there when she came to him.

"It's not your fault Alfie. John is right. This letter," Tommy said as he held it up. "it doesn't sound like it's the first. And if it was, she still knew something was wrong. You said she had been acting odd?" Alfie nodded. "She should have come to you sooner. Or me or anyone."

"I didn't believe her last night. If I had known someone was watching, if I had BELIEVED her…" Alfie sat and clenched his jaw, burying his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. "I never would have fucking left the house."

"So, what's our plan?" Polly asked, stepping in. "Feeling sorry for ourselves isn't going to bring her back. Who is 'S'?"

"Well, Ruthie thought it was Simon but he's ash." Tommy thought out loud.

"Uh, Tom." Arthur cleared his throat.

Tommy looked at his brothers and clenched his jaw as Alfie's head slowly rose and turned to the men, a glare so deadly it could have killed them instantly. Arthur looked down before looking up guiltily at his brother and John looked up at the ceiling, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"We, uh, we may not have told you the full story about that night." Arthur continued.

Tommy straightened himself and squeezed his eyebrows together, knowing this was not going to end well.

"Go on." Tommy said.

"We dumped his body on the floor in the forest next to your house and when we finally gathered enough wood, we, uh… We couldn't find him."

"You fucking what?" Tommy pressed, the vein in his temple popping out.

"We looked for it for hours. Figured a wild dog had gotten it or something. There was a lot going on with Ruthie in the hospital so we sort of….." John added. "Didn't mention it."

Tommy, clearly trying to control his temper, stared at his guilty brothers. Alfie, however, made no attempt to control his emotions and he sprang to his feet, charging at the men. Alfie wrapped his hand around John's throat and shoved him against the wall.

"You didn't fucking mention it?" he growled as he squeezed his hand. "DIDN'T FUCKING MENTION IT?"

It took Tommy, Arthur, and Michael to pull Alfie off of John, who coughed after being allowed to breathe again. Tommy stood between Alfie and John, a hand on Alfie's chest to try and keep him calm. Alfie growled in anger and turned, running his hand through his hair before putting his hands under a console table and throwing it across the room.

"If that FUCKER…" Alfie started but was too angry to finish his threat as he pointed at his brothers-in-law.

"We don't know that it's him." Tommy reasoned.

"Why would he wait three years before coming back?" Polly asked, doubt echoing in her voice.

"You said there was a man across the street?" Tommy asked.

Alfie nodded, "Last night she said. I went over but it's empty. There's nothing there."

Footsteps rang outside before the door opened and Edna walked in.

"Sorry, it took me so long sir. I-"

"I don't fucking care. What happened today?" Alfie interrupted.

"Sorry?"

"Ruthie gave you the afternoon off? Why what happened before that? I need every detail."

Edna blinked in confusion and looked around for her Female employer. "Um, I cleaned and watched after the children when you left sir. When Mrs. Solomons came in I fixed her some tea, gave her the post and then she dropped her cup so I went to gather a rag and when I came back she was vomiting at the toilet." Alfie's jaw clenched. "Then she said that she wanted the afternoon to the two of you."

"She dropped the cup? Why?" Alfie pressed.

"I believe it had something to do with the post. She has been very, adamant about these letters she has been receiving."

"What letters? When?"

"Gets a few a week. They always seem to upset her. She burns them after reading."

The memory of startling Ruthie when he came home played in his mind. Ruthie was in front of the fire.

"I apologize, sir, for not telling you. I didn't want to get involved in your married life."

Alfie shook his head distractedly. "Edna why don't you take a holiday."

"Sir?"

"Ruthie is gone. Missing. Take a holiday I will call you when you should come back."

"The children?" Edna inquired, worry etched in her voice and her face.

Alfie exhaled before looking between Polly and Tommy. Polly nodded, "They will be taken care of." She said to the maid.

"Sir. I honestly-" Edna started but Alfie interrupted.

"It's fine, Edna. Go. Leave town but stay aware of your surroundings." Alfie dismissed before turning to Polly. "I need you to take the children. I'll send some men with them for protection, but they can't stay here. I don't know how he got in or what that fucker is capable of. If he has Ruthie, he may try to take the children thinking it will- I don't know..." he trailed off.

Polly nodded and went to the nursery to pack for the children while Alfie called his men to order them to begin questioning everyone in Camden Town to see if they had seen or heard anything. When Polly reemerged holding a sleeping Maggie, Alfie nodded to two of his men.

"No." Polly said to the men and turned to Alfie. "You need all the men here to help search. We have men in Birmingham, they will be safe."

Alfie clenched his jaw and looked at his daughter and his sleeping son who was being carried by Finn when Tommy put a hand on Alfie's shoulder. Alfie nodded and pulled out a wad of bills.

"We don't need your money." Polly said imperialistically as she strode past Alfie, who rolled his eyes, toward the door with her lips pursed and her nose in the air.

"Now what?" Tommy asked Alfie, knowing this was his territory and he was in control.

"Now you all start knocking on doors and letting people know what will happen if they withhold information." Alfie said as he grabbed his gold cane and walked out the door.

Ruthie had stopped crying and was now attempting to free herself from her cuffs. She pulled, trying to get her hand to squeeze through but it was no use. The base of her hands began to bleed before she gave up. Simon had told her he was leaving and would return when she had decided she was no longer trying to hide her love for him. Ruthie knew he hadn't left the building, she could hear him walking above her and shot evil looks in his direction with every creak of the boards. Her hands hurt and throbbed from her effort and her mouth was dry from being stuffed with a cloth before he tied a knot in another and tied it around her face, preventing her from calling out. She looked around desperately as pressure in her lower abdomen turned to pain. She'd been here for hours and needed to relieve herself, but she was stuck. She danced from one foot to the other while squeezing her legs together.

"Arthur!" She heard a familiar voice call in the distance. "Come look at this!"

John! Ruthie pulls at her chains and attempts to scream but the cloths prevent the noise from escaping. She could hear crashing and knocking in the distance and began pulling frantically at her restraints.

"JOHN!" She tried to yell but all that came out was a muffled squeak.

She heard footsteps on the stairs leading into the basement and she gave allowed herself a brief moment of excitement before she saw her captor's feet. She looked back toward the window and could see a pair of boots nearby. Glancing at Simon he held a finger to his lips, telling to be quiet. Immediately Ruthie began to scream in the hopes that one of her sounds would make it through the cloth but the commotion outside drowned any cry she made and the feet walked away.

Ruthie fell to her knees as the clammer went on, growing farther from her. Defeat flooded her body and as tears drained down her face, she felt warm liquid run down her thighs, unable to stop herself. It was too much, not only had she been so close to rescue twice this evening, she had now urinated herself in front of Simon. He had watched her break.

"Oh, Ruthie. Look what you've done." Simon said as if he were speaking to a child.

She sunk down to sit, her hands stretched high above her head and her dress growing damp. Alfie hadn't heard her, her brothers had walked right past her. Now what?