Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales

Saturday, December 11, 2020

Gwen Cooper woke to the sound of her mobile playing some ridiculous eighties song. She had no idea when Anwen reprogrammed it. She reached for the phone and grabbed the alarm clock instead. The read-out said 4:38 AM. That couldn't be good.

"Cooper."

"Sorry to wake you." Andy sounded about as awake as she felt. "It's ugly, Gwen. Really ugly." She could hear some type of siren in the background.

"Where are you?"

"Home. It's in my backyard."

"Is there someone there I can talk to, Andy?"

"Yeah." There was a quick, quiet conversation in the background.

"Mrs. Williams," Dr. Floyd said. "Sergeant Davidson is in shock. I'm handing him back over to a paramedic."

Gwen sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "What happened?"

"We're working on that. A person, reportedly a man, was set on fire in Davidson's backyard more than an hour ago. It took the fire department time to extinguish the chemical fire. Police and fire are canvasing the area."

"Is Andy still living in the house he got his parents?" With multiple constables in the area, the killer was bold.

"Yeah."

The last time she'd seen a homicide by fire, it was a drug dispute. "Was he targeted?"

"Him, his roommates or a strange coincidence."

Gwen climbed out of bed. "Roommate? DC Connie Ryan and Constable Peter Harries?"

"Yeah. Harries has been staying with his parents for a week. Something about surgery. Ryan is on duty."

"Please tell the paramedics, and any constables that ask, that I will pick up Andy. He needs to stay there. Have Harries and Ryan been notified?"

"Yeah. They were told immediately. An officer-needs-assistance went out. The original 999 caller thought Andy was the victim."

"Thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can." The call ended.

Rhys propped himself up an elbow. "What happened?"

"There's a problem at Andy's house."

"Mum?" Anwen stepped into the doorway to the bathroom.

"Please go back to bed."

Jack Harkness sat at the kitchen table booting laptops and tablets. It was guaranteed to be a long day. One of the advantages to having the building is they could have impromptu meetings with no notice at odd hours. The immediate question was the target. If it was Andy Davidson then a Torchwood case was probably involved. Although a Sergeant, his duties more often than not involved coordination. Connie Ryan, Andy's long-term girlfriend, worked vice and could arguably have enemies violent enough to burn someone in her backyard. Peter Harries worked with the community and children. If Harries was accused of misconduct, Jack could see someone setting him on fire but not someone else.

John stepped into the flat wearing gray sweats and a Winnie-the-Pooh t-shirt. "I don't want to hear it."

"I used the rest of the coffee," Ianto said from the kitchen. "We need to get more."

"You have tattoos?" John squinted trying to identify the images. "Of what?"

Ianto absently rubbed his chest over his heart. "Spirit marks. Cat and owl." He walked toward Jack. "I need a shower."

Jack grabbed Ianto's hand, and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Get a room."

"He's jealous." Jack motioned at John.

Ianto rolled his eyes and disappeared into the bedroom.

Dmitri entered wearing the same clothes as yesterday. "You're wearing Ken's clothes?" He rubbed his face and looked toward the coffee pot.

"Have a seat." Jack motioned for a chair. "It's not ready yet."

Dmitri dropped onto a chair across from Jack. "What happened?"

Jack handed John a tablet. "Torched body in Andy Davidson's backyard."

"Gwen's old partner from the Cardiff police force?"

"Yeah."

Dmitri rubbed his face.

Jack's mobile rang. "Harkness."

"Good Mrs. Williams already woke you," Dr. Floyd said.

"What can you tell me?"

"Officially, nothing." She took a moment. "Connie Ryan insisted on a solid security system. CCTV footage identified Powell Beddoe. He's a local millionaire with old money and connections. One of his local contacts was DCI Sawyer."

"You need to be careful."

"Yeah. This is my back-up phone." Dr. Floyd ended the call.

"Dmitri, have you talked to Telyn?" She identified Beddoe as the man who beat her and said he had a history of abusing women.

"Briefly. Telyn said she's all right." Dmitri rubbed the back of his neck. "She didn't say it, but some of what she said makes me think Telyn isn't the only person the alien has in the warehouse. The vigilante has been hurting or killing men who commit crimes against women. The missing children are at-risk females."

Jack hoped the alien was as altruistic as she sounded and had nothing to do with Beddoe's death. Killing violent abusers was one thing. Burning the man alive was another. "Did Telyn say she'd stay in contact?"

"Yeah." Dmitri ran his hand over the device on his wrist. "I failed her."

Jack looked at John briefly. John shrugged. Another situation where early memories would help. There was a lot more to Dmitri's state of mind than a casual friend. "You need to get some sleep."

"No. What can I help with?"

"Statistics on fire as a murder weapon. Start with Interpol."

Dmitri grabbed a tablet.

John set the tablet down. "I need fifteen minutes."

"Go ahead."

Andy Davidson's House

Gwen Cooper parked behind a supervisor vehicle. From the number of cruisers, she wondered if half the police force was there. Along with a couple fire departments and a Hazmat specialty unit. She thankfully didn't have to canvas at 5 AM on a Saturday. The neighbors would not be happy.

"Hey." Connie Ryan walked over to her wearing sweats and sneakers.

"Morning."

"Is this a Torchwood case?" Connie asked.

"We're working on that. Andy called. He sounded out of it."

Connie motioned her down the sidewalk and started walking. "999 caller was probably not one of the neighbors. One side is two firefighters. They like working nights and are on duty. The other side is an eighty-year-old; she was awoke by uniforms. Call came in on a disposable phone. Voice was indistinct and possible voice distortion."

"That sounds like the plot to a bad movie."

Connie nodded. "One of my cases was overturned. The guy is a real nut case." She didn't confident. "While this is definitely something he would do, I bet he's hold up with his groupies. We've been barred for surveillance."

"What happened?"

"I don't know." Connie shook her head. "Evidence disappeared. One of the witnesses took a sudden, extended trip to visit her mother in Spain."

"We need to chat somewhere less chaotic." Gwen had questions she couldn't ask surrounded by constables.

Connie greeted a couple constables walking the opposite direction. "Yeah."