Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales

Sunday, December 21, 2020

Ianto Jones sat at the small table in what had been Luc's flat on the second floor. If group decorating was any indication, Christmas was guaranteed to be insane. Ken talked John into decorating the hallways with him. That went surprisingly well. When they returned, they even included Dawn with adding more to the tree.

Trefor walked over while he was reviewing CCTV footage. "Up."

Ianto settled Trefor on his lap. With no Legos or blocks, Ianto wasn't sure how to entertain Trefor. "You want to look at cars?"

"What are you looking for?"

Ianto smiled. "I don't know."

Anwen's laughter filled the room. It felt good. Her acceptance of Dawn probably had something to do with John. Ianto wished the happiness would last.

The footage was around Andy Davidson's house more than a week earlier. Andy's girlfriend Connie sent it over hoping they would find someone the police hadn't. He wasn't hopeful. The area traffic was residents and their friends and family. The cars had all been identified.

Trefor motioned at the screen. "I like that one."

The rebuilt muscle car belonged to a retired constable two blocks from Andy's. Which made Ianto think of another retiree on that block. He'd seen the woman's car three times that morning. Except he shouldn't have. He grabbed a tablet and scrolled through the names of people in the area on vacation or in the hospital.

"John."

The laptop rose from the desk three inches. "Anwen." Ianto grabbed his computer.

"Not me." She laughed.

John walked over. "You found something?" He sounded amused.

"Lilybet Peairs." Ianto held the tablet up. "Find out if anyone was driving her car while she was in the hospital."

"Which case?"

"Powell Beddoe. The Andy Davidson situation. You showed up to the meeting wearing Pooh pajamas."

Anwen laughed. "Tigger would be better."

"Wolverine is better," Trefor countered. "I asked Santa for Wolverine pajamas."

Torchwood Three

Gwen Cooper sat in the conference room eating pizza and reading the information the general sent on Montpellier France. It fit what they know of Gordon-Glen. The suggested approach to tracking the company had potential if they knew where to look. While geneticists might not advertise human experimentation, there weren't a lot studying genetic modifications of animals publicly either. They were to careful for researching in a country where it was illegal. More likely, they were set-up in a country with few human rights or oversight.

The door opened and Jack stepped in. From his expression, she figured he'd been discussing Torchwood with London again. They needed the Institute rebuilt. She had no idea how they would handle a larger facility. If they could explain the general, he could handle it. But to many questions would be asked.

"John called." Jack sat across from her. "Ianto found something." He explained. "Did Andy mention Connie had a case involving Powell Beddoe?"

"No."

"Beddoe was a suspect in a drugs and a prostitution case. Connie had enough evidence on Beddoe to charge him until the evidence disappeared. Jodi Hsiung was suspected of being involved."

"Cowley mentioned Jodi's death at Noble Industries."

Jack nodded. "DCI Sawyer was with a very young looking prostitute when he died. Dr. Floyd confirmed the dreamfish drug. The Beddoe case involved adult sex workers passed off as underage sex workers."

"Is Beddoe connected to Sawyer's murder?"

"Probably."

"Cowley investigated the impound cars at Noble Industries. Which arguably led to Sawyer's murdered. How does that lead to Beddoe being burned alive in Andy's backyard?"

"Two years ago, Connie was seriously injured and left for dead. Drug dealers got information from somewhere and attacked two detectives on the task force. What wasn't determined, or publicized, was how Connie survived. Rumors were an organized crime boss found her and made sure she got to the A&E. Although Sal has seen to injured police officers before, she swore she had nothing to do with it."

"Okay." Gwen wondered where Jack was going.

"The drug dealers were found stabbed to death. From the medical examiner's report, the overkill was extreme. The investigation led nowhere."

"You think Connie's involved?" Gwen couldn't picture the woman stabbing or burning anyone.

"No. Connie has a stalker."

Gwen remembered Andy mentioning that. It was a strange case. There was evidence that person, probably a man, had been stalking her off and on for years. What made it bizarre was that the person wasn't escalating or showing any interest in approaching her. "She has a stalker that leaves her evidence and tips as a show of affection."

Jack nodded. "I spoke to Andy. He and Connie have been having problems for months. There was a rumor circulating that Andy had been unfaithful."

Gwen didn't believe that. "Say Connie has a stalker that kills or terrorizes people who harm her. Burning someone alive in the backyard and reporting it was Andy is out there. Why did the stalker choose Beddoe?"

"Powell Beddoe filed complaints about Connie. He wanted her fired. Beddoe has family connections in London."

"Shit." Gwen rubbed her face. "What about that psycho that was just released on a technicality?"

"He was found in pieces in the judge's garage."

"We need to get Andy somewhere safe, Jack."

"PD's handling that."

"That's not our case, right? We have Gordon-Glen, the alien by Rhys' business, John's son, and something happening in a base in Alaska."

"The alien started collecting girls because they were disappearing."

Torchwood Four; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Eryn Sylla had an insane idea. Luc had trouble with possibilities that were difficult or impossible to evaluate. He needed evidence and the scientific method. Kailen, despite their upbringing, couldn't handle horrifying concepts. He didn't like horror movies. That left Aman. She entered the break room while he was grabbing energy drinks from the refrigerator. The idea was out there.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to bounce an idea off someone."

Aman set the cans on the table. "Tell me."

Eryn sat across from him, trying to figure out how to explain. "I think Cardiff and possibly London are being used as test areas. Moss-Probert, Cattrel, Noble, Gordon-Glen. After Morgans took out the MP facility and exposed MP, the others should have packed up. Beaupre's death had no obvious result. The teenagers of Cardiff start experimenting with a drug thinking it will give them special powers. Why? How did Eddie Cattrel get access to the drug to enhance Rift abilities? How did any of them know about Malcolm Dove?" She paused. "They are stupid, arrogant or testing Captain Harkness."

"Jack and the general concluded the bioweapon was a trap for emergency responders. Kailen and Luc confirmed the containers had the bioweapon after the destruction."

Eryn shook her head. "Not enough for each of their containers to be full."

"If you're right, someone is connected to all the corporations," Aman said.

"How do we find them?"