Touching Evil

DI Dave Creegan is paired with DI Susan Taylor on his first day to investigate the disappearance of three young schoolboys who have all been snatched in broad daylight. Creegan discovers a link with two boys who disappeared in Stuttgart some three years previously, but surveillance on his prime suspect fails to yield any information. Taylor is concerned that Creegan is putting all his eggs in one basket and efforts to investigate other lines of enquiry.

A satellite surveillance van picks up images of the young boys held in an airtight room. Creegan realises that time is running out, and when prime suspect Ronald Hinks gives a silent interview, he realises he may have to break the rules to secure the boys' safety. As Taylor organises a house-to-house on an abandoned estate, Creegan kidnaps Hinks' dog and puts him onto a scent, which leads Creegan straight to the crime scene. But is he is too late?

A group of patients who are all on the same ward at a local hospital die within minutes of each other. When the cause of death is found to be an overdose of drugs, and each of the victims has the tattoo 'let me go' stencilled onto their back, Creegan and Taylor investigate the hospital cleaner, Carl Burgess, who is found in possession of items belonging to a senior doctor. Creegan is left unconscious after being attacked at home, but who is responsible?