Missing Molly (audio story)
Missing Molly was the eighty-second story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range by Big Finish Productions. It starred Ianto Jones, and was written by Gareth David-Lloyd.
This was the second story in a trilogy written by David-Lloyd, dubbed the "Ianthology", after Ianto himself.
Publisher's summary
Molly went missing from the estate 12 years ago. Ianto remembers it because he lived just round the corner. Only, Molly's come back.
Ianto's just as interested as her parents in what happened to her.
Plot
Twelve years after disappearing at a fayre at Penarth Pier, Molly shows up on the doorstep of her mother, Alison, who has been having nightmares about her ever since she vanished. Ianto visits the house with a cover story about investigating the malfunction of satellite systems at the same time that Molly returned, but Alison refuses to answer any questions until he goes to see if any footage was caught on any the neighbours' camera. When he confirms her suspicion that he is Torchwood, she lets him in and tells him about Molly, whose disappearance he remembers from his childhood as he grew up on the estate, and her ex-husband, Stuart.
A scan determines that Molly is completely human, but Bunny, the stuffed toy that her father won for her at the fayre, has no signs of wear and her clothes fit her despite twelve years having passed. Ianto advises Alison not to tell Stuart and decides not to bring in Torchwood either to ensure that the situation is dealt with sensitively, instead promising to visit every day to observe Molly and try to trigger her memory. That night, however, Alison tells a disbelieving Stuart over the telephone and then shows Molly the birthday and Christmas presents she bought for her each year she has been gone. The next day, Ianto takes Molly for ice cream and asks her about the day she went missing.
Alison is concerned that Molly has not been especially upset about not seeing her father or happy about her presents and worried that Torchwood will study her or lock her away when Ianto eventually has to give Jack a report. Ianto borrows Bunny and visits Stuart, who has no memory of the toy, accuses the woman with Alison of being a con artist or helping Alison as part of a scam and asks him to leave when he questions whether he would recognise his daughter given that he has no photographs of her on display in his apartment. Ianto takes Bunny and tells Stuart how the toy was won by Molly's father at a shooting game at the fayre after fourteen attempts.
When Alison gets Molly to close her eyes and try to remember where she has been, Molly recalls how she dropped Bunny in the sea and Alison suggests that Stuart does not want to see her because he is angry. This fails to get an emotional response from her, however, and she hurts her to try to get her to cry. She does not mention this to Ianto when he returns and takes Molly for a walk around the estate and a visit to the park where she shares a memory about breaking her arm. Although Ianto notes that this is the first bad memory she has shared, Molly says that it is a happy memory because of how her father came to her rescue. They then go to the pier where Ianto detects a history of Rift energy.
Stuart arrives at the house as Ianto is leaving and demands to see Molly, insistent that she is a con artist, only to drive away when he does. Ianto tells Alison that Molly was transported away by a doorway that was once active at the pier and that he will make a report to Jack the next day so that they can help her acclimatise, but privately he worries that he has messed things up and practises how he is going to explain himself to Jack. In the morning, Alison finds that Molly has disappeared and Ianto admits that he put a monitoring chip under her skin which he uses to track her, discovering that she is on her way to the pier and moving at a speed which means she must be in a car.
On the way to Penarth, Ianto tells Alison that his scan indicated that the girl has never broken a bone in her life, but Alison does not care whether she is really Molly or not. Stuart takes Molly out onto the pier and, despite having been playing along during the journey, accuses her of being a liar and demands to know what happened to his daughter. He throws Bunny over the edge and, after apologising for things not going as she had hoped, she jumps into the sea. Ianto arrives with Alison and detects no sign of Molly, meaning she has disappeared once again.
Cast
- Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
- Stuart - Matthew Gravelle
- Molly - Gwyneth Keyworth
- Alison - Nia Roberts
Crew
- Cover Art - Sean Longmore
- Director - Lisa Bowerman
- Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
- Music - Blair Mowat
- Producer - James Goss
- Script Editor - James Goss
- Sound Design - Toby Hrycek-Robinson
- Writer - Gareth David-Lloyd
- Theme Music - Murray Gold
Worldbuilding
Individuals
- Molly's best friend was Ava Farris.
- Molly's circle of friends included Chelsea, Ella, Ffion and Millie Lee Dobson.
- Millie lied about kissing Corey Matthews whilst he was dating Ffion.
- Molly fell off a roundabout and broke her arm when Wade Hennessey was pushing it.
- Stuart took Molly to Dr Prakash when she broke her arm.
Locations
- Molly disappeared at a fair at Penarth Pier.
- Molly prefers the fayre at Penarth to Barry Island.
- As a child, Ianto lived at 12 Frome Walk, and "for a little while" at 8 Frome Walk Flat 3. 12 years ago, Millie Lee Dobson lived at 32 Frome Walk. Ava Farris lived on Rhaeadr Close, and Sophie lived on Windrush Road.
Popular culture
- Alison once thought she saw Molly on Corrie.
Food and drink
- Alison offers Ianto instant coffee, and he pretends to enjoy it. Stuart recently bought Blue Jamaica coffee, but Ianto declines.
- Molly loves hot cocoa and fish and chips with extra vinegar.
Notes
- Missing Molly was recorded at One Louder Studios on 9 November 2023.
Continuity
- Alison knows about Torchwood, despite their efforts to remain secret. (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang [+]Loading...["Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)"] et al.)
- Torchwood's medic is going through a "life crisis" right now. (TV: A Day in the Death [+]Loading...["A Day in the Death (TV story)"])
- Ianto mentions that the last time he lied to his team, they "ended things with his girlfriend". (TV: Cyberwoman [+]Loading...["Cyberwoman (TV story)"])
- Alison presumes that Torchwood has a secret remote facility for hiding people away in unusual circumstances. (TV: Adrift [+]Loading...["Adrift (TV story)"])
- The Cardiff Rift extends to Penarth. Jonah Bevan also disappeared there. (TV: Adrift [+]Loading...["Adrift (TV story)"])
- Ianto recalls breaking his leg on a swing as a child. (TV: Template:Children of Earth: Day Two (TV story))
External links
- Official Missing Molly page at bigfinish.com
Footnotes
Notes
- ↑ In this story, Ianto says the main home he remembers from childhood was on Molly's estate. In AUDIO: Torchwood: SUV [+]Loading...["Torchwood: SUV"], he reveals that he mostly grew up in Newport.
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