Rose had got a surprise when the personnel officer called her into the general office, everyone having looked at her when she had been summoned and speculation was rife.

"What do they want you for Rose?" one of the girls asked her.

Rose shrugged her shoulders and went to see what her fate was. Had she been singled out for getting rid of if the store was making cutbacks?

"Rose, take a seat," Miss Foster told her, Rose thinking she was creepy to say the least and looked like she was from somewhere far out in space.

"It's come to my attention you've taken no holiday this year, any reason?" Rose was asked.

"Not really, me and my mum can't afford holidays during peak times but we keep saying if anything cheap comes up we may do."

"Well you have two weeks paid holiday to come so take my advice and take at least one week, you know the manager disapproves of paying out anything that is owed?"

"So when should I take them then?" Rose asked as the woman made it clear the interview was over.

"Just give me a date," came the reply as the woman clicked her pen, Rose thinking it was annoying and wondered if it was more than a pen.

Avoiding her workmates, she got home after she had sneaked a holiday brochure from the travel department on her break, one for a famous caravan holiday company and after she'd checked it, found it was quite cheap the first week of October – just three weeks away.

"So watcha think mum?" Rose asked her mother who was turning to the page Rose had folded over for a holiday park in Dorset.

"Rose, why there? That's where that boy was killed recently. What about the one near Weymouth?" she suggested.

"Mum, the one in Broadchurch is right on the harbour. Ya just step out and the beach is a few yards away and besides, the killer's locked up, they did that interview with that detective. He'd been taken ill, remember?" Rose asked her.

"Yeah, what was he thinking by hiding it?" her mother wanted to know.

"Well he got the person so it has to count for something? He's probably left town by now anyway. So shall I ring up and book before those cheap caravans get taken up?"

Alec Hardy wasn't pleased when the leader of the town council had somehow got his phone number and he was waiting for the weekly meeting to break up after he'd been asked to attend.

"So, we propose a beauty contest to be held the first week in October?" the leader was asking.

"Yes but where will the evening session be held?" one member objected.

"I suggest we contact the caravan park manager and see if we can use their entertainment centre for the evening. I know it's members only but it will give them a boost. We can issue free tickets and people will buy drinks, it will give them good publicity. It shouldn't really be cold, it was worse in August."

Alec was thinking this was a waste of time, why had he been asked to attend when his chief had said he was still on staff for emergencies until a start date for him going to the academy to teach new recruits, since her friend ran it and the chief medical officer had cleared him for light duties pending surgery, not that he'd bothered arranging it yet.

"DI Hardy, we've asked you here because we believe you would be ideal to compare the show and hand out the prizes."

"What?" he asked, wishing he'd never come now.

"Well the afternoon event, the holiday park entertainment staff will want to take over the evening. You could just present the winners afterwards and have a few photos taken for the local paper, the town needs cheering up after what happened, don't you agree?"

Alec was just glad Miller had left town or he'd never hear the end of it. Reluctantly he agreed, since it was only a matter of standing to the side of the stage that would be hired on the Esplanade or the beach and giving out each contestant's details, hoping that wouldn't include their measurements.

Rose had excitedly booked over the phone and was looking up the place on her mobile and saw the newly added event appear on the local newspaper's social media account, ran by broadchurchecho and a certain Olly Stevens, who hoped to take the photos at both events, the twelve finalists chosen from the afternoon event to battle it out in the evening.

"Hey Mum, I think I might enter the beauty contest, watcha think?" Rose asked.

"Why not? There won't be a lot taking part, surely?" her mother asked. "So what's the prize?"

"Wow, it's five hundred quid, it's worth it. Don't know what the other prizes are though. I still might not win."

"Don't say that Rose, you have as much chance as anyone else does. Find out who's presenting it and get well in," her mother joked. "Still, it might be that sickly detective if he's got nothing else to do."

Rose was wishing she'd never said that. So the next week or so, Rose was checking the train times to Dorchester, then they had to get a bus that went all along the coastal road into the town itself but dropped them off a few yards from the caravan park.

Notices were hastily being printed, the local paper had a front page spread of the upcoming event and everyone, apart from Alec was looking forward to it. It had been arranged with the caravan park manager that entries would be taken before and on the date and not exclusive to young women who were staying there but the deadline was 10am to give them time to make a list and print it out to give to Alec, who had been contacted again to say the stage would be on the beach, which he wished it wasn't but it was to allow more room for visitors, who would hopefully come from nearby towns.

Unknown to Alec though, he had no idea one Rose Tyler would be taking part, as she was packing her swimsuit, hoping it wouldn't be cold and a new dress she got from the 'Reduced' rail that her manager swore hadn't been there before but couldn't actually prove it.

So Rose and her mother were travelling early on the Monday morning, Rose having booked Monday to Friday and the beauty contest was on the Wednesday, Rose being thankful it wasn't on the Friday or she would have missed out. On the train going down, her mother was planning what they would do the rest of the days, saying she wanted to go to at least Weymouth and Lyme Regis if nowhere else.

"Mum, that's all we will get to go places," Rose was telling her, watching the landscape go by, backwards since they'd got a table seat to themselves.

"Yeah, with you planning something for Wednesday. So Lyme on Tuesday and Weymouth on Thursday then?"

Rose thought her mother already had it planned. After getting off the train and going to the bus stand with their two cases and a shoulder bag, they were on the way to Broadchurch, getting on the Exeter bus and her mother wishing they had more time.

They arrived on the harbour just by the amusement arcade and having to pass some food stalls, Rose saying they still had a bit to wait to get the caravan keys but said they'd go try their luck and see if they were there early. They were as they were handed their entertainment passes and Rose wondered why the beauty event wasn't being held in the swimming pool, since she was handed a leaflet advertising the contest.

"So how do I register for the contest then?" Rose asked the woman.

"You can do it now," was the reply, being handed a clipboard with a list and Rose seeing quite a few names.

"Don't ya want any details?" Rose wanted to know, her mother keen to get settled.

"No, you'll just be asked your name, age and where you're from on the day. Then you'll be introduced. The final's being held here later in the evening."

Rose already knew most of that so getting away after adding her name to the list, they wheeled their cases a few rows down and entered the caravan, Jackie giving it a quick inspection and going to claim the double room, which Rose thought was typical and may just sleep in the lounge area.

"I'll go find the camp shop Mum then call and get something to eat at one of those stalls," Rose called out, thinking she'd just hang up her new dress first in the limited space, since she thought the twin bedroom was meant for kids.

"Okay, don't be long and stay out of the amusement arcade," came her mother's reply.

After getting the essentials, she walked back across the road bridge and went to one of the food stalls and while she waited, leaned on the low wall at the side, spying an odd-shaped blue chalet with the door open and what looked like a man in just his shirt sleeves sitting on the step reading something.

"Wish we could have afforded that," Rose thought to herself as the man seemed engrossed in what he was doing to notice someone was staring at him.

Then she wondered if by any chance it was the detective who just caught that boy's killer? She decided maybe not as her order was called and she picked up the carrier bag of groceries and went back to the caravan.

Alec was sitting outside, a pile of old folders behind him and going over old reports from his last disastrous case, taking no notice someone was sat on the wall staring in his direction. He knew he should really watch out that the main suspect hadn't got back into the country and found out where he was living. With the suspect's wife just down the coast but avoiding any contact with him, it was only a matter of time he supposed before Lee Ashworth went looking for her.

He was surprised she'd not heard about the beauty contest and entered it just to annoy him by coming to the town after she'd agreed to minimum contact.

"Seems a nice place," Jackie was telling Rose as they ate, wishing they'd got a caravan with a patio like the one they'd passed finding theirs.

"Yeah, wanna got for a walk later?" Rose suggested.

"As long as we don't go past the police station," Jackie laughed. "We saw enough of that on TV. So where's the contest taking place?"

"On the beach I think. We should walk around the front and on the pier, if we're going out tomorrow?"

As they sat on the sea wall before it got higher, Rose thought she had seen the town's ex detective but dismissed the idea, of course he was going to be around but why would he want to talk to anyone? Jackie wanted to go back and catch her soaps on TV and start preparing a simple meal Rose had chosen from the limited range and her not so affluent bank account but she still had to check her balance to see if her holiday pay had gone through when they went out tomorrow.

Rose didn't fancy watching her mother's programmes.

"I think I'll take a look around the other side of where we got off the bus. What time are we going out?" Rose asked as her mother put the TV on.

"When's bingo? We need to be there when tickets go on sale."

Rose thought that was just typical. She set off down the roadway and out onto the harbour, turning left and passing where she'd been earlier and without realizing, looked to see if anyone was sat outside the blue chalet again but saw the door was closed. She got to the end where the pub was by a wall and fancied getting a latte so she ordered and sat at one of the metal tables at the side, just as Alec was walking over the footbridge.

He saw a blonde sitting at one of the tables as he walked over the footbridge and thought while waiting to order some food, would find out if she was on holiday and if she was entering the beauty contest he'd been roped into comparing, though he still didn't know why they'd picked on him. Maybe it was because they knew he was on limited duties after his boss had initially told him to clear his desk, not that there had been anything to clear.

Rose had just turned around as she put her drink on the table and almost collided with him as he stepped off the bridge.

"Be careful Miss," Alec addressed her as she tried to recover.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone to be behind me," Rose replied, sitting down before she bumped into him again.

"That's a footbridge, it stands to reason someone may be crossing it," Alec told her.

"Well it only seems to go to that fancy restaurant," Rose tried to argue, beginning to realise who she was talking to.

"It's also used by people who live there. Forget about it. Did you spill your drink?"

"No, thankfully. Sorry, maybe it was my fault, I only arrived a few hours ago," she admitted, thinking why would he be bothered?

Alec decided he should maybe quit while he was ahead so he went off to order but his curiosity got the better of him as he went back to where Rose was sitting playing with her phone and sending a 'wish you were here' to Shareen, who she'd been unable to persuade to go with them.

"So where are you staying?" Alec decided to ask but assumed it would be the caravan park as the pubs seemed a bit pricey.

"Oh, me and my mum have got a caravan. Sorry, you're that detective, aren't you, from that boy's murder?"

"You have been doing your homework. I'm sort of retired at the moment, I have something I need to sort out," he admitted.

"I saw that newspaper report, you had something wrong with you," Rose replied, wondering why whatever it was, he'd not got himself fixed.

"Yes, so the news reached to wherever you come from?" Alec wanted to know, wondering where his order had got to and he really must get a taxi to the supermarket.

"Yeah, that would be London," Rose smiled. "As if ya couldn't tell."

"So are you taking part in the beauty contest?" he asked, popping his head around the corner in case he'd missed the call his food was ready.

"Well I put my name down, don't know about winning it," Rose replied with a grin.

She was only doing it really so her mother wouldn't drag her to another town in the area since they had to depend on the bus company.

Alec was thinking as he went around the corner on hearing his order being called that she would give the other contestants a run for their money. He had been going back to his chalet to eat but ordered a carton of tea and hoped the blonde hadn't taken off while he wasn't looking – this could be interesting but if he was seen talking to her, he may be accused of favouritism once the contest took place.

Rose had been about to leave when he sat down opposite her. It occurred to him that he had no say over the judges so what harm would there be? If she won, all well and good but if not, maybe she would need consoling?