Okay, so I cannot promise frequent updates. This is my second story at the moment and the other gets priority. However, I was wanting to see if this sort of story would be received well. I've wanted to read OC stories and have yet to find a good one, so I thought I could try to write one.
This is not going to be spoiler free! Be forewarned! Also, it starts BEFORE the murder of Daniel Latimer. I won't say how much before, but this is the only chapter before the murder.
Chapter 1: Broadchurch
Lisette wasn't sure how much longer she could run.
It had been about a month. A month of moving from town to town in the dead of night, curling up under their meager blanket in a doorway and picking food from the garbage.
The children were handling it much better than Lisette had expected them to. She had assumed they would have been terrified, loud, complaining. She had underestimated them. Jasper and Emmaline's knack for survival rivalled even Lisette's own.
Still, the air was growing colder with each day. In the last town, they had come close to being discovered by some town people. Town people who did not want strays wandering about.
So it had been time to find a new home.
It took two days of wandering before she found another town they could hide in. It was difficult, finding a town just big enough no one would notice a few newcomers but small enough that she wouldn't be searched for in them.
The town they ended up in was called Broadchurch. Lisette found a small pavilion area away from the center of town and curled the children up in the blanket, wrapping herself around them to provide more heat for them.
She had a little bit of money; she'd kept herself from spending the meager money she'd had, and in the first few towns she'd begged for money despite the dumpster diving she'd done for food for the children.
When she woke up in the morning, she made her way into the library as soon as it opened and locked herself and the children in the bathroom, quickly making them as presentable as possible, changing them into their one set of clean clothes.
They needed money. More than that, they needed security. Her children needed to feel safe. Lisette could make them feel safe. If she got them a place to live.
Something she'd discovered about small towns in the last month was that they generally had small jobs they were willing to pay people under the table to do. In the first town, before her begging attempts, she had worked a few odds and end jobs for a few days before nerves got the best of her.
She also knew that toting children around was not the best for that. But she also knew she couldn't just leave them. Instead, she hid the blanket they had behind a dumpster near the pavilion they slept under and tucked the children into the now empty backpack, instructing them to keep quiet for her.
Surprisingly, she was in luck when it came to finding odd jobs. The library offered to pay her to shelf books every Wednesday, the news store offered to have her run errands and restock shelves and such on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She purposefully ignored the newspaper office and the church. She knew those two places were more apt to ask her questions. As was the police.
Lisette, upon arriving at the Laundromat to wash hers and the children's spare clothes, found herself agreeing to work the night shift on Sunday nights and Friday nights. That meant they would have a place to stay on those nights.
From what Lisette could gather, the town had plenty of openings. It was summer (although it sure didn't feel like it), and most of the people who could work focused on places that got more business, paid more. It helped that Lisette offered to work for both under the table and for less than most people.
Lisette managed to scrounge together some food for the children that night from the dumpster out behind the local chippy before wrapping them tightly to avoid air from the ocean and falling into a light, fitful sleep.
When she woke up the next day, she bundled Emmaline and Jasper up in the backpack once more, making her trek to the news store. When she got there, the owner, Jack Marshall, was already in the middle of things.
"Ah. I realized I forgot to give you a time," Jack said as she entered.
"What would you like me to do?" Lisette asked him in lieu of a greeting.
"There are a few boxes back here that need to be loaded onto the shelves. Make sure to rotate the older stuff to the front. And some of the magazines need replaced. You can sit your backpack down back here," Jack said. Lisette's grip tightened on her backpack for a moment before she loosened her grip. She sat the backpack down where she could keep an eye on it, opening the top a bit more so they had plenty of air and even enough room to peek out if they needed to.
They were probably still asleep. That or silently entertaining themselves. They did that a lot now, Lisette realized. It was painful to realize that they were being stunted, having to remain silent when they ought to babbling freely at their age.
Lisette was in the middle of the last box when she heard the door open.
"Back already?" Jack asked. Lisette glanced up to see a boy handing Jack a newspaper bag.
"Didn't take that long today," the boy said. Lisette quickly finished up the last box and stood to bring the empty boxes towards Jack when the boy accidentally tripped over her bag. Lisette's heart stuttered as she leapt forward.
"I'm sorry," the boy said, but anything else he might of said was cut short by Jasper's short cry. Emmaline whimpered as well. Lisette dropped to the ground next to the bag, opening it a bit more. Both children stared up at her in confusion and fear. They relaxed a bit at her face. Lisette picked up the bag and held the two of them close to her, still almost hidden by the bag.
"I didn't realize you had children," Jack said, staring at her for a moment with an almost blank expression. Lisette gripped the bag closer. This was why she had kept them hidden. It was easier to find a quick job without children, especially children you had to bring to work with you.
"You don't look old enough to have kids," the boy said dubiously.
"I'm twenty. I'm old enough," Lisette said defensively.
"You don't have to leave them in the bag. Let them out. If they are well-mannered enough to remain in a bag, I don't see why they cannot at least sit out and amuse themselves," Jack said. Lisette's eyes widened at his words.
"You mean I can still work for you?" Lisette asked in disbelief.
"As long as I have work for you to do. Break the boxes down and you can put them out back next to the dumpster," Jack told her. Lisette gently pulled the twins out of the backpack and sat the three year olds next to each other. Both stared up at her for a moment. Lisette could only offer them a smile as she started breaking down the boxes.
Before, they would have been crawling all over her, begging to play. In the last month, they'd learnt that Mommy couldn't play as much as she used to with them. She always did her best to play with them before bed, but it wasn't the same.
She carried the boxes out and placed them near the dumpster as Jack had asked her to. When she reentered the store, she was surprised to hear giggling. Jasper and Emmaline's giggling. She hastened her step, freezing when she saw the boy making funny faces at them, sending the twins into fits of giggles.
"They started whimpering when you left," Jack supplied.
"Is there anything else you need me to do?" Lisette asked.
"The newspaper office forgot to send me the latest shipment of magazines. They have them in though. If you could run down there and pick them up for me, I'd appreciate it," Jack said. Lisette's heart sped up at the words. She nodded and moved towards the children.
"You can leave them here. I can play with them," the boy said.
"Danny's a good boy," Jack added. Lisette wrapped an arm around herself, biting her lip. She hadn't left the children out of her sight for more than a few minutes in the last month.
"It's just…they're always with me," Lisette tried explaining.
"They probably spend enough time in the backpack. And they seem wound up. If you took them with you, they would probably cause a fuss. I assume the point of the backpack is to keep them a secret," Jack said. Lisette's grip on her other arm tightened and she nodded apprehensively.
"I'll be back quickly," Lisette swore before walking as fast as she could towards the newspaper office. She had passed it a few times when she had been scouting the area for jobs. Still, it was a bit of a walk. She walked as quickly as she could without completely running. The sooner she made it there, the sooner she could get back to her children. Her anxiety was already rising at the fact that she had left them alone with people she barely knew.
She all but barged into the newspaper office without a clue as to who she was to talk to to get the magazines for Jack. She stood there, glancing around nervously, until a boy made his way to her. He stopped in front of her, eyes glancing at her before giving her a smile. Lisette took a half step back automatically.
"My name's Olly. Can I help you with something?" he asked.
"Jack Marshall sent me here to pick up some magazines for him," Lisette said quickly. The boy – no, man, really, he was her age – glanced over his shoulder.
"Maggie, did we have magazines for Jack Marshall?" Olly shouted. A woman with blonde hair took off her glasses and stood, making her way over to them. Her eyes narrowed on Lisette.
"We do. And who are you?" Maggie asked, eyes staring at Lisette.
"I help Jack Marshall out a bit. He asked me to come get them for him," Lisette said, lowering her eyes. She felt like the woman was staring directly into her soul. It freaked her out.
It made her want to run and hide again.
"I'll have to call him to make sure. What did you say your name was?" the woman, Maggie, asked her again.
"I didn't," Lisette said, one hand gripping her other arm tightly. Maggie waited, but Lisette didn't tell her a name. After a moment Maggie made her way back to her desk and picked up her phone.
"I haven't seen you around before," Olly said conversationally.
"I just got here," Lisette said quietly.
"Well, if you'd ever like someone to show you around, I'm free quite a bit," Olly said.
"I've got a lot to do," Lisette said immediately.
"Where did you move into?" Olly asked. Lisette clammed up once more. She glanced over to see Maggie standing up and making her way back to them.
"If your name is Lisette then you can have the magazines," Maggie said. Lisette nodded carefully and accepted the bundle Maggie handed her. She spun quickly and walked out of there, barely managing to keep herself from breaking into a run.
When she got back to Jack's shop, she was able to breath out a sigh of relief. Both children were still there, still safe, still playing with Danny.
"You can go ahead and replace the old magazines with those," Jack told her when her shoulders dropped with the realization that the children were safe.
Lisette automatically did as he asked. She waved goodbye at Danny when he left for school. She kept an eye on Jack when he started playing with the children, but continued straightening up the magazines.
Around eleven, Jack told her he was going to run home and grab a bite for lunch. And leave Lisette in charge of the store when he was gone.
"But you don't know me! Why would you leave me in charge of the store?" Lisette asked, panic settling in.
"I like you. You remind me of my ex-wife. I also get the impression that you need more than part time work to raise two children. Call it a trial run, if you will. Police stations just across the way. If you try skipping out with anything, they'll see. And there are security cameras. I'll be back in under an hour. Do you know how to work a cash register?" he asked. Lisette shook her head helplessly as Jack showed her how to punch things in and what buttons to push.
"There. I'll be back soon," Jack told her before grabbing his hat and making his way out of the shop.
With Jack gone, Lisette wasn't sure what to do. Part of her, the part that had been on the run for a month, wanted to grab cash and clear out, skipping town altogether.
But she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. Because deep down, she wasn't that sort of person. It would have been easier if she had been that sort of person for sure.
So Lisette corralled the children behind the counter, out of sight. She filled a small bucket with water and rolled her long sleeves up, setting to work on scrubbing the counter clean. She could do this, with Jack not here. No one had even entered the shop so far that day. She doubted they would now.
"Those are so pretty nasty scars."
The Scottish voice scared Lisette and she jumped, barely managing to keep from knocking the bucket of water off the cabinet. A man stood in front of her, Coke in one hand and newspaper in the other.
And his eyes were glued to here currently bare arms.
Lisette quickly did the last swipe of the counter before pulling her sleeves down. She moved the bucket to the floor and took a towel to it quickly. The man seemed to be waiting for an answer.
"And the bruises, although faded, are still there. Quite the degree of abuse, if I had to guess," the man continued.
"Is that all for you?" Lisette asked, hoping to pull his attention from her and to his things.
When she looked back, he was still staring critically at her.
"I haven't seen you here before. Have you been here long?" he asked. Lisette kept her mouth closed, choosing instead to type the coke and newspaper into the register.
She told him the total, watching as he handed her exact change. She was grateful for Jack showing her how to work the register – it meant whoever the stranger was, he wouldn't be asking her any more questions about that.
Jasper and Emmaline gripped her legs suddenly, nearly causing Lisette to jump. Lisette tried to keep herself calm as the two used her legs to pull themselves into a standing position.
They were both still hidden by the counter.
The man stared critically at her for a minute before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a business card.
"If whoever was abusing you does it again, report him," the man said before turning and making his way out of the store. Lisette waited til he was gone to glance at the card.
And her blood ran cold.
D.I. Alec Hardy.
He was a detective inspector.
Her hands were shaking as she shoved the card violently into her pocket, tugging her sleeves down as far as she could. It still didn't feel far enough, in her opinion. When Jack returned twenty minutes later, she still felt like her bruises and scars were laid bare for all to see.
It was a nightmare of a feeling.
But on the positive side, Emmaline and Jasper had run themselves tired so that by the end of the day they were already sleepy.
Much to Lisette's shock, Jack gave her jobs and kept her working all day. She appreciated it more than anything and doubted he would have done it had her children not made an appearance. Lisette got the impression that Jack enjoyed playing with children. He admitted to her before she left, as he was locking up the shop for the night, that he had had a son who had died in a car accident when he was young.
It made sense, to Lisette, she supposed. Why he wanted to help her. Still, Lisette managed to scrounge around in a dumpster while the children slept and gathered a bit of food for the next morning before curling up with the children under the small pavilion.
The next morning, she had no clue what to do. She huddled under the pavilion and played with the children as soon as they woke up, fed them some of the food she'd scavenged the night before, but other than that, she had no clue. She'd love to take them to a park; it had been ages since they'd been to a park properly, but she didn't want them spotted.
The longer she could keep them a secret, the safer they would be.
She'd caught a glimpse of the listings in the newspapers yesterday and it seemed the town was expensive. She doubted they would be able to stay there. But it would be a nice town to at least build up a bit of cash in before taking off and finding a more inexpensive town to start over in.
And as long as she did it before it got unbearably cold, they would be fine.
It started to rain around noon. Lisette had debated on going out and searching for another job, but the rain anchored her staying put. The children took a nap as it rained and Lisette set her water bottle out, catching the rain to drink.
She didn't have to be at the Laundromat until eight, and while she didn't have a watch, she could guess the time from the sun – that is, if the sun ever came back out.
When the children woke, Lisette made sure to play with them again. She didn't know the next time she'd be able to play with her children, and she didn't want to neglect them.
The rain had stopped when someone approached the pavilion. At the sight of someone coming, Lisette quickly bundled the children up and tried to pull them into the smallest corner she could, hoping whoever it was would pass them on by.
She held her breath as the person walked by, not noticing them.
Soon after, Lisette bundled them up again and risked another trip to the dumpster. She managed to find a bit more food before taking the children with her to the Laundromat.
There, the owner warned her that there wasn't anything to steal. No money was kept there, just in the machines and she had no access to it. All she had to do was man the counter overnight to make sure that everything ran accordingly, so the owner could have a few nights off.
Not that anyone ever came in there, according to the owner. But it was a twenty-four hour place, so he had to stay open.
Lisette didn't mind. She was able to wash their blanket and tuck the children into a laundry trolly. It was like they actually had a bed. And it was indoors.
It was worth the sleepless night.
So when morning came, the owner paid her and she trekked back to their pavilion. The children still slept, allowing Lisette time to curl up next to them and doze off as well.
"Miss? Miss, are you alright?"
The voice broke through her sleepy state, sending her into a panic. Who was that? Where were her children? Her eyes shot open and darted about, trying to find them.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she spotted them lying next to her.
But there was a man standing over them. Lisette tried scooting back, farther away from the man. He seemed to understand her fear and took a step back, still watching her. Something about him felt familiar. Like she'd seen his face before.
"Miss, you look like you've been attacked. Are you okay?" the man repeated.
"I'm fine. I wasn't attacked. I was sleeping," Lisette said slowly as she tried to carefully and discreetly push the children behind her.
The man's eyes followed her movements.
"What are you doing sleeping out here? Did your parents kick you out?" he asked.
"No," Lisette said quickly. The man's eyes widened; he must have caught sight of the children.
A car pulled up nearby. Lisette glanced up to see a police car park next to the pavilion and the man from her first day in town step out. D.I. Alec Hardy.
Lisette frantically tried to gather the bag and the children in one swoop, but before she could try hiding them in the backpack and dash off, the DI was standing next to the stranger.
"You called in that you needed assistance….you," DI Hardy said, staring at Lisette.
"I'm sorry for bothering you, Detective Inspector. I thought she had been attacked. She was lying unmoving. It appears she was only sleeping," the man said. The detective's eyes narrowed.
"Do your parents live in town?" DI Hardy asked Lisette.
"No," Lisette answered quickly, not daring to move her arms. Anything to keep from drawing attention to the bundle in her arms.
Her luck ran out. Jasper was waking up. His hand reached up, tugging on Lisette's braided hair.
"Mommy?" Jasper asked. Lisette shushed him quickly, keeping her eyes on the men.
DI Hardy's eyes went wide. And the other man's eyes hadn't left her since he'd seemingly spotted them earlier. Lisette took their sudden shock and bolted, children and blanket in arms but backpack left behind.
She regretted that – it had the little money she'd managed to earn in it along with her few possessions, but she needed to stay safe, keep the children safe.
And safe meant away from the police.
She ran until she caught sight of the beach. She couldn't go there. Not the beach. Her fear of water seemed to ebb and eat away at her at the sight.
No. She needed to get somewhere safe. Somewhere no one would bother her.
Her eyes landed on a church up on the hill. There were no cars outside. If it was unlocked, she could go in there and hide out. Churches had always felt comfortable to Lisette. Her brother had been a priest.
Before he'd been killed.
Lisette pushed that thought down as she trekked towards the church. She tried the door, her hope dashed as it turned out to be locked. She turned to face the cemetery. There was a tree in the middle, almost a weeping willow tree. It looked really shady. Shady enough to offer a hiding place.
Lisette trudged to the tree and settled herself under it.
"Mommy?" Emmaline asked this time. Lisette shushed them gently.
"Mommy needs a bit of sleep. Just stay right here. I won't be long," Lisette promised. And her eyes slid shut.
When her eyes opened once more, the first thing she was aware of was the lack of warm bodies next to her. She shot up quickly, eyes widening even more at the sight of the abandoned blanket. Blanket in arms, she was out from under the tree in an instant.
The children were playing by a tombstone, the man from earlier sitting on a bench and watching them carefully.
"Jasper. Emmaline," Lisette called, her voice just loud enough for them to hear. Both stopped at the sound of her voice.
"The DI has your backpack," the man said.
"Who are you? Are you following us?" Lisette asked as she stumbled over to the children.
"No. I'm Paul Coates, the vicar here. The children were sitting under the tree and I offered to let them play while you slept," the man said.
"Why?" Lisette asked suspiciously.
"Because they looked bored and were incredibly well-mannered. You don't meet that many children their age that well-mannered," Paul explained.
"I'm not going to tell you about myself. I won't tell you where we're from, why we're here. I won't tell you anything," Lisette said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She tugged the sleeves down as far as they would go on her shirt as she did.
"I never asked for any of that. Why don't you sit and let the children play for a bit?" Paul asked her. Lisette opened her mouth, ready to turn him down, but her children's wide eyes changed her mind.
They wanted to play. And Lisette didn't have the heart to tell them no. She'd been having to tell them no far too often in the last month. So Lisette sat.
"I hadn't even known you weren't from around here. I've only been living here for a few years myself," Paul said quietly. Lisette pulled her feet up on the bench, hugging her knees to her chest as the children chased each other around a gravestone.
"Do you like being a vicar?" Lisette asked, tugging the conversation in a different direction.
"I do," Paul said simply.
"My brother was a priest. He said it was what made him happiest," Lisette remembered, feeling the corners of her lips tug upward.
"Why were you sleeping in the cemetery? Do you know someone out there?" Paul asked her conversationally. Lisette thought about not answering him. She thought about snatching up her children and running as fast and far away as she could.
"No. I'm just passing through," Lisette finally answered honestly.
"Passing through. And you have little to no money. Otherwise you'd be staying in the hotel, or at least the backseat of your car," Paul said, his tone musing. Lisette stiffened at his words. He noticed and dropped the subject once more.
"Why were you trying to hide them so much?" Paul asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Lisette bit her lip, trying to think of what to say. How to say what she needed to say, the bare minimum?
"A girl is not as easily noticed as a mother and her two children," Lisette finally admitted.
"And you were trying to remain in hiding. From someone?" Paul asked. Lisette made herself nod.
"If it ever rains, while you're here…I live just down the road there. You can stop by and get some shelter," Paul offered. Lisette nodded but she wouldn't take him up on his offer.
She didn't know him. How could she possibly trust him?
After awhile, Lisette stood and took the children back with her. She managed to find a different pavilion, one hopefully no one would walk by. It was dreadfully closer to the ocean, something that kept her up all night watching her children. But no one walked by it.
She could look for a different pavilion the next day.
DI Hardy:
He flung the backpack down on the couch in his office before sinking into his desk chair. That was the second time the girl had refused to answer any of his questions. He was half tempted to bring her in for obstructing the justice or suspicious behavior, but he had a feeling the Chief Superintendent would not approve of that.
He started looking through missing people reports. He tried starting with children. There had been two of them. And the one had called her mommy. She looked far too young to have children, though. Maybe they were her siblings? He sifted through report after report, but no one had reported two children of their age and appearance in the last few months.
If no one had reported them missing, the question was why she was running. Was she reported missing? He tried searching for her, but too many people were missing. And he didn't even have her age to go by.
Plus, he was concerned. She looked as if she had been abused. If she had been abused, returning her to that situation would not make him feel better.
But he needed to know who she was. It was his responsibility to keep the town safe, and he planned on doing that.
He made his way back to the couch, opening up the backpack. It was nearly empty; a small wallet held maybe a hundred pounds and there was a change of clothes for each of them in the bottom of the bag. So they didn't have spare clothes anymore. Or their little cash.
His eyes caught sight of a silvery chain in the bottom of the bag. He pulled it up, examining the two rings on it. Wedding rings, it appeared. She had been wearing the one when he first met her. She must've taken it off afterwards.
There were intricate patterns on both, and after examining them closely, his eyes widened.
There was dried blood in the patterns that someone had missed in cleaning the rings. He quickly grabbed an evidence back from his desk and bagged the rings. He combed through the empty bag once more, finding a long reddish strand of hair.
Her hair.
That would give them her DNA. With her DNA, there was a chance he could find out who she was and why she was running.
He brought them out and shipped them off quickly, labelling them as private as opposed to suspicious.
Unless something big happened, he'd have the results soon.
Let me know what you thought of it. You ought to have a lot of questions. That is important. I have this very loosely planned out. Like I said though, I am working on my Doctor Who fanfiction first and foremost. Also, if you know of any good Broadchurch fanfictions, let me know. I think I've read all the ones I've found outside of Ellie/Alec ones. I don't like those.
This story will more than likely have romance. I don't know how much in the first sections, but it will end up happening. :D Review and let me know what you think!
Andi