Rose smiled – this was more like it!
"Seriously? You're asking me about psychics? Go on then, I'm in."
"You find it amusing Miss Tyler? Ever heard of one called Steven Connelly? He claims the deceased boy told him he'd been killed by someone he knew and then been put in a boat. We've not established where he was killed yet but most of the time a child has been killed by someone they know and trust."
"So, how did he die?"
"He was strangled, most likely by a man since the marks indicate large hands, too big for a woman or even an older child. As I told you, we will be looking at another scene shortly."
"So anyone reported a boat missing?" Rose mused.
"We'll be looking into that as well," Ellie told her, amused that Rose and Alec were making eye contact with each other, they must have met previously she thought.
After further discussion, Rose got up. "Well, I'll get my director to call your chief and assure her my being here won't interfere with police procedures and they'll be no costs involved. I've already explained this is something new to us, this is a test, so to speak but you'll get our full attention. I'll meet you back here on Monday morning and I'll have someone look into the Connelly bloke, see if we've heard of him. Do you think he's a crank?"
"Well I do," Ellie replied as Rose got up and Alec did at the same time.
"Well if he's made any similar predictions, we'll have him on record somewhere and I'd seriously look into the boat being used. Right, I'm off to find a decent latte, any suggestions?"
Ellie smiled. "Try the bistro just outside, I go there."
"Thanks. Would you like to join me?"
Ellie looked at Alec. "No, I'm good, I have work to do then I'd like to spend the afternoon with my family," Ellie told her.
Alec also shook his head and Ellie looked at him.
"Guess I'm on my own then? Can I see the CCTV footage when you get it back?"
"Sure and we're looking for any other cameras that may have spotted Danny shortly before we suspect he died. We'll let you know if we find anything at the hut. Good day Miss Tyler," Alec told her, holding out his hand.
Rose took it, wondering why he was being so formal with her to the point it didn't look like he was fooling his DS. As Rose walked out, Ellie turned to him.
"Go after her you idiot, she meant for you to go join her, not me."
"Don't be so daft Miller, why would she be inviting me?"
"You're male, she'd hardly be inviting me, would she? Go on, you'll catch up to her and don't screw it up."
"Miller, we have to work together."
"So? You worked with your ex."
Ah, maybe he could find some other bits of information. "Your point is?"
"Oh, that didn't end well, did it?"
"Is that a question or a fact Miller?"
"I don't know much, do I? You kept everything under wraps when you left Sandbrook and the chief is hardly one to gossip but I know it wasn't your fault, I read up on you, you were cleared of any wrongdoing but no details were released to the public, the families still think you're to blame for the case falling apart."
He was no wiser. Then he had an idea. "Miller, I'm going to prove it wasn't my fault but I need help."
"What? Haven't you got enough on? Oh, I get it, you're going to get Rose Tyler to help you? She can get Torchwood involved, good thinking Einstein."
That was even better than his idea. "You saw through me Miller. I suppose I can happen to call in the café for a decent pot of tea?"
"Talk about being slow on the uptake. Get out of here – Sir."
Rose had just ordered her skinny latte and a pastry when she saw Alec pass by the window. He stood in the doorway and she waved him over.
"Glad you could join me Alec."
"The tea is terrible in the station."
After he went to the counter and told them where he was sitting and to bring Rose's at the same time, he admitted Ellie had given him a nudge.
"So, you wouldn't have joined me otherwise?" Rose asked him as their drinks arrived.
"I may have done. I'm going to be honest with you, Rose. Do you know me?"
"What makes you think that?"
"I knew I had to contact you, even before all this happened. Can we go somewhere and talk, properly? Maybe I could take you out for a meal, tonight?"
"Is this your attempt to chat me up?" Rose smiled.
"If that's what you want to call it but do I have to chat you up? Are you pretending you don't know me for some reason?"
"Why would I do that? Blimey, you believe in being direct, don't you? What makes you think I know you?"
"Quite a lot but I don't want to talk here. Can you meet me this afternoon? Come to my caravan."
"You're in a caravan?"
"Yes, what's wrong with that? The other place I wanted to rent was taken, it wasn't you who booked that blue riverside chalet was it?"
"No but that's a thought, I should have looked it up before I booked the hotel. Ok, give me the caravan number and I'll meet you there, say around four?"
"Fine but if for some reason you're playing games with me, I'll find out."
"Why would I be playing games with you?"
"Maybe my ex wife put you up to it?"
She'd read his marriage had ended quite badly, she'd been able to get more information than Ellie had got.
"Sorry but I don't know your ex wife, Tess is it? All I know about you is what I've read but you think you used to know me?"
"Well yes, I don't know where from though, that's the problem, I just knew your name and to contact you and I was going to, when I had reason, I didn't want to just call you up and get you to talk to me on some false pretences."
"So you thought this murder investigation was just the thing? Do you honestly need Torchwood's help with this case or was it an excuse to get me here?"
He couldn't tell how she meant that. "Up until this morning, it was a little of both but since that psychic showed up, what were the chances he would be sent by the phone company to install new lines?"
"He's psychic?" Rose offered with a smile.
"Very amusing. No, there's something else, he knew something about my last case that was never released in the media. Something about a pendant."
"Oh. Well I've not read up properly about Sandbrook but I'll get the case files sent to me but what about this pendant?"
"That's just it Rose, I don't know anything about a pendant and he told me I'd been forgiven over it, I really don't know what was meant by it. Rose, I've got no memory of anything before I arrived here in Broadchurch last Friday morning."
There, he'd admitted it and if she really did know him and had been playing some sort of game with him, she would have to admit she'd been found out. He tried to judge her reaction.
"Alec, I'm so sorry. I'll meet you later and we'll figure this out. What do you think caused it?"
"I've got no idea and I thought if anyone could help, you and Torchwood could. Please Rose, I need your help."
"Yeah, of course, that goes without saying, I'll do whatever I can."
"Then answer me truthfully. Do you know me?"
"Alec, it's not that simple, trust me. If I just came out and said that I knew you, I'd be giving you false hope, you have to trust me. We need to take this slowly and we can start by you telling me everything you do remember but not here. Do you have to go back to work?"
"Yes, I have to see if the CCTV was recovered so I'll still meet you at four but we could meet elsewhere?"
"Yeah, what we have to talk about shouldn't be overheard, I'll still come to your caravan so you best call at the site office and tell them you'll be having a guest."
"They know I'm with the police, let them try to throw me out."
"Well if you put me as a guest, I can get a free swimming pass," she smiled.
"Oh, so that's your price for telling me everything is it?" he mused, pouring the last of the tea into his cup.
"Isn't it worth it? Aren't you paying for the caravan not how many people are in it?"
"Yes but the police are paying most of it, they may not have made allowances."
"Oh, come on Alec, you let me get a pass for the pool and I'll help you remember things, deal?"
"Since it probably won't actually cost me anything, you have a deal. Now I should get back to work, we have to go find the local postman up on the estate, the newsagent saw Danny arguing with him a few weeks back."
"Why would he be arguing with the postman?"
"That's what I intend to find out."
They said goodbye and Rose walked back up the hotel to call Pete.
"How did your meeting go?" he asked her.
"He's definitely lost his memory, he admitted he knows nothing up until he arrived here last Friday. I think he's genuine about it, he asked me if I knew him."
"You didn't tell him did you?"
"No, I just said it's more complicated than that. Can you get someone to check out a psychic called Steven Connelly? He's a telephone engineer, he tried to tell the police about Danny's murder but he also told Alec something about his last case only he had no idea what the man was talking about, something concerning a pendant. Can you get me the complete case files?"
"Yeah, I'll have them sent to your Torchwood account. Do you think he suspects something, like how he arrived there?"
"He's no idea, I think he's genuinely wanting to remember but how can I tell him?"
"You have to get him to ask all the questions Rose, it could send him off the rails if you tell him who we think he is."
"I already know that. He sounded desperate to know if I knew him or not, he even thought his ex wife had put me up to it, to pretend I didn't know him. What do we know about her? Her name's Tess."
"I'll see what I can find out but how has he been able to get married and have a career?"
"He couldn't have, well not unless the Tardis took him back in time, wiped his memory and he really did live that life."
"Maybe he did?"
"Well the Tardis did a very good job then, taking him back and having a teenage daughter that he doesn't remember, I read that much about him but it does worry me, if he arrived all that time ago and he doesn't remember it."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out between you. Don't jump to any conclusions Rose, it still may not be him."
"I know that, I'll tread carefully. I'm meeting him where he's staying and I think I'd better stick around, so if anyone else calls for my services, someone else will have to take it, just add to my web page that I'm the head of the team and don't make it look like they'll get me."
"I'll get someone onto it and change the wording and stay there as long as you need to Rose, do you want me to have some more things sent down for you?"
"No, I can come back up next weekend, I have enough for a week and I can buy anything that's urgent. Can you keep mum out of it for now?"
Pete laughed. "You know if you withhold this bit of information from her what will happen?"
"I'll chance it. Has she see him on TV yet?"
"She's not said anything so far but who knows? She knows where you are?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised she's not rung to ask what I'm doing hanging around here. I think I may book out of the hotel though, there's gonna be a lot of reporters hanging around and it's the last thing I need. There's a riverside chalet down by the harbour, I may look into it."
"Have you seen it?"
"Just a glance but Alec mentioned it, he tried to rent it, he thought I'd booked it. He's staying down at the caravan park, I got him to agree to put me down as a guest and get me a pass for the swimming pool."
Pete laughed. "Trust you."
"Yeah, well it's a fair exchange for my help and oh, can you call his chief? She was a bit annoyed he'd called us in."
"I'll call the chief there myself but are you going to help with the case or just help him get his memory back?"
"Both, hopefully. I may call for a forensic team. It's funny, we were joking last night, he asked if I'd got tired of chasing little green men and when I said not all aliens were green, he laughed it off. There has to be something there, in the back of his mind. He knew enough to contact me and he admitted he didn't know how to and this was the perfect excuse. Are you still thinking he just got planted here?"
"It's looking more and more like that's what happened, don't you think so? I have to admit it's the only reasonable explanation but I'll leave it to you to decide. Don't confuse him with all our theories though, will you?"
"I'll try not to but it's gonna be difficult though, I have to give him some options."
After Alec left Rose outside the bistro, he went back to his office and then he went back out with Ellie to see the postman, Ellie getting told off for putting him at ease. She drove them back to the station and the CCTV footage from the car park by the hut had come back, showing Mark Latimer waiting by his car. Alec was cursing the camera owner for it finishing where it did.
"Well, that's a funny time and place to be out on a boiler repair, don't you think Miller?"
"Yeah, I'd say so. Why don't you go see him and I'll see if they've got around to the hut yet."
"Right. When you've done that, get off home Miller and I'd like to see your son on Monday morning, have another adult come in with him."
"Fine, I'll have my husband bring him in then."
"Did any more CCTV come back?"
"No, it will be Monday now."
Alec went to see Mark Latimer, who was being very vague and he was getting very suspicious when his phone rang. It was Ellie to say Mark's fingerprints had been found at the hut. After telling the boy's father to report to the station on Monday morning, he made his way back to the caravan, stopping by one of the catering stalls for a late lunch and to wait for Rose to arrive.
He knew he had to get some answers out of her, he had to know what she was holding back from him. If he could just find out what had happened during his last case but how did that psychic know more than he did? It had to have really happened and why did he know nothing else about the case? He'd stopped by the reception and told them a friend would be joining him for an indefinite period and another car may be coming and going.
Rose made her way to the caravan park, hoping Alec had got a swimming pass or she'd have to go find the local sports centre. She parked across from his caravan, noting he'd got himself a car but since he'd driven a scooter back in the 50's, she wasn't surprised he could actually drive, if it was actually him. She'd known the Tardis was clever but this was on a massive scale, including a wife and daughter for him in the elaborate plan to either hide him or make him forget who he was.
Try as she might, she couldn't recall him ever mentioning if he could make himself human for any reason, such as hiding from an enemy or simply because he wanted to see what it was like, to experience it first hand. Maybe he was just tired of being a Timelord and had begged the Tardis to make him human and forget everything but if he was here, that put the other universe in very grave danger because he wasn't there to defend it. Then it hit her.