CHAPTER SIX

DINNER

Ellie walked in front of the DI as they made their way to the Church through the cemetery. "You still coming to dinner? Joe's going shopping today, so you can't back out now."

"I said, didn't I?" But inwardly he was cursing himself. He would have to contact Bonnie and let her know that he wouldn't be by tonight, unless she was okay with him being late.

"I've invited Bon now," Ellie cut off his thoughts. "Sort of an apology with good food. Joe's a great cook. She accepted."

"What?" he asked as if he hadn't heard her.

She grinned to herself, "What we asking this vicar?"

He wanted to talk more about this dinner he suddenly didn't mind going to. But they were working. "Err, he was flagged up in the house-to-house as one of the few without an alibi on the night Danny was killed. Do you know him well?"

She shook her head, "Not really. Only been here a couple of years. We're not really churchgoers. Midnight mass, Easter, if we remember."

"If you remember Easter?" Who forgot about Easter Holidays?

"We're normally doing Easter egg hunts," she peered back at him.

"And so, did Christianity fall," he joked.

"What about you, then? You religious?" She attempted yet again to gather personal information about her new boss.

"Yeah," he answered simplistically, "I pray nightly you'll stop asking me questions."

Bonnie had been pleased to get Ellie's dinner invitation. Even more pleased that Alec was going to be there. Maybe that meant they weren't going to pursue her over what she'd said about seeing Danny. They would all forgive each other and never speak of it again. But unfortunately, her head felt like it was splitting open. So, she wandered to Jack's store to pick some painkillers up after Phil left her with fixed doors.

The bell above his door rang when she walked in, "Hello Jack. Got anything for a migraine? Don't feel like walking all the way to the store."

Jack pointed to the wall across from his counter and said, "Right there."

She noticed that along with being a bit grumpy, Jack seemed distracted. "You all right?"

Jack seemed surprised she asked but shrugged it off. "All right. Just this whole investigation. Bringing everyone in and raking them over the coals."

She scoffed, "Right, I know what you mean. They nearly jumped down my throat, all for having changed my name back in '99. Only because Marjorie sounds like an old cat lady."

Jack weakly chuckled at her attempt at humor as he rang up her purchase. "Hope you gave 'em hell for it. Nice girl like you, no way you'd be involved."

"All's well there, Jack," she smiled at him on her way out. "Chin up."

"Liz, his grandmother, she's one of our sidemen, and I used to teach the IT club at Danny's school," Paul was explaining to them on a bench outside his parish.

"Oh, yeah, Tom did that too," Ellie remembered.

"Yeah."

"So, you knew Danny quite well," Hardy fished.

Paul stammered, as was his character, "I wouldn't say really well. Erm... he was a quick learner. Same as Tom. They were good kids, both of them."

"Why are you taking the IT club?" he asked.

"I try to connect with the community whatever way I can. Plus, I got asked to. I think the last teacher who really understood computers had a nervous breakdown," Paul told them.

Ellie grinned, "Mr. Broughton. He'd sit there and laugh to himself. They got him to leave."

"I'm one up from the man who sits there giggling to himself," Paul joked.

"Where were you on the night of Danny's death?" Hardy cut in.

Paul looked at them, confused, "I did talk to your uniformed officers about this."

"I know."

Seeing that he wasn't going to get much more than that from the DI, Paul answered, "I was at home. On my own. I live in the house at the bottom of the hill. I was up late trying to write a sermon. Trying being the operative word."

"Are you often up late?" Ellie asked. "I was on the verge-side about 4:30 the other night, saw you standing outside the church."

"Was that you?" Paul grew embarrassed. "Okay, err... Yeah... I have terrible insomnia. I have had for about six or seven years. Can't find anything to cure it, so... I'm often up late, wandering. That's my best attempt to deal with it."

"Anything specific that triggered it?" Hardy asked.

"Not really. No."

"You weren't out wandering that Thursday night?"

"No, I don't remember it," Paul muttered.

"How was Danny with computers?" Hardy changed his questioning.

Paul became less nervous with this subject, "Great. They just instinctively get it. Like I say, with Danny and Tom, you only have to tell them once and they got it."

Ellie and Hardy stood just outside the parish where Paul could be wandering at night. Gazing out at the view.

"Line of sight," Ellie pointed out. "You can see the field that backs onto the Latimer house. And my house too." She stared at the view and sighed, "I hate what I'm becoming."

"A good detective?" Hardy asked her.

"Hardened."

Bonnie didn't bother changing much more than her sweater and adding a lilac scarf. She was tempted to add some more makeup than she usually wore. Just to make a different impression on the DI. But she opted only to put on some dark nude tone lipstick instead. And it seemed she'd beaten the DI there when Ellie opened the door and said, "Hello, our first customer!"

Bonnie smiled and greeted the woman with a small hug and a dish, "I made brownies."

"Ooh, lovely," Ellie smiled, accepting the dish and closing the door. She sobered up before speaking quietly, "Listen, love, I am truly sorry about what happened back at your flat earlier. I did not expect things to go the way they did."

Bonnie bitterly smiled, "Neither did I. But it's okay. This is all to catch Danny's killer."

"By the way, I didn't tell Joe," she whispered. "It's probably best not to talk about it."

"I agree," Bonnie nodded. "I'd very much like it all to stay between us."

"Cheers," Ellie agreed, leading her into the kitchen where Joe was cooking up a store.

He smiled when he saw Bonnie, "Hello love," and greeted her with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"She's made brownies," Ellie smiled, already dishing out the treats on a decorative tray. Just then, the doorbell rang. "That'll be Mr. Grouch."

Joe and Bonnie laughed as she walked out to get the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see him standing there in the same kind of suit he wore every day, just without a tie, "Oh, you're in a suit."

He looked down at himself, "Is that bad?"

"No, I didn't expect it," she said, gesturing to her peach sweater. "We didn't get poshed up."

"Neither did I," he said.

Ellie couldn't help but be amused, "Well, there we are, then. Come in."

"I bought wine," he said as he walked through the door.

She smiled as she took it, but the surprises kept coming. "That's very kind of you."

"And flowers." He handed her the mixed bouquet.

"Oh, you didn't need to..." she started saying, but the gifts hadn't ended.

"And chocolates," he handed her the box.

She paused, holding it all, "Wow."

He nodded awkwardly, "Wasn't sure which to choose so I got them all."

She grinned, thoroughly amused, "Bless. Come in."

"Thanks," he said as she closed the door and led him into the kitchen where Joe and Bonnie were laughing nicely with each other.

"Alec bought wine and flowers and chocolates," Ellie listed off, placing things down by her husband.

Joe smiled humorously, "Full house – you can come again."

"Oh, and you're in a suit," Bonnie greeted him, fingering his buttons. "You don't do things by halves, do you?"

Before any more tension between them could arise – and Hardy certainly liked the feel of her hands on his chest – Ellie piped in again, facing her boss with a smile, "I can call you Alec tonight, not Hardy or sir? 'Here's your dinner, sir.'"

He blanched at the sound of his name, "I don't like Alec. I've never liked Alec. 'Alec.'"

"I like Alec," Bonnie said before she could think it through. She blushed when Ellie smirked at her. They would be definitely having a conversation later.

"You can always choose another one," Joe distracted them.

Alec found himself devolving into awkward word vomit, "Why does everyone use first names so much, like they all work in marketing? Why do people insist on doing that? I mean, if you look at a person – I look at you..." he gestured to Ellie, "you know I'm talking to you. I don't need to say your name three times to congratulate myself on remembering it, to create some... sort of false intimacy or..." He trailed off awkwardly, having spoken more words than anyone had heard him say about something other than the case.

"Shall I show you to the dining room?" Ellie suggested once he trailed off uncomfortably.

He eagerly accepted if for nothing other than to get away from the previous situation. Soon, Ellie and Joe were talking contentedly with Bonnie and Alec over wine and chicken tacos.

"How did you two meet?" Alec asked the married couple.

"Err, through work. Joe used to be a paramedic," Ellie explained.

"Not anymore?" he asked.

"Gave it up when Fred came along," Joe said. "I was getting a bit jaded anyway."

"Jaded? Oh no," Bonnie said after sipping her wine. "How come?"

He shrugged, "More red tape. Stuff that stopped us from being able to help, masquerading as health and safety."

Alec asked him next, "Where are you from originally?"

"Cardiff," he answered. "Moved down here 13 years ago for work. Met Ellie. The rest is history. You married?"

Alec obviously didn't want to answer the question, because he quickly said, "This is great food. You make this yourself?"

Joe nodded, "Mm. Self-taught. Mexican's my specialty."

"We should really be having margaritas, shouldn't we?" Ellie commented.

"No," Alec suddenly caved, answering Joe's question. "Not married. Not anymore."

After a small uncomfortable silence, Joe said, "Sorry to hear that. What was it? The pressures of work?"

"Sort of," Alec sighed, still not taking to this subject. "This job does it to you."

Joe and Ellie shared a smile, "Not to us," but then he felt that may have been a smug answer. "No, I didn't mean... Any erm... any kids?"

"Daughter. 15. Lives with her mother," Alec told them.

"Oh, that must be hard," Ellie lamented.

Quietly, under the table, Bonnie reached over and took one of his hands into hers. He was shocked at the contact, especially after earlier that day, but he found himself welcoming it.

"What about you, Bon?" They were startled by Ellie's voice. "I don't think I've ever asked if you've been married."

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Um, no, never."

Joe looked at her, "Just, not for you, then?"

Bonnie shrugged. "It's more of never meeting anyone up to scratch. Or crazy enough to saddle themselves with me. Before moving here, I was in school and not interested. And then I guess there just aren't any men my taste in Broadchurch, it is small."

Her answer seemed to provide mixed feelings in Alec's stomach. Was he her taste?

"Do you think you'll solve this case?" Joe suddenly asked.

"Joe," Ellie admonished.

But Alec had just as quickly and confidently answered, "Certain."

"Good."

Ellie coughed and started getting up, "Right, I'm gonna have a wee. No more talking about work."

"Well, that's us told," Joe joked as she left the room.

"The dinner table is no place for shop talk, you know that, Joe," Bonnie played along.

Joe laughed and started pouring more red wine into Alec's glass. The DI tried to block him politely, "No, no, not for me."

But Joe just laughed him off, "Shut up and drink!" as he filled up Alec and Bonnie's glasses as well as his own.

"Does she like me?" Alec asked as he took a sip, eyes averted.

"Sorry?" Joe asked as if he hadn't heard right.

Alec gestured to the hall Ellie had walked out to, "Does she like... working with me?"

Joe shrugged, "You're here for dinner, aren't you?"

"I think I irritate her," Alec said.

"You?" Bonnie poised with a teasing smile, squeezing his hand. "Never."

"She hasn't mentioned it," Joe told him.

The men stared at each other for a while before grinning, "You bloody liar."

Joe started laughing with the DI then, "I've said nothing."

Bonnie smirked into her wine glass as she sipped at it.

"And yet..." Alec tried to say, but he hadn't stopped laughing enough.

Ellie walked in, surprised to see everyone in such high and relaxed spirits, "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing," Alec continued to laugh.

Ellie regarded them quizzically before accepting it. "Right, I think that's dessert."

"Yes, I think so too," Bonnie agreed, standing to help her in the kitchen.

"So, how long have you fancied him, then?" Ellie asked bluntly.

Bonnie was startled at the lack of decorum with Ellie's smirk. "I dunno. We have kissed."

"What?" Ellie gasped as she pulled out a pint of ice cream from her freezer. "What does a man like that kiss like?"

Bonnie smirked at her while picking out forks, "Curious, are you?"

Ellie tutted at her friend, "Don't you start. Answer the question."

"The kissing was nice," Bonnie smiled. "Now that the ugliness of my last interview is over and done with, I think I'd like a bit more of it. Just don't know about the type of future there would be there, though. I mean, he doesn't seem willing to settle in a place like this. He doesn't even seem as if he likes it here."

"Well, he seems to like you," Ellie said as they put brownies and ice cream scoops onto small glass plates for the four of them. "As much as an old grouch like him can like anyone."

"He really does care," Bonnie murmured as they made their way back into the dining room with dessert. The men were chatting amicably.

"This is good," Joe commented as he dug in.

"Too right," Alec agreed, shyly glancing at Bonnie.

The woman smiled at their praise, "Thank you, fellas."

Soon, the night had dwindled on until Joe and Ellie were walking Bonnie and Alec to the door.

"Sure you don't want a taxi?" Ellie offered.

"No, no," Alec denied. "Walk will be good."

Bonnie blushed, "I'll help Mr. Tough Guy home."

"See you in the morning," Ellie told her boss. She smiled at Bonnie, "See you later."

"Of course," Bonnie nodded along, slipping on her coat.

Alec lingered awkwardly, "That was nice. Thanks, Miller."

Bonnie laughed as they walked off through the grass verges to get to main street. "What is it with you and first names? Intimacy? You call me Bonnie. You let me call you Alec."

"That's different, isn't it?" he hedged.

She looped her arm through his with a cheeky grin, "Is it?"

He thought she was serious for a moment before he caught her smirking at him. Maybe it was the wine in his system, but he found himself genuinely smiling at her. "I think it is. Very different."

She led her hand trail down his arm until her fingers interlaced with his. Maybe it was the wine in her system making her bolder. "Trust you to wear a suit to a house dinner."

"I don't exactly have anything else," he defended himself. "I'm not a social butterfly."

"That is apparent," she teased him. "If you stick around, I'll have to make you get a simple T-shirt or something."

He was oddly affected by her sentence. If he stuck around. He'd gotten busy telling his doctor how much he hated everything about Broadchurch. That being here was him punishing himself for Sandbrook. And with Danny Latimer's murder, it had definitely felt like punishment and penance. But her existence dulled the daily irritations of Broadchurch to him.

"I hope you do," her soft voice broke into his thoughts, "stick around, that is."

"Right," he murmured as they reached the paved pathway from the grassy beach up to the trader's hotel. They'd reached his door and he was pulling out his keys when he looked over at her. Maybe it was the wine. "Would you like to – erm – that is, would you like to come inside?"

Bonnie smiled at his stammering, and slowly nodded, "I think I would."

"Night," a voice startled them, and they turned to see the woman from the meeting who called herself Susan walking by with a dark brown dog.

"Night," Hardy muttered before shoving his key into the door. A stutter of his heart sent his head into a fuzzy state, the world feeling far away all of the sudden.

Bonnie noticed him swaying on his feet and reached up to steady him, "Alec? Alec are you all right?"

The door gave way and they stumbled in, barely closing the door before Alec rushed into the bathroom and felt around for his medication. But it slipped through his fingers as everything started fading away.

Bonnie almost screamed when he fell down. He would have cracked his head open on the tub if she hadn't been standing there to break his fall on the floor. She quickly picked out her phone to call 911. She tried to comfort him, and get his attention, "Alec, can you hear me? Is it your heart?"

When the operator picked up, she quickly relayed where they were and what was happening before turning her attention back to Alec. "Try to stay with me now. Focus on me. The ambulance is on its way."

As she was freaking out, the blonde girl – she still hadn't realized what her name was – appeared, looking so concerned over Alec's supine form. Bonnie looked up at her, "I've already called for help." She positioned herself over him, trying to remember her CPR training from High School. She'd started doing compressions when the EMTs rushed in and immediately started piling him onto a stretcher.

They tried to tell her to follow them instead of riding in the ambulance, but she quickly told them she couldn't drive and was riding with them and they would deal with it. She climbed in with him and did take her hand from Alec's while the paramedics started working on him, putting an oxygen mask on him first.

He had briefly opened his eyes and groaned but didn't look like he was able to focus on anything. She clenched his hand in hers and tried to reassure him, "Don't worry, we're getting you to hospital."

He tried to weakly reach up and pull the mask off, "No, you can't."

She pushed the mask back on and held his other hand too, "Don't worry about anything right now. I just need you to get better."

With that, he passed out again. She gnawed at her lips with her teeth in deep worry. She barely left his side until he was pulled into a room to be worked on. She rattled off any information she could give them, including disclosing his condition. One of the nurses gave her his personal effects from his pockets. She figured they'd assumed that she was his wife or at least his next of kin. She tried searching his wallet for a number for his daughter, but couldn't find one, and couldn't get into his phone. She opted to just wait for him to wake up and talk to him about calling her later.

They tried to tell her to go home and rest and come back in the morning. They said that they would probably be keeping him another day anyway, for observation. But she refused the option of him waking up alone in the morning. Besides, it was too late for her to expect she'd find a cab and it was too far to walk.

She was able to use her purse and coat as a pillow and sleep somewhat in the chair next to him. When morning came along, she only left to relieve herself, freshen up a bit, and get some food out of the vending machine before he woke up groaning.

She instantly forgotten the bag of gummy bears she'd bought, dumping them on the chair with her things, to race to his side and fuss over him, "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?"

"What am I doing here?" he asked blearily.

"What do you think?" she asked him, sarcastically. "You collapsed, Alec."

"What?" he asked as if he hadn't heard her.

"Alec, you're in the hospital, because you're ill," she told him, taking a seat on the edge of his bed with a sigh. "I tried to find a number to call Daisy, but I couldn't. You should give her a call though. You scared the shit on me. You just went down so fast. I had no idea what to do, I had to phone the ambulance." He still seemed a little out of it. She sighed and reached for his hand, "I'm glad you're okay. But Alec, this case is stressing your heart. You have to slow down."

He gripped her hand desperately, leaning up to look her in the eye, "Listen. You mustn't tell anyone about this. If they find out I'm sick they'll take me off the case. I don't want to come off this case. I need to finish this case"

"It might be a good idea to step away, Alec," she told him cautiously.

But he hadn't lost his desperate edge as he plead with her, "Bonnie. It's my career. This is my life."

Seeing the blunt emotion in his eyes, she had to relent. She couldn't take his career away from him. "I won't say anything. But I want you to promise me that you'll take it easy, and you'll get the help you need."

He opened his mouth to thank her, "You have no idea what this means to me."

She smiled as he squeezed her hand, "I just want to help you, Alec. You have to let someone take care of you." She then slowly smirked, "So, in addition to taking it easy, you have to promise me that when I do make it into your room without you passing out, you go ahead and let me do the work, yeah?"

He let out an embarrassed and surprised laugh at her candor, "I don't think I have a choice but to agree, yeah?"

"That's usually how I work," she told him, kissing his forehead. "They'd like to keep you. But I'm assuming you want to blow this Popsicle joint."

"Too right," he grunted, swinging himself off the bed. She stepped away to grab his clothes. He paused when he saw the headline of the newspaper at the foot of his bed. "What's this?"

Bonnie spun around, "A bloody nightmare named Karen. I don't know how she convinced Beth to agree to it. They're really desperate for results."

"As am I," he grunted as she helped him out of his gown. She blushed some when she saw him half-naked but stayed stoic as she helped him into his shirt and he helped himself into his pants.

"I know you're working so hard, Alec," she assured him softly. "And I know you'll catch the sod who did this. But just try not to work yourself into an early grave while you're at it. Promise?"

"Like I said," he spoke to her with open affection, "it's not like I have much of a choice."

"Of course not," she grinned, handing him his jacket and calling for a taxi while they walked out of the hospital. While they sat in the cab on the way back to the Trader's, she gotten a text from Beth inviting her to lunch after church. She never went to Church. She was never as spiritual as others. And Denise and her family attended Church, so she had to man the counter. Since it was the weekend, she usually had one of the High Schoolers coming in to manage things until Denise returned. So, she quickly agreed to meet for lunch at the Latimers.

"I'll see you later?" she asked as the cab dropped them off. "I have to open. And you have to get into the station."

"Course," he grunted, brushing his fingers into his hair. He still didn't know how to say goodbye with her.

Luckily, she had figured it out for him. Boldly, she leaned up and kissed him. It was mostly a peck, sweet and short. "Take it easy today. I'll see you later," and she walked to her shop to open for the day.

"Have you seen the Herald?" Hardy asked Ellie the second she walked into his office.

"Yeah, I didn't know they'd done that," she sighed, looking at the multiple page spread news story that focused mainly on Beth's grief over losing Danny.

"It's opened the floodgates. Media officer's been deluged with calls," he griped. "So, I'm calling a conference for this evening. A family statement – try and keep as much control as we can. Meantime, I want full backgrounds on Jack Marshall, Steve Connelly and Paul Coates. Anyone without an alibi goes top of our list."

"I'll get Frank and Nish on it," she agreed. "Sir, can I ask a favor? I was thinking of going to church."

He looked up, "That's a good idea. Everyone all together, check who's behaving normally."

"No, that wasn't the..." she tried to explain that she just wanted to attend with her family, since Joe mentioned taking the boys there because it seemed like the thing to do. But it was useless telling the DI that. "Never mind."

"What time's the service?" he asked.

"In an hour."

"All right."

Alec walked slowly, eyes on all in the Church, as he took a seat in the back. He saw the Millers huddled behind the Latimers and Mark's business partner, talking among themselves. He saw Jack walk through and sit on a pew in the other side of the aisle. Becca seemed sheepish as she sat in front of him, far away from the Latimers. As far as he could tell, Beth had watched her walk in with anger. Interesting.

And he couldn't help but notice that Bonnie was nowhere to be seen. She had said she wasn't so religious, even with her abilities. He also wondered if the Church's proximity to a graveyard had anything to do with it. But he didn't want to think about all that. And she'd made it obvious that she didn't want to acknowledge that part of her either. With that thought in mind, he kept his attention on the townspeople as Paul gave his sermon.

"We are pressed on every side by troubles. But we are not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We are knocked down... but we are not destroyed. As a community, the hardest thing for us is to remember, we have not been abandoned by God. We are not destroyed. Nor will we be."

Beth seemed distracted, but happy to see Bonnie. It was a bit warmer this day, so Bonnie had slipped into jeans and a three-quarter sleeve thermal shirt for lunch. She squeezed in at the end of the table with Chloe and was pleasantly surprised with how normal and together it all felt for them to be there. She chatted with them. She complimented Nige's cooking. She laughed when Beth found a hair and wondered where it came from since Nige didn't have any hair.

She was startled when Chloe suddenly grabbed her arm and tugged on it, "Oh hey, what's this then, Bon?"

"What?" she laughed at the girl's antics.

"A tattoo!" the girl exclaimed, as if she was scandalized. She pulled the arm towards Beth, "Mum, did you know she had a tattoo?"

"No," Beth replied, peering at it. "What does it say?"

Chloe comically twisted Bonnie's left arm so the words would face her and read aloud, "'You are more powerful than God."

"Blasphemous," Joe teased from the other side of the table.

Bonnie laughed and got her arm free, "Seven summers and you lot never noticed the writing on my forearm?"

"We weren't looking, were we?" Nige commented. "What does it mean?"

"Yeah, where's it from?" Chloe asked.

Bonnie flushed a little under the attention, but told them, "It was in a note my dad wrote me right before he died. I consider them his last words. Though, he always told me this in one way or another."

The group sobered a bit, but Chloe still asked, "What did he mean by it?"

"Well, my mum always wanted me to be something I wasn't." She locked eyes with Beth as she said so. She had already told Beth all about her mom's con artist ways. "My dad always wanted me to use the freedom to be what I wanted to be. He'd tell me I was more powerful than God, in that only I had a say in my own destiny, no one else. Once I turned 18, I went ahead and got a permanent reminder."

"That sounds lovely," Ellie said from her place by Joe.

Chloe cheekily grinned, "Do you have others?"

The group laughed at her question when there was a knock at the door. Beth quickly stood to get it, and came back in a moment later, "Jack's here."

For some reason, his presence mounted a tension, as most people stood up at his entrance.

"Everything all right?" Mark asked.

Jack looked lost, and weighed down, "I... found this. Heard the beeping from the delivery bags. It was in the bag at the bottom. He must have left it on his last round." He held out a small black mobile towards Mark.

"Yeah, that's Danny's phone, isn't it?" Mark said as he took it.

"Mark, I'll take it," Ellie held out a napkin for the phone. It was evidence. "Give it here."

"What were you doing with this, Jack?" Mark hadn't moved to hand it over yet, staring at Jack almost accusingly.

"Mark," Ellie insisted. He tossed it into her hand and she made to put it away.

"Mark, Beth..." Jack began, the heaviness of his feeling apparent in his voice. "They're going to say things about me."

"What sort of things?" Marks asked weakly, as if he knew already.

"Those things aren't true," Jack said.

Liz had made her way to her friend's side and tried to guide him to the door, "Jack. Come on, love."

But he stood still, "Things happened before I was here, and they'll be saying I did it. I'm looking you in the eye, because he was your boy, and I'm telling you I'm not that kind of man. Please. Believe me. You have to believe me."

Whatever the parents may have said in response was interrupted by the flashing of lights from cameras just outside the fence. Mark cursed, "The bastards!" and started rushing to run them off.

"I'm with you, mate," Nige promised, running to the back with Joe.

"Jack, I don't know what you're doing," Liz said to her friend. "Come on, Jack."

Liz was able to walk Jack out, and the other men managed to chase off the photographers. When Mark had gotten back in, he asked if everyone was ready to make way to the town hall for the press conference. Chloe reached for Bonnie's arm, "You're coming, ain't ya?"

"Of course," she assured her friends, riding with the Millers towards the venue. Once they arrived, Ellie led the Latimers to a hallway, away from the main room. Bonnie ventured into the bigger room and hovered on her feet in the corner. She wanted to blend into the wall so badly.

"Why do they need all of us?" Chloe asked as she paced the hallway.

"So, people can understand how much losing Danny meant to us," Mark told her. "How strong a family we are."

Hardy ducked in then, "Right, are you ready for this?" They all reluctantly nodded. "Chloe, you go at the far end and then Beth and then Mark."

Chloe followed Alec out and Beth marched passed her husband. "I know about you and Becca Fisher."

Mark froze, ice washing over him. Beth disappeared out the door and after a moment, Hardy poked his head in again, "Mark, now, please."

Hardy followed Mark out as the family took their places. He shared a grimace of a smile with Bonnie as he walked passed her and Ellie grabbed his attention. "Sir. SOCO have confirmed the hairs found on the boat – they match Danny's."

"I knew it," he muttered to her and himself.

"Also, something from North Yorkshire Police, about a killing on the cliffs in Whitby 15 years back. They've seen the details and think it's got similarities to our case," she reported.

"Okay, later," he said, heading for the front table.

But she tugged his arm, so he'd stop, "Sir, Jack Marshall used to live in North Yorkshire, five miles from Whitby." They shared a solemn look.

"We miss Danny a lot and erm..." Beth trailed off into the microphone, trying to reign in the emotion in her voice, "we just want whoever's done this just to come forward because we're... we're having a horrible time not knowing why this has happened to us."

"He was just a normal lad," Mark muttered lethargically. "Never did anyone any harm. He was everything to us. We just want to know what happened to our boy. If anybody out there knows, might know, think they saw something... then you owe it to yourself to come forward and tell the police. Cos whoever did this needs to be caught."

Mark really dug himself into a hole with all of the things he hid during this show. Love live David Tennant though.

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