Alec sat at his desk the next morning reading over some forensics from the hut on the cliff. Nothing made sense to him anymore.
That morning he had left his room without waking Jenny. His back killed him from sleeping; well not really sleeping; on the coach. Maybe he should have listened to Jenny and taken the bed.
All of a sudden his phone rang. He reached into his pocket to get it. He pulled it out and read the caller ID. It said 'Paul Cotes'. Alec answered it.
"Hello." Alec said.
"Hi, you mind coming down to the church now? I have something for you." Paul asked Alec. Alec took a deep breath and looked down at the papers on his desk. He thought about it for a second.
"Sure. What for?" He asked Paul.
"I just have something that might help with the case." Paul replied.
"Ok. Bye." Alec replied and hung up before Paul could say anything else. Alec was desperate now. He would take anything he could get.
/~~~/
Jenny went into the police station. It was very quiet on the first floor but when she reached the third floor it was loud with the sound of busy workers.
She entered and to her relief nobody stared at her. She made her way down the hall and came to Alec's door. She knocked on it gently.
"He's not here." A voice came from behind her.
"Do I not know anything?" Jenny mumbled under her breath. She turned to see who owned the voice. On the ladies name tag it read DS Ellie Miller.
"Um...hi." Jenny said to Ellie. Jenny didn't recognise her.
"Hi, who are you?" Ellie asked her. Jenny shifted uncomfortably.
"Jenny." She replied. Her voice shook a bit as she said her own name. It felt unreal to her. Ellie looked at Jenny as she searched her memory for the name.
"Wait a minute. You're Jenny? The one Alec's been looking after?" She asked Jenny coming to the realisation of who she was. Jenny nodded.
"Yeah. That's me." Jenny said. Ellie gave her a weird look.
"Wow." Ellie said in amazement.
"What?" Jenny asked her.
"I just can't believe he would do this." Ellie said in complete shock.
"Um...do what?" Jenny said confused.
"Look after a kid. That's just not like him." Ellie replied. Jenny stood up taller.
"Well it is now." Jenny said confirming her own thoughts. Ellie paused for a moment.
"He went out just a bit ago. He didn't say where." Ellie told Jenny. Jenny nodded and gave her a smile. She turned to head back down the corridor.
"You're invited for diner." Ellie yelled down the hall. Jenny turned to look at Ellie. She was confused. Why would someone invite her to diner? She didn't even know who Ellie was.
"You and Alec." Ellie finished her sentence.
"Ah...ok. When?" Jenny said in complete shock.
"Tonight." Ellie told her. Jenny nodded slowly.
"Ok..." She finished. She quickly turned and left before Ellie could say anything else to her.
/~~~/
Alec walked up the path to the church. Paul was standing in the doorway with a box in his hands.
"What's this?" Alec asked Paul as he made it to him. Paul looked down at the contains of the box.
"This is Tom Millers laptop. I found him smashing it up last night in the woods." Paul told Alec.
"Why where you in the woods?" Alec asked Paul suspiciously.
"I take my walk there every night." Paul said confidently. Alec raised his eyebrows.
"Ok." Alec said uneasily. He motioned for Paul to hand him the box. He did. Alec looked down at the contains. The computer was all smashed to pieces.
"I should tell you, Tom threatened to tell you I abused Danny if I gave this to you." Paul spoke up. Alec looked up from the box. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He thought his words through more carefully.
"And did you?" Alec chose his words finally. This time it was Paul choosing his words carefully. He opened and closed his mouth a few times.
"No." He finally managed to say. Alec raised his eyebrows again.
"Ok." He said. He looked down at the box as if looking for inspiration. He couldn't think of anything. He looked back at Paul and whispered 'Thanks' to Paul as he turned to go. Paul nodded and watched Alec walk away.
When Paul was out of hearing reach Alec pulled out his phone and dialled a number. It rang for a few seconds.
"Hey, could you get the software off of Tom's computer? Send it to my personal email. Thanks, you're a star." He said into the phone. He then hung up and continued down the path.
/~~~/
Jenny was on High street looking for Alec. She thought through what Ellie had asked her. Diner? Was that really a good idea? What would Alec say when she told him that she had agreed to it? It all freaked her out. It would be like a family and she didn't want a family.
Up ahead she noticed a man in a black suit. It looked like Alec. She walked faster and faster and then made it to him.
"Alec." Jenny said to his back. He turned to face her with his eyebrows raised.
"Oh...hi." He greeted her uneasily. She smiled a bit.
"Thanks for letting me stay with you last night. I'll be in my own room tonight so it's fine." She thanked him. She knew that he needed his bed to recover. Stress was enough; not having a bed to sleep in was even more.
"No problem." He replied. Jenny thought her words over carefully in her mind for a moment.
"We're going to Ellie's house tonight, for diner." Jenny blurted out. She saw his eyes widen. She hung her head down ashamed.
"I knew you wouldn't want to go but she asked me to and then she said you too." Jenny said defending her case.
"You know I can't go to that." Alec started with his eyes filled with fear.
"I know but just be careful ok?" Jenny pleaded.
"What else was I suppose to say to her?" She continued. Alec just stood there in silence.
"Fine. Meet me at the Traders at 4; we'll head down to her house then." Alec finally said. Jenny nodded in agreement. Jenny then noticed that Alec was holding a box.
"What's in the box?" She asked him. Alec thought about answering her. He wasn't sure if he should tell her or leave it at that.
"Um...Tom Millers computer. Paul Cotes gave it to me. I'm bringing it in to be analysed." Alec told Jenny answering his own question. Jenny's head shot up.
"Does Ellie know?" She asked him. Alec shook his head.
"What do we do tonight? Do we just not mention it?" Jenny asked Alec. Alec paused for a moment.
"Don't mention it." He confirmed to her. Jenny nodded. They stood there for a moment in silence. Jenny fiddled her feet around.
"Can I come with you? To the station?" She asked him. Alec looked at her and considered it.
"Sure, why not." He said. Jenny smiled. He nodded for her to follow him. She continued to smile the entire way to the station.
/~~~/
Just as the station came into sight it started to pour.
"Shoot!" Jenny yelled. She took her jacket off and covered her head. Alec winced as the rain started to come down.
"Come on!" He yelled as he ran to the station. Jenny followed him at a quick pace. They both made it under the porch. Jenny burst out in laughter. It was the first time she had laughed in a long time. Ever since things had gone wrong she didn't have time for the best things in life, like laughter.
Alec started to laugh too. They both stood there and laughed as they watched the rain come down. To Jenny it was like her tears were coming down around her. It made her feel better to know that it wasn't her falling apart; it was the world around her.
Alec snuck a glance at Jenny. She looked exactly like his daughter. They both had the same features, the same sharp brown eyes. The same smile, but not the same personality. Jenny was hidden from the rest of the world. She didn't like people worrying about her; she wanted to worry about others. His daughter wanted all the attention; everything had to be about her. He wasn't sure if she was still like that but he guessed so. His ex could never control her.
"Come on, we can go in now." Jenny said breaking the silence. Alec snapped back into reality. She turned and opened the door to the station. Alec looked one more time at the rain and then walked in through the door Jenny was holding open for him.
They walked up to the third floor and they turned to a desk in the corner of the room. A man sat there busy with papers.
"Here." Alec said to the man as he handed the box to him.
"Oh." The man said taking the box. Alec nodded to him and then turned back to the center of the room. He almost knocked Jenny over in the process but he never stopped to apologize. Jenny shot him a look behind his back.
They continued back to Alec's office. Jenny entered and plopped down into the chair facing his desk. Alec sat down at his own desk. He let out a big sigh. He took off his soaked jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. He then turned to face Jenny.
"You ok?" He asked her. Jenny twisted her mouth and then replied.
"Yeah. You?" She answered. Alec looked taken aback.
"Of course." He answered. Jenny placed her jacket down on the chair next to her. It was dripping water.
"Do you have anyone?" Jenny asked Alec. That question had been nagging at her for a while now. Did he have a family? If so where were they?
Alec didn't answer for a while. Jenny started to think that he wasn't going to answer. Finally he spoke up.
"Not anymore, not really." He told her. Jenny looked concernedly at him.
"Why not? What happened?" She asked him. Alec bit his lip.
"Divorced, my...ah...daughter is with her mother." He continued. It pained him to tell Jenny this.
"Why'd you divorce?" Jenny asked cautiously. Alec leaned back in his chair. He held off from answering for a bit.
"It was during a case, it was the death of two girls around your age. We had all the evidence but it was circumstantial. One day my DS found a pendant that had belonged to one of the girls." He stopped for a moment thinking about how to phrase this.
"She stopped that night at a bar for a quick drink. Her car was broken into and the pendant and other valuables were stolen. Just a quick smash and grab but enough damage was done. It fell apart after that." He finished.
"Wait, so the case fell apart after that but that doesn't explain your divorce." Jenny said. Alec took another breath and sighed. He ran his hands over his face and then continued.
"Yes it does actually." He said.
"This DS...she was my wife." Alec finished. Jenny's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting that.
"Why did she stop for a drink Alec?" Jenny asked. Alec's hands fell by his side.
"She was having an affair with one of the other DS's on the team. She thought she would celebrate." He told Jenny. Jenny wasn't expecting that either.
"God Alec! Why is she with her mother? She should be with you!" Jenny yelled at him.
"Wait a minute..." Jenny came to a realisation.
"You took the blame?" Jenny asked him. He nodded slowly. Jenny didn't know what to say. His family fell apart because of his wife. Everything. He must've been so happy until then.
"I'm so sorry Alec." Jenny said to him. She then realised that he was crying. She felt so bad. Everything he had worked up to in his life was taken away by someone stupid enough to do what they did.
Jenny stood up and walked over to Alec. He had his head in his hands and was leaning on his desk. Jenny reached over and gave him a hug. He surprising wrapped his arms around her too. He cried into her shoulder. They sat there for a while. Jenny wanted him to get it all out. All that must've been burning inside him for a long time.
Finally Alec withdrew from her arms. He sat up and looked at her. Tears had stained his eyes.
"Don't tell anyone. Please." He begged. Jenny shook her head.
"Of course not." She replied. She leaned over and tried to give him another hug but he refused. Instead he stood up and wiped his eyes. He nodded at Jenny and then left the room.
/~~~/
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