Chapter 12 – The Trial Begins
Ellie met them after work the next day and they went over to Claire's to convince her to meet with Lee. They were still debating where the meeting should take place, but Rose was working on getting some discreet surveillance devices from Torchwood. They would be undetectable by Claire or Lee and whatever was discussed could be vitally important for them later on.
They all sat together in the kitchen and Rose made tea as Alec discussed the meeting with Claire. "You risked everything for me and I let you down," Alec told her.
"Yes," she agreed.
"But there are two families back in Sandbrook. The Gillespies still don't know who killed their daughter. The Newburys don't even have a body," Alec told her.
"Why is this on me?" she argued.
"'Cause he trusts you," he insisted.
"Don't make me see him," Claire pleaded.
"We'll be there; we'll protect you," Alec promised.
"No, I can't go back into that, please," she continued to argue.
"Come on, get your coat," Ellie said suddenly and stood up from the table.
"What for?" Claire questioned.
"Miller?" Alec asked, not sure what her plan was with this.
"Ignore him. We're gonna get some air. Come on," Ellie told her.
The two of them left the house, leaving Rose and Alec on their own. "What is she doing?" he asked frustratedly.
"Trust her, Alec. She's your friend and you wanted to get her help. Now you have to trust that she has a plan for this as well. She saw all of the same files that you showed me, she knows what's going on. I think she is more likely to gain Claire's trust away from us, just like you didn't think she would trust me because I'm so close to you. So let Ellie do the job you asked her to do," Rose told him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Alec sighed and kissed her forehead. "You're right. Let's see if we can't find that letter that Miller told me about in the car the other day," he suggested.
They went into the spare room where Ellie had slept when they all spent the night. In the wardrobe, they found a white envelope, addressed to Claire, wrapped in a handkerchief. Inside the envelope, was a dried, pressed bluebell.
"Ok, love, explain the connection. I know I saw those wheels turning when she first mentioned it," Rose said as she tapped the side of his head playfully. "What have bluebells got to do with the murder?"
"I don't know for sure. But the area near where I found Pippa's body in the river, was covered in bluebells," he told her.
"Really? So Claire definitely knows something about Pippa's murder. Whoever sent this meant it as some kind of message to her about it, yeah?" Rose suggested.
"Probably, but who sent it? And what kind of message was it they were sending?" he wondered. "Let's get out of here. Miller can call me when she's gotten somewhere with Claire. Did Moore approve your time off for the trial?"
"Yeah, and for after your surgery too. With you away from teaching over there, they've just put the whole program on hold for now," Rose answered, happy to be able to spend the next several weeks just helping him to solve the case that had nearly destroyed him completely.
"Let's go pick up the rest of my things from my place. I have to turn the keys back in to the landlord so he can get the door fixed in time to rent it out next month," he said as he tucked the letter into his pocket.
Rose hummed happily at the idea that he would be officially living with her and out of the silly little place on the water. His past experiences and his nightmares had him terrified of water, it couldn't be very therapeutic to have the ocean just steps from his front door.
After taking care of everything with his old place, they had snuggled up on the sofa to eat take out food and watch telly. Alec and Rose only realized that they had fallen asleep when they were awoken by a knock on the door. Rose shook her head as she got up to answer it and found Ellie standing outside.
"She'll do it. Claire's agreed to meet him," Ellie told them from the doorway.
"Oh, man. I could kiss you," Alec told her in relief.
"No thanks. I'll leave that to you two. Just promise me that she'll be safe and you won't do anything reckless," she insisted.
"She'll be absolutely safe, Ellie. We promise," Rose assured her.
"Nothing reckless, she'll be safe," Alec added when Miller looked to him for the same promise.
"Right then, goodnight," she said as she walked back to her car.
"See you," Alec called after her.
"Guess we'd better think of where we're going to set up this meeting, love," Rose told him as she closed the door and locked it for the night.
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Rose sat with Alec and Ellie outside the courtroom when the trial began. She had checked with Beth before they went in, the trial would go on for days and none of them would be in there for the whole thing. There was a small café in the building, so for now, Alec, Rose, and Ellie sat together and drank tea while they waited.
"I can't believe we have to be here until we give evidence, it could be days. I'll go mad," Ellie grumbled. "Are you listening to me?" she complained as she saw him staring at someone on the lower level.
Rose and Ellie noticed that Lee was waiting casually and staring up at them. "Did you want me to..." Rose began, but Alec squeezed her hand and shook his head.
Alec walked down to talk to Lee, staying clearly in site of the ladies upstairs. "She'll see you. I decide when, where, and for how long. I'll pick you up from an agreed location. I'll text you the details," Alec told him curtly.
"So she's been with you all along," Lee sneered.
"It won't be a long meeting and I'll be watching," Alec informed him.
"You don't control us," Lee threatened.
"No," Alec said and turned back to the staircase where he saw that Rose and Ellie had come down to meet him.
"See you later, then?" Ashworth called after him before he turned to leave.
"Are you alright?" Ellie asked him.
"I need you to do something for me," he replied.
"Do what?" she questioned.
They went back to sit with their tea and he explained, "I want to have their meeting be at your house, here in town. Can you go and check on the property, make sure everything is clear and secure there?"
"I can't leave, Alec. I'm supposed to be here if they call me," Ellie argued.
"I'll cover for you. Rose doesn't know the place and Ashworth has as good as threatened her, so I don't want to send her there instead," he insisted.
"Alright, but if I get in trouble because I'm not here..." she told him.
"It'll be fine," he responded and waved her off.
It was a few minutes later that she called. "Has anyone noticed that I'm not there?" she asked him.
"They came over, I said you'd gone to the loo. You won't be called for days. Are you there yet?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure about this," she told him warily.
"I need to know what he says, we have got one opportunity and we need to be all over it," Alec responded.
"I think he's tipped you over the edge. Why here? Why not meet in a hotel room or a park?" she asked.
"We need to control access front and back. It has to be somewhere we know the layout. It's the best place, it's a totally neutral location," Alec argued.
"Not for me, it's not," Ellie grumbled. "It's just, I've never been back in."
"Alec, love, they're calling you," Rose interrupted.
"Oh, I'm being called. Bloody hell, it would be now. I'll come when I'm done," he told Ellie as he rang off.
Alec entered the court room and Rose sat with the rest of the people watching the proceedings. Jocelyn questioned him first, asking him to describe the events of the arrest. He honestly and calmly described how he had gone to Mr. Miller's house, by following the signal on Danny's phone. It was then that Joe had admitted that he didn't want to hide anymore and did not resist arrest.
The defence was not so kind in their questioning of him. "You coerced Joe Miller into saying he killed Daniel Latimer, didn't you, DI Hardy?" Ms. Bishop accused.
"No. I found him in the shed with the phone, and he confessed, as I have recorded in my notes," Alec replied.
"I suggest that Joe Miller found Daniel Latimer's phone and was about to report it to the police when you arrived alone and jumped to a false conclusion because it suited your purposes," she continued.
"What purpose would that be?" he asked.
"You were under pressure. You needed a result, didn't you?" she suggested.
"There's always pressure to find a killer," he replied.
"Hadn't you just been labelled Britain's worst cop by the national press?" Bishop asked pointedly.
Alec nearly rolled his eyes, but simply responded, "One paper."
"Are we letting the media judge this trial? Or are we sticking to the facts?" Ms. Knight argued, rising from her seat.
"Stick with the events of the arrest, Ms. Bishop," the judge instructed.
"Absolutely," Bishop agreed. "Let's move to the station. When was a doctor called for Mr. Miller?" she asked.
Alec sighed, knowing this would be the worst part to explain. "I believe it was around 2:15 pm."
"Why did you call a doctor?"
"Mr. Miller had sustained an injury," he replied, addressing the jury.
"Injuries, plural. He sustained a broken rib and bruising to the neck, chest, and torso. Correct?" she clarified.
"Yes."
"How did he get these injuries?" she insisted. Alec hesitated and she asked again, "DI Hardy, how did the defendant sustain injuries while in custody at Broadchurch police station?"
"After DS Miller learned of her husband, the defendant's, confession, she asked to see him," Alec explained.
"Against allowed procedure," Bishop interjected.
"Yes."
"Who allowed this visit?" she asked.
"I did. I supervised, along with two other officers," Alec admitted.
"What happened?" Ms. Bishop pressed.
"DS Miller attacked the defendant," Alec told them.
"She kicked the living daylights out of him, didn't she?" she said, somewhat more dramatically. "And you, you just stood there and watched, didn't you?"
"No. As soon as she started attacking him, I called in other officers and they removed DS Miller. It was my error. It had been... a long and emotional investigation," he said in their defence.
"How many other times was the defendant beaten while in custody?" she asked.
"None," he insisted.
"Did you use violence against the defendant at the house in order to get him to make a confession?" she suggested.
"Absolutely not," he replied.
"Well why should we believe you? An officer who, by his own admission, stood by and watched as a colleague beat up a suspect," she accused further.
"No, that's not how it happened," he told her.
"My Lady, the defence applies to have the defendant's confession excluded pursuant to Section 76 and 78 of PACE," Bishop announced.
"The confession is on camera," Ms. Knight argued. "The injuries were sustained after he confessed."
"We cannot discount the possibility that the injuries were sustained before his arrival at the police station," Bishop countered.
The judge sat and considered the information carefully for a moment before responding, "I agree with the defence. I am minded to exclude the confession from evidence. Members of the jury, you are to disregard it entirely."
Alec locked his gaze with Joe Miller's for a moment before Joe looked down, nervously. Joe's confession had been the most important thing in convicting him. Alec couldn't help but blame himself for allowing the attack to happen. He knew that Ellie had been terribly emotional, but felt that his friend was owed the chance to face him.
Rose and Alec were able to leave the courthouse, then. Rose drove them over to Ellie's house, with all of her Torchwood equipment in a case in the backseat. Miller was waiting for them outside as they pulled up.
"Well, what happened?" she asked them.
"The confession's been excluded," he informed her regretfully. "Sorry, Miller."
"Right," she replied, clearly distraught by the news.
Rose placed her hand supportively on Ellie's shoulder for a moment.
"It's done. It's gone. Nothing to be done. Try not to think about it. You go fetch Claire," he told her, hoping that she could put the things that couldn't be changed behind her and move on to the situation at hand. "Go on," he added as she handed him the keys to the house and he thanked her before she went to her car.
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Rose immediately set to work placing the tiny cameras and microphones that she had around the living room. The information would be sent back to her laptop which they would set up in the kitchen to monitor and record everything. As she set up the computer, Alec went to meet Ashworth up the road, where they had agreed. She felt safe enough, knowing that Lee wouldn't be sneaking up on them this time.
Alec was back with Lee before Ellie and Claire got there. Rose stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the front hall with her arms crossed over her chest as Alec closed the door behind them.
"Give me your coat," Alec told him. Ashworth laughed as if it were all some kind of joke, but handed it over to him. Alec tossed it over the bannister of the stairs saying, "I'll keep the coat."
"Do you wanna pat me down as well?" Lee joked.
"Yeah, if you're offering," Hardy replied and did just that. He found a Swiss Army knife in the pocket of his jeans, but that was all.
"You haven't made her wear a wire or anything, have you?" he questioned.
"No. Front room," Alec responded with a nod toward where the meeting would take place.
There was a bit of discussion as Ellie arrived with Claire and they allowed the couple some privacy by closing the living room door. Ellie stayed outside in the front of the house, while Alec joined Rose in the kitchen. Of course, Rose was monitoring everything from her laptop in the kitchen.
Alec was on the phone with Ellie outside. "Course she's safe, we're recording everything," he said into the phone. "Rose got some special equipment from Torchwood. We've got it covered. I'm telling you now," he added and his face then turned to one of concern.
"God those two are disgusting," Rose commented as she watched Claire make out with the man she'd been adamant about not wanting to see again on the camera feed. "What is it, Alec?" she asked when she noticed him straining to listen to his phone. She watched him as he tried to get Ellie's attention on the phone repeatedly.
"Shit! Beth's outside with Ellie. Get out there, love," he told her.
Rose ran to the front door and noticed on the way that the door to the living room was slightly open. "Alec, they just ran for it!" she called back behind her.
Outside, Beth was pushing Ellie. "You knew that if you beat him up, kick the shit out of him, it would give him a chance to get off," she accused.
"God, no!" Ellie argued.
"He's not gonna walk. He's guilty. We all know it," Beth told her forcefully. She gasped and looked down as her trousers were suddenly dripping wet down her legs. "Oh! Oh shit!"
"Beth! Oh my god, Beth," Rose called as she came out of the house and ran to her friend.
"See what you've done?" Beth shouted angrily at Ellie.
"Come on, Beth. I'll get you home. Ellie, you'd better help Alec, Claire and Lee pulled a runner," Rose told her as she supported Beth to walk back to her house.
"Claire!" Alec shouted as he ran out of the house. "Shit. Shit. Where is he?"
"Alright, love. You and Ellie go look. I'm getting Beth home," Rose informed him as well while Beth waddled awkwardly back through the gate at the end of the street.
She ignored the rest of their heated discussion and focussed on Beth.
"How could you be with her, Rose? You know what she's done!" Beth questioned fiercely.
"She didn't do it, Beth. You know that," Rose replied calmly.
"Ellie knew. How could she not know?" Beth insisted.
"Do you really want to have that conversation now, Beth? Because I could go over the list of things in your house that you didn't know about, but I think we have more important things to worry about, yeah?" Rose suggested.
