"Why did ya want to talk about Sandbrook?" Rose wanted to know.
"Rose, Claire Ripley disappeared, goodness knows where she is and I am fairly certain she took the pendant," Alec told her.
"Do ya think she'll show up here, now you've been in the news?" Rose wondered.
"Well after all the turmoil recently," Alec had to admit. "If she does, we will have to be careful, after the case fell apart mostly because of losing the pendant."
"Yeah, I followed the rest of it, sorry," Rose told him. "Alec, she will probably just stay out of the way?"
"I hope so love. Let us just hope she won't turn up when Joe Miller goes on trial?" he replied.
"Geez Alec, I hope not," Rose gasped. "I don't wanna even think about it if she stirs up any trouble. Why did ya bring the subject up?"
"Another trial involving me?" Alec asked. "It will be tempting for her."
"Well I hope we're wrong about it then?" Rose replied.
So did Alec.
"I hope Daisy got the watch back okay?" Rose then asked him.
"She would have said otherwise," Alec replied. "You're not going to tell me why she sent it then?"
"Alec, just leave it," Rose suggested, hoping he would.
"Fine, I know you women and your secrets," he had to smile.
Rose was disappointed a few days later to find the deal for the house had fallen through. She knew it had been a holiday rental and they'd been promised it at the end of the season but the owner had changed his mind. Alec hadn't wanted her to use her name to get the man to change his mind back.
"We can look for another place?" Alec then suggested. "Maybe that one would have been a little on the small side if Daisy visits?"
Rose could only agree to start looking again but she'd wanted somewhere near the sea. She knew Alec hadn't been keen on the idea but he'd put up with it for her. It was approaching the end of the season at the caravan park so they had to call in to see if they could keep the caravan a while longer.
"Well there won't be many people around and the club will be closed," the manager was telling them.
"I don't think we mind too much," Alec replied. "Will it be possible? The caravan is plenty big enough for now until we find somewhere permanent."
"Well, I'll speak to head office and see if we can make an exception," he was told.
"What if you say I'm in the police and I get them to pay for it?" he then suggested, looking at Rose, who was fussing over Katy.
"If you call back later, I should have an answer for you," Alec was promised.
"Well can ya tell them I want to keep it for now, if his idea doesn't work?" Rose asked.
That got her a scowl from Alec.
"Well?" Rose asked when they got outside.
"Rose, what did we agree?" he asked as she leaned down to look at the baby.
"Sorry. Well what if they aren't impressed the police might want to pay for it?" she wanted to know.
"Rose, how am I going to get them to pay after all this time anyway?" he wanted to know. "I will have to say we will continue to pay and claim it back."
"I hope we can keep it for now, it's really handy for taking Katy for walks along the pier, she loves watching the boats and for meeting you for lunch as well," Rose told him. "Any news about Ellie coming back? I've not even seen her for a while."
"She may have stopped asking for a transfer back?" Alec wondered. "It's now down to her."
"Poor Ellie really took it hard," Rose recalled.
"I know love but you have done all you can for her," Alec tried to assure her.
Over Christmas and the new year, they'd gone up to see Rose's family and called to see Daisy. The teenager hadn't yet decided if she wanted to move to Broadchurch as they still couldn't find a house they both liked and with plenty of room, if they ever decided to have another baby, since Katy was almost a year old.
Alec was keen on the idea since he'd missed out with going with Rose to hospital appointments and more importantly the actual arrival of his baby daughter. They had just got back after the new year and decided to step up their house hunting. Alec went up to the rental agency one lunchtime to see why the housing market was so slow with rentals.
"Mr Hardy, there's no more shortage here than there is in other towns," he'd been told by the agent. "Have you thought about looking a bit further away? We have some properties up in Charmouth, it's only a few miles up the coast."
So Alec took a few leaflets back to show Rose and tried to explain that without buying a house, they may have to keep waiting or move up the coast slightly.
"Rose, if we are going to be staying here, we could go for buying one," he suggested.
"Alec, you won't want to use my money so how can we afford it?"
"I could ask Tess to buy my share of the house she still lives in?" he wondered. "After all, I left her the house in my hurry to get away and find a place for us."
"That would still mean I'll have to put some towards it?" Rose asked.
Alec knew Tess finding the money to buy her share of the house would be difficult so what choice did he have but to let Rose pay towards it?
"Rose, I don't want to let you do it on your own," he told her.
"Yeah, I get it Alec. Let's stay here a while longer if they'll let us?" she suggested. "Maybe I can speak to my dad and get him to lend us the money and we pay him back?"
"Talk to him and see what he says then?" Alec gave in.
"If that's what you both want?" Pete wanted to know as Rose called him. "I'll make up an agreement then and make the money available when you find something you both like."
"Yeah, we'll start looking," Rose replied. "Thanks and don't let mum talk ya into buying it for us."
"That's down to you," Pete laughed. "When are you all coming for another visit?"
Alec was listening and remembered the one where he'd almost lost Rose.
"I am still waiting for a court date," Alec used the excuse on the speaker.
"Yeah, there's that," Rose had to agree, knowing Alec wasn't comfortable with visits. "Well why don't we just go for a long weekend, for Katy's birthday next week?" she then suggested.
Alec knew he didn't really have a choice.
After they celebrated their baby daughter's first birthday, they got to work on finding a place to live and finally, Alec got a court date for Joe Miller's hearing, where he had the chance to enter his plea. Alec was hoping the man wasn't going to change it.
Rose was going to stay well away from the proceedings as she didn't want to attract all the attention, especially if she had Katy with her. She'd not had much to do with the Latimers, she'd only met Beth a few times while they'd been out but Rose knew Beth was expecting any time now.
On the morning of the hearing, Alec had agreed to do a short interview for the local paper and had just finished getting ready when his phone went.
"Is that now?" he asked as Olly Stevens was reminding him.
He opened the door to see Olly and his editor outside.
"We can do this on the beach if you want?" Maggie suggested. "Any chance your wife will be joining you?"
"No, keep her out of it," Alec insisted as he put his jacket on.
He looked across the room where Rose was still trying to feed their daughter her breakfast.
"Wasn't she friends with your detective sergeant?" Maggie then asked him.
"Maybe she was but she stays out of it, just like she's staying away from the court case," Alec told her.
He was glad when it was over and went back inside to get the car keys.
"Just watch out for any reporters," he warned Rose as Katy wanted to go to him. "As for you young lady, be good for your mum eh?" he asked the giggling girl.
"I'll put the local news on and see if they say anything," Rose told him as she tried to rescue him from Katy going for his beard yet again.
"Well confirm what you hear with me, I will call when I get out. It should not take long," he replied.
"If ya see Ellie, tell her to come over and see me," Rose added. "I don't know why she's been staying away."
"Maybe she thinks it's for the best?" Alec wondered as he handed Katy back after kissing her cheek and the baby giggling again.
"Come on Katy, let daddy go," Rose tried again.
Alec set off and on his arrival at the court, found a place to park and put his police sign on the dashboard, daring any wardens to give him a ticket. Inside, he saw some familiar faces then saw the Latimers approaching.
"You needn't have been here today," he told them sympathetically.
"I need to hear him say he's guilty," Beth told him. "Your wife's not here then?"
"No, it's best she keeps out of this," Alec replied.
"Good, this is about my Danny," Beth replied, Alec detecting a hint of sarcasm but it was to be expected he supposed.
"She's never looked for any special treatment since she's been in the town," Alec reminded her.
"Come on Beth, let's speak to our solicitor," Mark suggested as he took her arm. "Sorry," he called to Alec as they left.
"Don't be sorry," Beth told him, trying to move his hand from her arm.
Once inside the courtroom, Alec found a seat and tried to keep one free in case Ellie showed up. With just a few minutes to go, he saw her enter and look around. Beth saw her and was about to shout out asking her what she was doing there, then Alec called her over.
"How's Devon?" Alec asked as she sat down.
"Awful. How's Rose and the baby?" she replied as the court bailiff entered.
"They are both fine," he told her as they stood up. "Rose wanted to see you."
"I thought it best to stay away," Ellie admitted to him.
The bailiff read the charges against Joe as Joe turned towards Ellie.
"Don't you look at me," Ellie hissed his way.
"How do you plead?" Joe was then asked by the bailiff.
"Not guilty," Joe said clearly.
The whole courtroom erupted, Beth and Ellie louder than the rest of the room and the judge tried to silence them.
Joe's solicitor stood up and asked for the plea to be repeated.
"Not guilty," Joe said once again.
He was remanded back into custody and led away as Beth rushed out, followed by Ellie.
"This is your fault," Beth screamed at Ellie as Mark and Chloe caught up with her.
"Leave it Beth," Mark urged her. "We need to find a good barrister."
"I know who you want but you won't get her," his solicitor told him.
"I know who you mean," Maggie said to no-one in particular.
Ellie had rushed to the ladies room, feeling sick.
"Miller, come out," Alec was shouting through the door.
"Go away," Ellie told him.
Instead, he found a cleaning sign and lodged it in the doorway.
"Come over and see Rose," he urged her.
"How's that going to help me?" Ellie wanted to know as she came out of the cubicle. "How am I going to face Tom now, he'll never come back to me."
"Like I said, come over and talk to Rose," he suggested again.
"I have to pick up Fred," she replied, thinking that was a good excuse not to face her one time friend.
"Rose will be disappointed," he told her.
"Okay, maybe I'll come over later?" Ellie relented.
She didn't really feel like facing anyone but she knew Rose was just concerned. She'd heard they'd got married although while the papers should have made it front page news, it had been hushed up at Rose's request and Pete had made sure it wasn't splashed all over the gossip columns.
She knew Olly would have been one of those who had been warned.
"I will tell Rose then?" Alec suggested. "Just remember she has not fallen out with you."
He watched her walk off but doubted she would take his advice. He got a funny look from two woman as he moved away from the doorway and finding an empty seat, called Rose.
"How did Ellie take the news?" Rose wanted to know as Katy took a nap before lunch.
"Not too well," he admitted. "The Latimers have to find a good barrister now."
"Yeah, I wonder what made Joe change his mind?" Rose asked him.
"Well his solicitor was not expecting him to change his plea" Alec replied.
"Hey, best hope ya don't get the same barrister as Lee Ashworth got," Rose laughed.
"Well we could do with the same prosecution, they did the best with what they had," Alec replied.
"Be careful what ya wish for," Rose teased him. "Still meeting for lunch?"
Alec agreed and drove off, not seeing Lee Ashworth watching from his van. Ashworth wanted to know where his wife was and had figured the detective might lead him to her but he had no idea Alec had no interest in finding Claire Ripley and had left it to the Torchwood agents to find her.
Claire had settled just down from Broadchurch in the attempt to get away from her husband after Tess had got her to say she was in that night and had seen Pippa, who was worried about her cousin. She had kept her distance from Alec, since she didn't know him that well but she'd been getting silent calls and was worried it was Lee. She couldn't go back to Tess so she only had one choice. Would the DI help her though?
Claire had heard he'd got married to none other than Rose Tyler, whom Claire had also learned play a big part in getting Lee locked up. Then she'd suddenly disappeared before the trial was over which was when Tess had found her and got her to testify.
She decided she had to do something about the calls so she'd rung Broadchurch police station and been told Alec wasn't in.
"Well when will he be back?" Claire had wanted to know.
"Sorry, he's attending a hearing this morning," Bob was telling her.
She had forgotten he may have to attend the hearing of the man who had killed that boy last year.
"Well can I leave my number and ask him to call me?" Claire then asked.
Bob jotted the number down on the message pad but didn't promise Alec would get it any time soon. It was her day off and she didn't fancy waiting around for him to decide to pass the message on to Alec.
Alec got back to the station and was handed a pile of messages, Bob thinking the DI had been popular that morning.
"Oh Sir, there was one of those people who stood out," he dared tell Alec.
"Well which one?" Alec then wondered, looking at the names. "Don't bother, I found it."
He knew Claire's name but thought he'd heard the last of her before he'd moved here. Rose wouldn't be happy if he got involved with calling Claire, he thought he'd left Torchwood to deal with her. He still had Jakes's number so he called him instead.
"So Rose doesn't know what happened?" Jake wanted to make sure.
"There was no need, she was no longer part of the investigation," Alec told him.
"Well maybe you should tell her?" Jake suggested. "Want me to try and find Claire for ya?"
"No, she will find me. I just have to find a way to tell Rose," Alec replied.
Claire had heard Joe saying he was innocent on the news so she figured Alec might be back at work. She walked up the lane to catch the next bus going to Broadchurch and it was just her luck the bus that took the scenic route arrived first. It still ended up by the harbour so she hoped he would be back.
"Are you the lady who called earlier?" Bob recognised her Welsh accent.
"Yes, why?" Claire asked, thinking how many Welsh people called every day.
Bob called Alec's desk phone and told him someone was waiting for him, that being the woman who called earlier. Alec had just got back from meeting Rose across the road and Claire could have sworn she'd seen Rose with Katy as she'd got off the bus.
So, that's what the Vitex heiress had been hiding, that she had a small child, Claire wondered. She had read somewhere Alec had married Rose but there was nothing about a baby. Did the local press know? If not, how much would the news be worth to a big London newspaper such as the Herald?
She remembered the journalist who had been asking a lot of questions back in Sandbrook towards the end of the trial but that was when she herself had left, after Tess had tricked her into telling the truth about Lee.
Alec wasn't that pleased Claire had sought him out but since she was here, he could at least hear what she was doing in Broadchurch. Was she living locally though? He went downstairs and found an empty interview room.
"I never expected you to be contacting me," Alec told her as he gestured for her to sit opposite.
"Neither did I," Claire admitted. "I think Lee's looking for me."
"What makes you think that?" Alec wanted to know. "You should really contact Tess."
"Oh, so you're not interested since you got married?" Claire huffed.
"She left before it was all over," Alec reminded her. "I left Tess in charge when I left."
"She won't be interested either," Claire looked disappointed. "What am I supposed to do?"
"I suppose I could make some enquiries for you?" Alec thought about it.
He only vaguely remembered Claire giving testimony, other things had been on his mind. He could contact Jake again and ask if they knew if Lee Ashworth was in the area.
"Leave your phone number, I will have someone contact you," Alec then told her.
"Can't you deal with it?" Claire wanted to know, swearing she left her number earlier.
"I'm going to have to attend a trial," Alec replied, thinking Rose would just love this.
"Afraid your wife will find out?" Claire smiled at the thought.
"She stays out of it," Alec told her. "It's either that or I pass it on to Tess."
Claire huffed at not getting her own way.
"I suppose so then?" she replied.
"Right, expect a call from an organisation called Torchwood," Alec then told her.
"Aren't they the alien chasers?" Claire mocked.
"Not these days," Alec replied. "They got your husband to admit he had something to do with Pippa's death. He did not escape prison due to them. Do you know anything about where the missing pendant disappeared to?"
"You have to be joking," Claire laughed as she got up after scribbling her phone number on the pad Alec had produced from a drawer.
Alec knew he was going to have enough now he had a trial to attend, let alone sorting this out for Tess.
"Expect a call from Tess as well," he then warned her.
"Huh? She won't be able to protect me from Lee, will she?" Claire asked.
"We have yet to determine he is even in the area," Alec reminded her.
"Well what if it is him? What am I supposed to do?" Claire then wanted to know.