"It's for the best Rose," Pete had told her over dinner. "Are you going to tell him the rest of it?"
"Yeah, not much else to tell really," Rose had agreed.
"Are you going to see Alec?" Tony had wanted to know. "Will you bring him back with you? I miss him, I miss Jamie too."
"I know sweetheart," Jackie had sympathised. "Rose'll ask Alec, won't ya Rose?"
Rose had just nodded, not sure Alec would even be talking to her after the news she was expecting his baby. How had it even happened, she'd wondered. She had been missing Jamie but things had just got out of hand that night, when Alec hadn't held back like Jamie had. She hadn't wanted to stop him either, even though she wasn't taking anything.
Now, she doubted Jamie would have been pleased if she had tricked him and would have still left. That would have made things difficult, Rose was sure of that. While Alec seemed different, she still wasn't sure about telling him but better now than later.
The next morning, Ellie had gone to work without Tom's laptop. She hadn't said anything before she'd left, wanting to talk to him later for an explanation, since her youngest was acting up over breakfast.
"He just misses you Ell," Joe had tried to tell her. "Can't someone else fill in for you once in a while?"
"It's my job to support the lead detective," Ellie had reminded him.
"Until late at night?" Joe argued when Tom had gone to the other room. "What do you find to do at that time?"
"It's complicated, we have to wait for lab results and other things," Ellie told him as she combed an unhappy toddler's hair.
"If you didn't hate Hardy so much, I could be suspicious," Joe half joked. "Hope he's got a girlfriend?"
"If he has, she's not in town," Ellie admitted as she put her work bag over her head. "I'll try and meet you at lunchtime."
"Hope so," Joe replied, trying to get Fred to eat more cereal. "Tell your boss you have to eat."
Ellie was wondering if Hardy was actually going to produce his so-called girlfriend but she doubted it. So now, she was standing in front of his desk.
"You could not find your son's laptop?" Alec was repeating what she'd said, knowing where the item actually was.
"I can't watch him all the time – Sir," Ellie was losing her temper with him. "Not with working all hours. My husband's been complaining about that again."
Alec thought maybe when Rose arrived, he'd be keener to finish work earlier than they had been doing but he wasn't going to tell his annoying DS that. It had been enough he'd admitted he sort of had a girlfriend.
"When he finds the laptop, bring it in," Alec ignored her remarks. "We need to get Nigel Carter back in, about taking Danny out with him."
"I know, I'll call him," Ellie tried to calm down. "Sir, about Tom and Danny falling out, Joe never said anything to me about it, I forgot to ask him, I'll ask him later."
"Yes, do that," Alec agreed, putting his specs on and reading something on his screen. "Have you see this?"
Ellie went around to join him, to see what he was talking about.
Rose was seeing Tony off to his football practice her mother had signed him up for then she went back into the kitchen.
"More tonic water is it Miss Rose?" the cook smiled cheekily at her.
Rose tried not to blush as she headed for the fridge.
"I was worse than that when I had my eldest," the cook continued.
"I feel like I want to throw up all the time but nothing comes out," Rose complained as she opened the bottle.
"Oh, poor dearie," the cook replied as she flattened some pastry for an apple pie she was baking. "Will you be in for lunch?"
"Yuck, don't mention lunch," Rose made a face as she took the glass over to the table. "Maybe some of your veg soup, I might keep it down."
She had felt worse than normal when she'd got up. Now, how was she going to manage to drive down to Broadchurch? It was over a hundred miles, she may have to be driven down there. Still, it wouldn't be too bad, she wouldn't be going far without Alec once she was there and she could call the driver back if things didn't work out.
Jackie had been looking for her as Rose left the kitchen.
"What was wrong with you this morning?" she asked a pale looking Rose. "Blimey, you look worse than earlier."
"Gee, thanks Mum, that makes me feel a lot better," Rose told her. "I think I'll go lie down again."
"Do ya want me to call Doctor Blake?" Jackie asked.
"No Mum, I'll be fine but I might have to be driven down to Broadchurch," Rose managed a smile. "The only thing is, I'll have to call Alec to show me where he's stayin'. Then he'll wonder why I've not driven down myself. I can hardly drag my cases into the police station and ask for him."
Jackie laughed at the thought.
"Look Rose, he seems a decent man, he'll stick by ya," she told Rose.
"I know Mum but what if he's not ready to be told about the other stuff?" Rose replied.
"If he cares about ya, he will be," Jackie patted her on the shoulder. "Go upstairs then, before Tony gets back, he'll be giddy if his team wins. I'll be glad when it's Monday and he goes back to school. These summer holidays are far too long."
"They never seemed long enough," Rose disagreed. "I might text Alec and warn him I'm getting a lift down there."
"Great idea," Jackie laughed. "Don't ya think he'll ask why?"
Rose thought she may even feel better by then, well she hoped so anyway. She had a few more days to wait and wondered if maybe she should surprise him by turning up early. No, it wasn't a good idea, she decided as she lay on her bed, hugging a pillow and hoping the sickness would subside.
Tony was a bit of a handful when he came back from playing football but she loved him dearly, having grown up on her own. She hoped Alec might take Jamie's place of being her younger brother's hero, since the boy needed someone to look up to now.
At least Alec would be more sensible with Tony than Jamie had been, sometimes it was hard to tell who was the kid and who was the adult.
She picked up her phone and started composing a text to Alec, wondering how he'd react if she went down a day early. Alec was just interviewing Nigel Carter, who had taken his time coming in.
"I saw nuthin' wrong," Nigel was being unrelenting. "Danny said it was okay."
"You took the boy's word?" Alec then asked. "You never thought of calling one of his parents? Do you know what it's doing to them now, knowing you put Danny in danger? How do we know you're not responsible for Danny's death hmm? To stop him from telling Beth and Mark?"
"Why would I kill my best friend's son?" Nigel objected, banging his fist on the table and his solicitor giving him a warning look.
"What were you doing, going into the woods on that farm?" Alec wanted to know.
"What you think?" Nigel sat back on the chair. "After birds, the farm belonged to Dean's uncle, he said they wouldn't be missed."
Then Alec had an idea.
"Do you want to change your statement from the night Danny died? We know you were not with Mark Latimer."
Nigel whispered something to his solicitor, who nodded back.
"I was up at the farm on the cliff top, going after pheasants," Nigel finally admitted. "I ran out of diesel so I took some from the tractor and cut the fence, to make it look like a robbery."
So that was what had happened that had taken himself to the farm on the morning Danny had been found, Alec realised.
"Miller, make sure he's processed for the offence, read him his rights," Alec turned to Ellie, who thought she could trust Nigel.
"Did you ever take Tom with you?" she wanted to know as she got up.
Alec let it slide, her asking personal questions but she had a right to know.
"No," Nigel insisted. "I would've told Joe, wouldn't I?"
Now Ellie was beginning to worry, since Paul Coates had supposedly told Joe that Tom and Danny had fallen out and Joe hadn't bothered telling her. Her husband now had some explaining to do, including why he'd never finished decorating their bedroom if Fred was having a nap during the day. What else hadn't Joe told her, she now wondered as she followed Nigel out after telling the officer outside to inform Nigel of his rights.
Alec sat a while, wondering what was going on now Nigel had admitted taking Danny out without the boy getting permission. What with his DS's husband hiding something from her, what else was Joe Miller hiding? He was getting more questions than answers and he wasn't too happy about it.
He was about to get up when his phone buzzed that he had a message. He smiled when he saw it was from Rose. He quickly read it and replied asking if he should call her. Rose thought if she said no, he'd think she was having second thoughts about joining him, so she agreed and her phone rang a few seconds later.
"Rose, are you okay?" Alec asked her, hoping nothing was wrong.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was thinking, about when I come down there."
"You're not having second thoughts?" he wanted to make sure.
"What? No, it's not that," she tried to assure him. "I was thinking about maybe coming down a day early. Is that okay?"
"Rose, I would love for you to come down a day early," he almost laughed. "Are you driving? It's a long way you know?"
"Well you came up to see me that weekend," she reminded him.
"Ah, that was worth it," he did laugh. "I keep thinking about it, if I could have stayed longer, I would have done. Can you get someone to bring you maybe?"
Rose thought it was going to be easier if he was asking her that.
"Yeah, someone can bring me down, not dad though or Tony will want to come as well," Rose laughed.
"Maybe he could come another time?" Alec suggested, wanting Rose to himself. "You sound a little off, are you sure you are okay?'
"I just miss ya," Rose made the excuse.
"Are you sure that is all?" Alec wanted to know.
"Is that you playing detective?" Rose teased him.
"I will show you how to play detective when you get here," he teased her back.
"Promise?" Rose laughed. "I can't tell ya what's wrong on the phone Alec," she then went serious.
"Then tell me when you get here. Call me when you are on the way, then I will meet you at the caravan, I will text you where it is. The site is almost next to the police station, it will be easy for you to find. Maybe your friend Jake could bring you?"
"I can ask, see ya then? How are ya gettin' on with the case? Need any help?"
"Things are coming together, finally," he admitted. "Everyone is hiding something, two things have come to my attention since yesterday."
"Things are looking up then?" Rose hoped.
"Yes but when you arrive, it will give me a reason to finish work early," he then told her. "My DS has been complaining she never sees her family."
"She'll be happy then," Rose replied. "Bye then, I'll let ya get back to work."
"I was just interviewing someone, who may hold some clues," he also admitted. "I look forward to seeing you, we have a lot to discuss."
"Can't wait but I have to warn ya Alec, you may not like things about my past."
"Rose, we can start fresh, if you want?" he asked her. "Forget about your marriage to Jamie, it seems to me you made a mistake, if he was too similar to the friend you lost."
"Yeah, I realise that now Alec. I met him not long after I'd lost The Doctor, I suppose that was why I fell for him."
"It's okay, it happens love," Alec told her. "Can I just ask, are you doing anything about it?"
He didn't want to ask her if she was getting a divorce over the phone, just in case.
"Alec, can we talk about it when I see ya?" Rose replied.
"Sure. See you soon love," Alec agreed.
Rose ended the call, wishing he'd done a video but he probably wasn't used to it. Still not feeling too good, she called Jake. He could drive her car down there and either bring it back or get the train if she decided to keep it there.
Jake was amused when Rose asked him to drive her down to Broadchurch.
"So ya finally doing something about it Rosie?" he teased her after laughing.
"Stop it Jake, it's complicated and you know it. Will ya take me? Dad will give ya time off," Rose replied.
"I suppose so then? Seeing it's quiet here, now Jamie's not causing chaos everywhere or annoyed people 'cos he's in one of his silly moods," Jake laughed.
"Don't remind me Jake, I'd rather forget about it, why do ya think I've stayed away?" Rose asked him.
"Something to do with a certain document ya got?" Jake wondered.
"Dad told ya then?" Rose didn't sound surprised. "Did he tell ya the other thing as well?"
"What do ya think?" Jake replied. "No wonder ya want me to take you down there."
That agreed, she ended the call and thought she had better go back downstairs for Tony getting back. She had to tell him she was going a day early. After playing with him for a while, she went to start packing for her trip, since Alec had said he was in a caravan and there wouldn't be a lot of room, unless she used the wardrobe in the spare room.
Alec had been pleased Rose was arriving a day early, now he only had to survive until Thursday. He would then make it up to his DS for keeping her working late but he wouldn't let on why, Miller would think he was going soft and he couldn't have that.
He expected she and Rose would meet at some point, Rose would be hard to hide though they would have to come up with a reason she was in the town. Rose was probably good at cover stories, it seemed since her mother married Pete Tyler, her whole life and become one big cover story.
He now wished he'd met Rose sooner, before she had met Jamie. To him, the other man hadn't deserved someone like Rose and suspected Rose had got carried away with it all after losing her friend. Well if Jamie couldn't accept the similarities, that was his problem.
Had Rose been happy after the two of them had met? She seemed relieved it was about to all be over, putting up with Jamie's jealousy must have been tiring. He went back up to his office, Ellie following him in. She was making a habit of doing that, he noted.
"Everything okay Sir?" Ellie asked him as she took it she was invited to sit down.
"Yes, fine. Did Carter get processed?" he wanted to know without going into too many details.
"He's being dealt with. Do you really think he had anything to do with Danny's death? I mean he might be a bit of a rogue but he wouldn't hurt Danny. I've seen them together when we've been over for Sunday lunch," Ellie told him.
"There are two sides to most people Miller," he reminded her. "What happened about your son's laptop?"
Ellie wished he hadn't reminded her.
"I'll have to ask Tom when I get home, if I get home early again," she hinted.
She wished this girlfriend of his would put in an appearance, then he might get the concept of finishing work at a decent time.
"Do that then but I will need to interview him again," Alec replied. "He may hold some clues about Danny that we are not aware of. Your son may not even know himself," he added so as not to sound accusing.
When Ellie got home, she called Tom into the kitchen.
"Where's your laptop Tom? Don't lie to me, it could be important," she told him.
"Mum? Why would it be?" Tom wanted to know.
"Did you send emails and messages to Danny on it?" Ellie then asked him.
"Mum, that's private," Tom insisted. "Is it to do with Danny dying?"
"Yes and my boss wants the laptop to examine, so you had better hand it over to me by morning," Ellie then ordered him.
She didn't notice the guilty look on Tom's face as he went off. Tom was now worried that Paul had somehow handed the broken laptop to the detective already and was trying to fool himself into admitting smashing it up to get rid of the messages he and Danny had sent each other when they had fallen out.
After Ellie had left, Alec got the news he'd been waiting for – the breakdown of what had been said between Tom and Danny. There was an email from his friend, with attachments of the emails and a note that the laptop hard drive was damaged but he'd managed to get copies of the emails from the server.
Alec sent an email back, saying he owed his friend a favour. The reply was that if he had a girlfriend, make sure he held on to her. He fully intended holding on to Rose, he wasn't like her almost ex husband, going off and leaving her because he couldn't keep his jealousy in check.
Now, he had to get to the bottom of why Tom and Danny had fallen out and what they had been fighting about in front of the vicar. As he read the emails with interest, he was beginning to get the picture. Tom had got jealous that Danny had got himself a new friend, which could throw light on who killed the boy. He doubted the friend was Nigel Carter but the man had still committed an offence.
He now had to find out who that friend could have been and how jealous Tom Miller had got when he'd found out.