He'd not intended to actually kill who he now knew as Danny Latimer, though he'd heard the other man shouting after the boy to go back. If by any chance Hardy wondered if he'd been followed, well he could blame the whole thing on the other man who had been there. He only had to tell Hardy another man had been with Danny and that he'd seen the boy run away.
He needn't tell how he'd spoken to the boy and chased him down into the boatyard and getting bored of the boy hiding from him when he'd only wanted to warn him to keep quiet he had been swinging the oar. How was he to know the stupid boy would come running around the corner at the same time? Well Hardy wouldn't put two and two together when he'd put the boy on the beach instead of hiding him.
Rose was waiting in the hotel dining room, wondering if Alec would actually get back in time to eat. If he didn't, she planned on picking up some food and taking it to him in his office but she had just ordered when he stood in the doorway after telling his DS to go home.
"What's come over you?" Ellie had asked him half an hour earlier as he got his coat on.
She was beginning to wonder why he wore the thing in summer.
"I have to meet up with Rose Tyler, we have a few things to discuss," he'd admitted.
"Anyone would think she was taking over," Ellie grinned. "She's not is she?"
"What? No, neither is Torchwood but they can be useful. There's too much going on for the CSU to handle, Rose can get their labs to process some of it. Maybe they can send a mobile unit to save sending it to their headquarters. Go home Miller."
So Ellie wasn't going to argue with him since it had been the early hours she'd got home last night. Her husband looked up from feeding their youngest as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, you're early tonight. Any news yet who killed Danny?" Joe asked her.
"No, Hardy decided to quit early, thankfully. Why is Fred wearing his food?" she laughed as young Fred had spaghetti sauce all over his face.
"Yeah, he's been doing that lately. So, Danny was found on the beach?" he asked, just to make sure.
He'd wondered if the boy had walked across the top of the cliff or he'd gone down and walked along the beach but how had he ended up dead?
"So, can you say how Danny was killed?" Joe wondered as Ellie wiped their son's face.
Ellie saw no reason why not.
"He was hit by something, that's all I can say. How's Tom been? Hardy wants to speak to him on Monday at some point."
She'd been annoyed when he'd got back from seeing Mark Latimer, that he'd not only said Mark was hiding something but he wanted to talk to Tom.
"Why does he want to talk to Tom?" Joe asked her.
That was what Ellie had wanted to know.
So now, Alec was sitting opposite Rose, who had spoken to her stepfather.
"We need to talk," Alec was telling her. "Who are you Rose? What did that psychic mean?"
"Nothing Alec, I'm who I said I am and there's no way he knew my friend."
"How can you know that? He may have seen you two together in a newspaper or magazine."
"Alec, he can't have done, really. Unless?"
Had the psychic been at Pete's that night and got out? Still, there was no way he knew who the Doctor was since they'd been posing as servants.
"Unless what? What are you not telling me?"
"Not here Alec," Rose replied as the waitress came back.
"Then you can explain to me later. You said he left you? Was that recently?"
"No, just after my mum married Pete, well the last was a few years later, it's complicated. I went to find him. I swear I can't say any more."
"Something is bothering me. You went on some sort of mission, another friend of yours never came back."
How could she tell him Mickey had stayed where they came from?
"He chose to stay. Alec, you're in the police, I think I can trust you. My friend Mickey, well he stayed behind where we came from."
"Where you came from? So you are not from around here?"
"You can talk," Rose grinned. "No, me, Mickey and my mum, we were brought here when the Cybermen invaded my world. We were supposed to go back."
"I'm sorry Rose, I had no idea," Alec told her, since no-one was near them.
"Yeah. We have to keep it quiet Alec, you can't tell anyone else. I just want to help down here, there's nothing else I can do to get back, I lost my chance a while back. I thought I'd got him back but he ran away, it's complicated."
"I can only imagine. You thought there was something wrong with me. You trusted me, I can trust you. We should not talk here though, we could go into the sitting room maybe?" he suggested.
Rose nodded her agreement and followed him out.
"Alec, we could just go to my room maybe?"
"My room, you will see why," Alec insisted, gesturing for her to go upstairs first.
Becca was just coming out of the dining room when she saw them, smiling to herself that if that wasn't giving the game away, nothing was. Did they expect to keep it quiet?
Once in his room, he went for some water to take his heart medication, since there was no point in hiding it.
"What's wrong with you Alec?"
"Heart problem that can wait until I find Danny's killer. Rose, there could have been two of them? Say one chased Danny towards the person with the oar?"
"No, we know he went down that path Alec, I say he was running away from someone before Lee Ashworth saw him. Did they find anything at the hut?"
"One set of fingerprints we identified and one we are still looking to see who they belong to. They could just belong to the cleaner though. We found the oar, in a boat as you suggested. We have to hope the person who was holding it left some traces after thinking they wiped their fingerprints off. Do you still think Ashworth followed me here?"
"I think he followed you at first to find his wife," Rose replied. "Then Danny recognised him and he didn't want you to know he was using you to find her. I bet he intended watching for any signs you were contacting her but it all went wrong when he camped in the wrong place. If we find the person Danny was meeting, whoever it was could have seen Lee Ashworth."
"I know that Rose. Hopefully one of those sets of fingerprints will tell us who that was but we can't charge them with anything, it's not a crime to be meeting someone even if it's an eleven year old boy."
"Yeah but it's a bit creepy why they were sneaking off that way, don't ya think? They must have been meeting for a while though? Alec, I hate to say it but maybe Danny was being groomed?"
"We suspected Ashworth and his wife were grooming those two girls. I don't like this Rose. Maybe Ashworth was the only one up there and Danny was on his own?"
"Why would he go in the opposite direction to the hut?" Rose reminded him. "No, there had to be two of them. Mark Latimer had to have seen something while he was up there, even if it was just Lee Ashworth's motorbike."
"He won't admit he was even up there meeting anyone Rose. I think you should be there when he's interviewed, see what you can get out of him." He stopped to sweep back his hair. "As if being in this town's not bad enough, people are lying already. He does not get the fact we don't care if he was meeting anyone, we just want to know what happened to his son. If this was about my daughter, I'd tell the investigating officer everything, I just would."
"Yeah, I know ya would Alec. Back to your heart problem though? Maybe Torchwood can help ya?" Rose wondered.
"Why, do they have an invisible pacemaker they can beam in?"
"Very funny Alec. They might have something you can put on, I mean not have inserted, I can ask? They get all sorts of things coming in, it's all tested before it's used. Say you'll give it a try?"
"Rose, I can't take time off, not now. We have to find Lee Ashworth but where did he go after he was up by the hut?"
"Then let me find him? Alec, he doesn't know why I'm here, does he? If he's in the town or nearby, let the paper publish I'm here and he might think it's worthwhile looking me up?"
"No Rose, he's dangerous, I don't want him anywhere near you so forget it."
"Okay, fine then. What if I make friends with his wife? Get her to tell me the truth about Sandbrook?"
"That's not a bad idea Rose except she would never get why the Vitex heiress wants to make friends with her."
"Alec, I can tell her Torchwood can help her, if she's worried her husband's looking for her. You tell her you suspect he's in town, see how she reacts? I can take you to see her tomorrow evening, you introduce me and say for her to call me if he contacts her? That gets her off your back. How did ya end up hiding her though?"
"That's a long story and depends how long you are staying," he replied, taking off his tie and unfastening a few shirt buttons, Rose wishing he wouldn't.
"You mean in Broadchurch or your room?" Rose teased him. "If it's gonna take a while, I'll go get a few things for morning shall I?"
"You may regret that, I can't do anything in my condition you know?" he reminded her, thinking his luck with women had changed but he was sort of handicapped in that department and why would Rose Tyler want him for anything other than having sex with her?
He thought she'd at least slap his face and tell him not to be a pervert.
"Alec, I know you're a bit limited, remember? Besides, I don't have sex with someone I've just met, I'm not looking for anything like that just now but we can keep each other company, if ya want?"
"Really? Well I am still capable of some things, Miss Tyler. Care for a demonstration?" he asked as he stood in front of her.
Rose went to finger his shirt buttons, twisting one near his middle until it came undone.
"Oops! Mmm, I think maybe you should demonstrate, Detective Inspector Hardy, after I pull some more buttons undone."
Rose finally parted his shirt, pulling it out of the front of his trousers, a wicked smile on her face.
"Finished?" he asked as he had his hands on her shoulders.
Rose was admiring the view. Then she touched him, running her finger across his middle, Alec flinching slightly since even Tess had never done that. When he thought about it, they had never really been that physical with each other and the last few years before she'd gone to Dave Harris, they were only really getting it over with for the sake of keeping up appearances, well he was. He'd found out that so was she, since she went elsewhere for it while he'd opted to not trust another woman but now, that didn't include the one who was giving him that look that said she was interested even if having sex would probably finish him off.
He somehow though didn't think Rose would let it finish him off, so what did he have to lose? If anything were to happen to him if he got carried away, she'd at least know what to do. She maybe wouldn't let him get to that stage tonight though.
Rose was soon back after debating if she was doing the right thing but he needed someone and she could go for some male company.
"Well, are you getting changed in the bathroom?" Alec asked, since he'd got down to his shorts and t-shirt, Rose looking disappointed he'd taken his shirt off in her absence. "Oh, should I have waited for you to take my shirt off?"
Rose stepped up to him, putting her arms around his slim waist.
"That was the idea, never mind but ya might lose the t-shirt later. Alec, just tell me if ya need to stop, okay? Don't try to prove anything, I told ya already I'm not looking for anything serious just now. I'll be back in a minute."
Alec took that as she didn't want to get changed in front of him but what did he expect when she'd introduced herself that morning in the station and he'd questioned her motives for being in the town? Rose Tyler could have any man she wanted but she was in his bathroom and offering to stay the night with him. Things were definitely looking up.
Once Rose got under the covers, going to lie on him when he initiated the kissing, he lost the t-shirt as Rose kissed her way across his chest but then he flipped her over, saying it was his turn as he lifted her strappy vest top that already showed her cleavage in the light from outside.
"Why are you wasting your time with me Rose?" he asked as she sat astride him, his hand on her tummy under the vest top.
"Maybe because I feel safe with you? Have you got any idea how many men chase me? If I go out somewhere, they're always eyeing me because I'm on my own or with a girl friend just seeing a film or going to the theatre. If I go into a bar, they always point or come over offering to take me back to their place. I'm tired of it Alec."
"I can imagine. I can't promise you a glamorous time in this town you know?" he teased her as he attempted to take off the top.
"Why do ya think I came here?" she asked guiding his hand under the top.
She prompted for him to remove it and he admired her in the dim light. It seemed the Vitex heiress was trying to escape and the recent murder had given her the excuse.
"Rose, this town is going to be crawling with reporters soon. If you are seen with me, they will speculate, you know that?" he asked her, running his finger down her cleavage.
"Good, then I can tell them why I'm really here. Besides, Torchwood's press team will put out a statement I'm here on official business. They won't go up against Torchwood, trust me. I'll get onto the team to include you, just in case, no-one will bother you, that will leave you to contact them when you've something to tell them."
"I can handle a few reporters Rose. Now, are you coming back to lie on me?" he asked as his hands began to wander now the vest top was on the headboard where he had tossed it.
Rose did as he suggested and they both moaned softly as they felt the sensations coming over them, even with their underwear on but as tempted as they were, it remained on and after Rose scrambled for her top, they fell asleep, Alec hoping he wouldn't wake her up if he panicked during the night. He needn't have worried though as he woke up and his arm was numb where Rose had moved onto him and she was resting her head on his shoulder.
"Rose," he called quietly, not sure how she would react at being woken if she wasn't a morning person.
"Yeah?" Rose yawned, realising she was on his arm. "Hi Alec. Do ya need to move?"
"Only for you to come back and lie on me. Rose, I promise not to attempt anything if you take off those skimpy panties you are only just wearing," he grinned as she leaned on one arm.
"Well I suppose I can trust ya then?"
"You have to trust someone Rose. Why are you so insistent this is enough for you? Have you had a serious boyfriend recently? I have an excuse for not going with anyone though my ex wife does not believe I've not had a few flings since we divorced," he grinned.
Tess had repeatedly goaded him to find out if he'd got himself a proper girlfriend since their divorce or at least had a few casual encounters, since she flaunted the fact she was still with that loser Dave she'd left him for.
"Were you ill when you split up? Alec, I've never really been with anyone though I dated a few male Torchwood employees when I first joined, then the novelty wore off. They all stayed away when I was involved with a project and they thought I was crazy trying to cross dimensions to find the person I left behind."
"Rose, you missed your friend, I get that but did you have to go to extreme lengths to do so? What happened when you went eh? You told me you'd lost him more than once."
"I found him Alec, it wasn't easy when I got back. Something had happened and there were these creatures called Daleks who had taken over my world and they were trying to wipe out the cosmos. They were stopped but in the process, well let's just say he found out he had a twin and when I was coming back, he expected me to settle for his twin."
"He let you down? He thought you did not really want him after you got parted from him before? He was a fool to do that Rose, is that why you don't trust men now? You turned down his twin and came back, to your family, did you not?"
"Not exactly, his twin didn't really want me because he thought I wanted the other one. My mum and my other friend Mickey were with me, Mickey chose to stay and he went off before it all happened. Alec, we didn't use one of the devices we had for crossing dimensions when we came back, we were brought back."
Alec tried to prop himself up, a smile on his face.
"How did you get back Rose? Who was your friend and how did he discover he had a twin? I think you had better explain because I think that friend of yours wasn't quite Human, was he? How did he suddenly gain a twin?"
"Alec, he was a time traveller, he was a Timelord, with the capacity to change if he was injured or dying but something happened and when I was with him before, he'd got into a sword fight, lost his hand and someone we used to know had found it and given him it back. Alec, those Daleks, well they took his time machine with a friend inside, she touched that hand and another of him grew out of it."
Rose looked at him, his arms behind his head as he was propped on the pillow.
"This is getting better. So he had a time machine eh? It's all true then, time travel was real? Rose, you have no idea how many comics I used to read when I was a boy. You travelled with him?"
"Yeah and we came here by accident once before, we met Pete and saved him from the Cybermen but we couldn't save his wife. Then he came to our world when the Cybermen invaded and he met my mum. Never mind that for now Alec. The thing was, mum and me were brought back here, I wanted to stay with him but he thought I'd settle for his twin, who was part human."
"Then why is he not here or did he go off? You said about it before Rose and you meant his twin, did you not?"
"His twin didn't want to stay, not even for me. They both went off, back to my old world while there was still time. I never really wanted anyone else to let me down like that again. I would have settled for his twin, he had all the memories of when we were together."
Alec was about to reply when his phone rang. He squinted at the screen, seeing 'Miller' as the caller and felt like ignoring it on a Sunday morning. Rose decided to get out of bed, if he couldn't accept what she'd told him, it was best she was dressed as she gathered her clothes and clean underwear and went off to the bathroom, glad she was still in possession of her underwear.
"What do you want Miller?" he asked as it was only just after eight and things were getting interesting about this parallel world Rose came from.
"I don't like being bothered at this time either Sir," Ellie complained as her youngest was awake and scrambling to get to her as he'd been brought in by her husband. "I just got a call, someone walked into the station claiming they had information about what happened to Danny."
"Then deal with it Miller," Alec replied, annoyed Rose had gone off to get changed but in view of what had just been said, he could understand she probably thought he was going to say she was crazy.
"Sir, I would but the person asked for you, they insisted they only told you."
"Who would be asking for me?" Alec asked her.
"Sir, the man wouldn't give his name, he said you'd know who it was. Is it the same person you talked about yesterday, the one from Sandbrook?" Ellie asked him as Fred crawled over to her.
"I expect so but why would he walk into the police station? Meet me there in half an hour Miller and we'll find out what he wants."
"Sir, he said he'd only talk to you," Ellie reminded him. "Why don't you get Rose to meet you?"
Then she wondered if the pair of them weren't already together in his or her room but Hardy wasn't likely to actually admit it.
"I'll go see what he wants but get yourself down there Miller, we thought he was up by the hut, he may be just trying to pin the blame on whoever else was there. If he thinks I'm going to believe he had nothing to do with it, he can think again."
"What was all that about?" Rose asked as she came out of the bathroom and Alec was just putting a shirt on. She couldn't resist going up to him and placing a finger on his bare chest.
"Ashworth walked into the police station saying he had information. Want to join me, though Miller probably already thinks we are together. Rose, about what you said, I do not think you are crazy, I think your friend and his twin are the crazy ones for leaving you. We can talk about it later, if you want?" he asked, trying to fasten his shirt buttons.
"There's nothing to talk about Alec, they're gone and that's it. The devices we used don't work now, it was those Daleks that made it possible to go back, with what they were trying to do."
"What were they trying to do Rose?" he asked as he found his tie. "You had best get changed or everyone will think you spent the night in my room," he smiled.
"Let them then. Alec, the Daleks were trying to wipe out everything in every universe, parallel ones included that wasn't a Dalek. Torchwood got signs something was going on, stars were going out, one by one in all the other universes, except ours and we don't know why it wasn't happening here except we're three years ahead of where I came from, it must have saved us."
"Well yes, that would explain it maybe?" Alec had to agree. "I expect you stopped them then?"
"Yeah, we did but my friend's twin, he sort of wiped out the Daleks, with the exception of their crazy leader and one that had gone mad and he said his twin was dangerous, that's why he wanted him to stay here with me."
"Ah, then his twin thought he was being punished and you would not want him because he believed you thought the same?" Alec mused as he put his jacket on. "Go get changed Rose while I call for a car to collect us."
"You want your officers knowing we left the hotel together?" Rose teased him.
"They had best get used to it but think about what I said Rose, it was not your fault he did not feel he could stay with you. Have you forgiven both of them?"
"No, they both left me Alec, what do ya think?" Rose asked him, wishing she'd never told him now. "His twin could have stayed, if he'd wanted but he chose to leave again. Alec, when the Cybermen were being got rid of in my world, I almost followed them by accident but Pete brought me here and I blamed my friend because he didn't try to come after me, it was me who went to find him. All I got was a hologram through a tiny crack between our worlds."
"Rose, I know you blame him but look, I'm here, I am not going anywhere and if you think Torchwood can help me with my heart problem, I will give it a try, just for you. I want to prove that not every man uses you or leaves you."
"I know Alec. I'd best get changed then or should I just let them talk about me?" Rose managed to smile.
Alec called for a car to be outside the hotel in ten minutes then wondered what the hell two identical twins were doing leaving her behind, this time out of choice. Well neither of them deserved her, that he was sure of but did he know all the facts? Would she tell him the rest?
Down at the police station, Lee Ashworth was waiting not so patiently as he'd got on his motorbike at seven thirty, had rode up from where he was staying then walked into the place and asked for Hardy and was being kept waiting while Alec was summoned.
"So, why is the station so empty if there's a murder investigation going on?" Ashworth asked the desk sergeant.
"A lot goes on behind the scenes Sir," Bob replied, wishing he'd not volunteered to work last night and waiting for his replacement to arrive.
"I suppose so? What's taking Hardy so long then?"
"Sir, I had to call his DS first, it's protocol, she decides if she rings him for him to come himself. Anyone can just walk in and say they have information and you won't give your name," Bob reminded him.
Ashworth thought if the man had followed the Sandbrook case, he'd already know who he was. Rose had got changed and Alec was now helping her into the back of the police car, it being the same driver as the day before, who was trying to hide a smile the DI was fussing over Rose Tyler.
Lee Ashworth got up as the door opened, expecting to see the DI who had hounded him before. He'd not been quite ready to admit what he'd seen that night but upon consideration, he thought he would get it over with and pin the blame on the other person who had been up on that cliff.
He was about to ask what had taken so long when he heard a female voice telling Alec they should go get some breakfast afterwards. Who was Hardy hooked up with? He'd always half suspected the DI had been interested in Claire and when she'd disappeared at the same time, it had seemed even more likely.
He wasn't though expecting Rose to walk in, closely followed by Alec who was replying they would find somewhere that was open to get breakfast.
"About time you got here Hardy but what is she doing here?" Ashworth asked him.
That was it now, he knew that besides being the Vitex heiress, Rose Tyler was a top agent with the agency known as Torchwood so all he could do was try to play the innocent husband who wanted his wife back and to admit he'd chosen the cliff where the boy had been at random and the boy had run off after being chased by the man he was with.
He just hoped Hardy would believe him but would Rose Tyler, as she stared at him, probably for interrupting her screwing the detective.