"Quiet please," Frank was asking them.
"You know me," Joe was telling him. "This is ridiculous."
"Yeah, too right," Nigel agreed as he leaned back on the wall. "Mark got annoyed I had to take some time off, he's hardly in any state to do the jobs himself. Why are you here Joe?"
"My wife found it amusing," Joe tried to laugh it off.
"They've got nothing else to do," a man with grey curly hair told them. "Who's in charge?"
"It's that new DI, the one who took my wife's job," Joe informed them.
"You mean she sat back and let someone take it?" Nigel asked him.
Just then, Alec walked in and spoke to Frank.
"You know what to do? I will be with the witness." He turned to the men who were waiting. "When the witness is finished, you will be free to go unless you are asked to remain. If you are asked to remain, you will be asked a few more questions. This is only about finding who killed Danny."
"You think one of us done it?" Nigel grinned.
"You find this amusing Carter?" Alec asked him, already annoyed with the man for wasting their time.
He wasn't going to give any clues as to why they were there, whoever had been with Danny already knew. Ashworth was also getting jittery, sitting at the table and waiting for the laptop to be switched on, an officer in the doorway.
"Where is he then?" Ashworth asked.
"Someone will be with you soon," the officer replied, as he'd seen Alec come out of the other interview room.
"About time," Ashworth told Alec as he entered the room.
Alec set up the program then told Frank to get the volunteers to get back in line.
"Ashworth, look very carefully at these men, one of whom we believe could be the man you saw last Thursday night."
"What's in it for me?" Ashworth joked as Alec focused on number one, Frank having passed them some cards to hold.
"I kept my end of the bargain, I got Claire to meet with you, under false pretences seeing you knew where she was."
"So if I identify this other man, you'll leave me alone?" Ashworth wanted to know.
"That depends what he has to say for himself, you are not off the hook yet Ashworth. By the way, I was only helping Claire because she was scared of you, she admitted she spent the night before last with you. I think she'll be off soon, now you're around again," Alec told him.
"Yeah, she's even crazier than before," Ashworth joked.
Alec tried to ignore him. He went slowly through the group of men until he got to Joe Miller.
"Ask him to turn to the right," Ashworth spoke up.
Alec relayed the message and Joe turned to the right, since Ashworth had seen him from the left.
"There was only light coming from inside the hut when the boy was chased, I never got a clear look inside but yeah, that looks like him. He got the boy to go back inside, I got tired and bunked down."
"You mean no-one passed by you on their way to the cliff path?" Alec asked him.
Ashworth shook his head so Alec turned the sound back on the video.
"Tell number six to remain, the rest can go."
"What about me?" Ashworth asked him, hoping to get away with it.
"Don't leave town, I may have some more questions," Alec told him, hoping he and Rose were right about him.
"Have you seen Claire since yesterday?" Ashworth asked him.
"No, not after she left here. Were you there last night Ashworth?"
Ashworth just grinned and declined to answer.
"I will find out," Alec told him as he prepared to leave.
"Going to use your little girlfriend? Claire won't talk to her," Ashworth replied.
"We'll see about that, she is going to pay Claire a visit later, she's been invited."
Alec went off to where Joe Miller was waiting, having been read his rights.
"You are joking?" he asked Frank. "Why am I being held?"
"You'll be told when DI Hardy gets back."
Meanwhile, in the less formal interview room, Alec was just telling Ellie that her husband was being questioned. Rose had got up to sit beside her after Tom had been led out by a WPC and Alec wondered what it was about her.
"I can't believe you think he's the one that was with Danny that night," Ellie was telling them.
"I'm sorry Miller but Ashworth identified him, out of the six of them. I know Joe and Nigel Carter look a bit alike but he picked out your husband. Stay with Rose, while I go talk to him. Do you want me to get someone to see to your son?"
"What? No, he can wait here for now, how long were you planning on keeping Joe?" Ellie asked him.
"Rose, I need a word," Alec gestured to the door.
"So Ashworth got a good look at him?" Rose asked, looking over at Ellie.
"He could be playing games with us again and left it to the last one," Alec replied.
"Why do that? Did he pick him out right away?"
"No, he asked Miller to turn, the way he would have been seen from the side of the hut," Alec told her.
"Well, there you are then, it had to be Joe that Ashworth saw that night. Want me to talk to Joe with ya?" Rose offered.
"You had best stay here, I'll call if I need you."
He went off to where Joe Miller had been taken.
"What's going on?" Joe asked him as Alec sat opposite. "Why did I get asked to stay?"
"Tell me the truth Joe, where were you the night Danny died?"
"What? I already told you, I was at home," Joe replied, laying his head on the table.
"You may want to change that statement. You were seen coming out of the cliff top hut after Danny that night," Alec told him.
"You are joking?" Joe asked him. "What would I be doing up there with Danny?"
"According to an eyewitness, Danny came out and you talked him into going back inside. Why had Danny run off Joe?" Alec wanted to know.
"How do I know? Whoever your witness saw, it wasn't me," Joe insisted.
"Your wife can't say you were there," Alec insisted.
"She can't say I wasn't either," Joe replied. "Look, whoever thinks they saw me was mistaken."
Alec banged his fist on the table.
"Why would someone who does not know you pick you out in a line-up?" Alec wanted to know. "They had no reason to pick you out other than they saw you that night so, stop wasting my time and tell me why you took Danny up there."
He knew he shouldn't let the man get to him, he was supposed to be letting Rose do all the hard work.
Joe let out a laugh and Alec thought he was just as bad as Nigel Carter.
"You find this amusing?" Alec asked him. "A boy died and as far as we can tell, you were one of the last people to see him, you and the witness. Danny was seen running from the hut then being persuaded to go back inside. What happened when you went back in?"
Joe straightened his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. I want my solicitor."
"Fine, call for your solicitor but I am holding you here until he arrives or until you give me some answers. Why would the witness have any reason to lie about seeing you up there? They have nothing to gain by it."
Alec got up and left Joe to wait for his solicitor. He turned to the DS who was with him.
"Make sure he gets his phone call and place him under caution, then check how the CSU is getting on with their findings."
He then went back to where Rose and Ellie were waiting. Rose had persuaded Ellie to let Tom be escorted to his aunt's house, Lucy was still finding it amusing her brother-in-law was helping the police with their enquiries. When Tom had gone off, Ellie asked what Rose thought about Joe being held back.
"Alec must have a reason," Rose had told her.
Even though Rose knew what had most likely happened, there was nothing to say Joe was completely innocent. Why had he lured an eleven year old boy up to the hut in the first place?
"Why can't you tell me why he's being held back?" Ellie asked her.
Just then, Alec entered the room and answered her.
"Your husband has asked for his solicitor," he told Ellie.
"What? Why would he do that?" Ellie wanted to know.
Alec sat next to Rose, who kept quiet.
"Miller, we believe Joe was the last person apart from the witness who saw Danny alive that night. We're not saying he had anything to do with Danny's death but he won't admit he was there that night and with Danny. I can tell you that we have someone under suspicion for killing Danny but we need Joe's help."
"Then shouldn't you be holding that person? Oh, you do think it was Lee Ashworth?" she asked.
Rose thought she already knew that.
"Ellie, we talked about that but we have to find out why Joe was with Danny."
"You never said you thought it was him. I got him here under the pretence he was just making up the numbers," Ellie told them.
"Yes, we know," Alec replied. "We could not tell you at the time but you admitted you never knew if he had stayed in that night."
"Alec's right," Rose agreed. "We only have his word he stayed in and he was bound to say that to cover up going to meet Danny. Sorry Ellie but Lee Ashworth got a good look at Joe that night, he has no reason to single him out."
"Yes he has," Ellie disagreed. "He could have picked out Nigel Carter, why Joe?"
"Miller, listen to yourself," Alec told her, getting a scowl from Rose for not being so tactful.
"Can I see him?" Ellie asked him.
"You know the procedure, not while he's under caution. He can clear all this up Miller, he can prove he let Danny run off."
"Then what?" Ellie wanted to know.
"Then sorry Miller but we have to question the reason he took Danny up there that night. At the very least pass it to child services. Why would he want to take Danny up there, we need to know if they'd met before. You heard Tom saying Danny went to find Joe once or twice."
"Well I knew nothing about it, Tom said nothing to me," Ellie replied.
Both Rose and Alec thought Tom knew more than he'd let on.
"We'll need to speak to Tom again," Alec told Ellie.
"Why, when you're holding his dad?" Ellie asked.
"Miller, I can tell you this much, Ashworth claims a lot more than he first told us. He said Danny went back inside the hut," Alec reminded her. "He's trying to pin Danny's death on Joe."
"I know that," Ellie replied. "I heard what he said about whoever he thought was there. Ashworth has to be lying."
"I know," Alec told her. "If we get the results back we can prove Ashworth killed Danny but if Joe will admit he was up there as well and tells us what happened after Danny ran out of the hut, Ashworth will have to admit it."
Ellie still couldn't believe he thought it was her husband that had been up there. Rose got up and went to sit beside her.
"I know you don't want to believe it was Joe that Lee Ashworth was talking about," Rose tried to comfort her, trying to put her arm around Ellie's shoulder.
Ellie shook Rose off.
"All that talk about the person Danny was meeting and you believe it was Joe. Tell me you're wrong?"
Alec nodded to Rose.
"Sorry Ellie but the evidence points to it being him."
"You believe Ashworth when he lied in the first place? You let him get away in Sandbrook."
Alec wished she wouldn't remind him.
"I know but I'm going to get him this time, trust me. Most of the evidence has gone to the Torchwood lab, if they can get something off that rag we found and the oar, we have him. It will prove Ashworth was lying about Danny going back in the hut and him seeing Joe backing Danny against the wall."
"I should hope so. Why would he have done that?" Ellie wanted to know.
Alec could think of a few reasons.
"Maybe Danny was going to accuse him of something and threatened to tell his parents?" he wondered.
"Accuse him of what?" Ellie asked. "So, when can I see him?"
"After his solicitor arrives and he tells us what he was doing up there," Alec replied.
"What if Ashworth is wrong? You're wasting time saying it was Joe, on the word of someone who got away last time."
"Ellie, you have to face it," Rose tried to tell her. "Ashworth had no reason to point Joe out. Let's wait and see what he has to say?"
"Rose is right Miller, if he's asking for a solicitor, he knows he can't prove he was at home that night."
Ellie shrugged Rose's attempt to try to console her. There was a tap on the door and a uniformed officer told Alec that Joe's solicitor had arrived.
"Why don't you go to your boys?" Rose asked as she got up.
"I'll wait here, they'll be okay with my sister," Ellie insisted. "I'm only leaving when you stop accusing Joe of something you're wrong about."
When Rose and Alec got outside, Rose stopped him.
"She's gonna be in for a shock if Joe confesses."
"I know that," Alec replied. "Well, let's go see if he'll admit anything."
Joe had been talking to his solicitor, the man listening to the accusations.
"So Mr Miller, were you out that night?" Joe was asked. "If you tell me the truth, you'll stand a better chance with the police."
"What will happen if I admit I was meeting Danny?" Joe wanted to know. "Not that I am admitting it."
"That depends if that was the first time," the solicitor told him. "Was it? Mr Miller, you have to be honest with me, if you want my advice. Why did you send for me if you're not going to tell me the truth?"
"I was worried," Joe replied. "I don't want my wife to know anything."
"She's a detective is she not?" his solicitor asked. Joe nodded. "The investigating officer is not obliged to tell her but she may get to know sooner or later. They will have to ask her questions as to if she knew you were meeting Danny Latimer or anyone else."
Joe saw he had no choice.
"There was only Danny. He came to me one evening when he was leaving, to ask if he could talk to me. He said his dad had hit him once and he was worried. I told him if it happened again he could come to me and we'd tell my wife and get her to talk to his dad."
"Then why did you meet him in secret?" the solicitor asked him.
"Danny then hurt his knee while playing football with Tom so we talked a bit. I told him we were going away and he said he'd miss me. When we got back, my wife had gone to bed early so I suggested we met, I'd been up by the hut before we went away and saw the cleaner leaving the key so before I went to meet Danny, I went to check. I think she may have left it in case the owner came back."
"So you took the key with the intention of taking Danny up there?" he was asked. "Mr Miller, I think we should continue this in the presence of the police."
So Rose and Alec made their way to the interview room, seeing Joe leaning back in the chair. Alec thought they were going to have their work cut out getting an admission out of him. Alec was surprised when Joe's solicitor asked what they wanted to know.
"Well, why did you arrange to meet Danny that night?" Alec asked, since there was no doubt now that Ashworth had been right.
Joe told them about Danny going to him about Mark hitting him and when he'd been giving first aid to Danny's knee that something had come over him that made him want to take care of the boy.
"I wanted to meet him somewhere on our own, with no-one around," Joe admitted. "I just wanted to be his friend but he took it the wrong way and wanted to leave. He ran outside and I called him back but he ran towards the edge of the cliff. He told me to go away and leave him alone so I did, I went back inside to think what to do. When I decided to try to persuade him to come back inside, he was gone."
"Did you not bother texting him to see where he had gone?" Alec asked him.
"No, I just tidied up a bit so there were no signs we'd been there and left, I figured he'd walked across the cliff top and gone home," Joe replied. "I swear I never did anything but talk to him."
"We will have to inform his parents," Alec told him. "It's then up to them what they do about it but that can wait, they have enough at present but by not admitting anything, you can see how it looked. When you were outside, did you see anyone else around?"
"I saw a motorbike by the bushes, I thought someone had gone for a walk and were late back," Joe told him.
Alec knew Mark had already told them that.
"There was another car in the car park, I didn't take much notice but it may have been Mark's car but why would he have been up there?" Joe wondered. "Do you think Danny saw it and when no-one was there he just went home? Did you already know there was a car there?"
"Our witness saw the car Joe," Alec replied. "This is important, did you see anyone near the motorbike?"
Joe shook his head.
"I was only looking out for Danny, I never wanted to leave things like that. He thought I wanted something."
"Did you?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrows.
"No," Joe defended himself.
"Have you finished with my client?" Joe's solicitor asked.
"For now. I can't say what Danny's parents will make of it, maybe I should tell them right away? Your wife wants to see you Joe," Alec told him.
"I can't face her, do I have to tell her?" Joe asked.
"That's up to you Joe," Rose told him. "Tom already noticed Danny had gone to find you one night when he was leaving, she's gonna want to know what that was about. When Danny's parents are told, Ellie will find out then."
Everyone but Joe got up to leave.
"We'll send Ellie in," Rose told Joe.
When they got outside, Alec wondered if that was such a good idea.
"She has to know," Rose told him.
"We're still no wiser over Ashworth being seen. That's three people who were up there and never saw him."
"It's like he was the invisible man," Rose joked.
"That's not helping Rose," Alec replied. "Let's hope your lab has something to prove it was Ashworth but we know he was lying about what Joe was doing inside the hut and Danny going back in."
"Yeah, that's something," Rose agreed. "I'll go back and see Ellie, then I think I'll go pay Claire a visit. Are ya getting Lee Ashworth back in again?"
"When we get some results back, I want to be able to charge him and make it stick this time, then if you have some success with Claire, we'll get the pair of them for Pippa's death."
"Yeah, we make a great team," Rose smiled. "Like Hope and Glory, Shiver and Shake."
She remembered what the Doctor had said not long before she'd been parted from him but she couldn't let that get in the way.
"I thought you were going to say Starsky and Hutch or Turner and Hooch," Alec replied dryly.
"Who?" Rose teased him.
"Not from where you come from?" Alec asked her.
"Me and mum used to watch the repeats of Starsky and Hutch," she admitted. "I wanted a cardigan like Starsky's so she knitted me one."
Alec shook his head and they went back to see Ellie, who had been talking to her sister.
"So they're holding him then?" Lucy asked her as she'd just got Fred to take a nap.
"Yeah, he asked for his solicitor. Don't you dare say anything to Olly about it, he may take it the wrong way. Lucy, I'm worried though, what if he did have something to do with what happened to Danny?"