CHAPTER THREE

SHE'S THE DEVIL

Bonnie was surprised to hear from Beth so soon after the trail went belly up the way it had. She was also surprised when Beth asked her to come by the house. Everyone called to play witness in court was coming. And when she arrived she saw them – Nige, Olly and Maggie, Olly's mom she'd never met, the Latimers, even Paul.

"What are we doing here?"

Her question was cut off by the door and Beth rushing off to open it, ushering their new representation for the trial – Jocelyn Knight – inside, "Everyone, Jocelyn's here." Jocelyn instantly looked uncomfortable, but Beth powered through, "Oh, sorry. It just sort of mushroomed. We wanted to thank everyone for being witnesses and giving evidence for Danny. I just thought you could clue us in on what to expect."

"Beth, she can't be here," Bonnie cut in. "It'll look like collusion – like she's coaching our statements to make in court. It'll hurt the case against Joe."

"She's right," Jocelyn eagerly added. "It's completely inappropriate. I shouldn't be here."

Mark muttered, "We didn't know. We haven't done this before. Sorry."

Jocelyn looked at the group of lost and clueless people, "A criminal trial is a detailed, unpredictable process. There are no guarantees. We have a difficult task ahead. If you've been called, don't confer on your evidence. And never lie. Lies get exposed in court."

Beth cut in, "You're fine there. None of us have got anything left to hide."

The older woman nodded, "I'll do everything I can to secure a conviction but it's not just down to me. It's on everyone in this room. Everyone in this town." Nervously, she backed towards the door, "Now, I – I really shouldn't be here," and she walked out with Maggie going after her.

"How did you know that?" Nige asked Bonnie curiously. "About us not being allowed to talk to her?"

"I'm dating a former DI," she shrugged, hiding the real reason. She'd been forced to testify on her mother's behalf in the trial over Lila Davidson, answering questions about her mother's work with the police. She'd only further resented her mother for putting her in that position.

"Some pillow talk then," Nige muttered under his breath with a smirk.

"I'm going to head out," Bonnie bid goodbye to her friend quietly. "I've got some boxes to load into a van and get to the house."

"Boxes?" Beth questioned.

With a small and awkward smile, "Alec asked me to move in with him. Denise's possible replacement may take over the lease for the apartment. I'll be a landlord."

"That's lovely," Beth said quietly, rubbing her friend's arm as she walked her out.

Quietly, she made her way back to the bookstore and called a cab after closing up. As she requested, a mini-van rolled up and the jolly driver helped her load her bedroom into the back of it before driving over to Alec's water-side home and helping her drop the boxes into the living room. After giving him a generous tip, she waved him off and started depositing her clothes into the closet, after removing half of his that he never wore. She figured he would be too preoccupied to start making room so quickly.

"Honey, I'm home?" She heard a deep Scottish voice of her partner as she was still hanging up clothes in the closet.

With a smile, she put down her half empty box of clothes and walked out to see him trying to navigate to the couch around the other boxes on the floor of the living room.

"You sure do move fast," he commented as he sank down onto the couch cushions next to his desk. "I haven't even gotten a chance to clear out room for you in the closet."

"I took care of it," she grinned as she situated herself onto his lap. "But like I said, don't think your work gets you out of helping me unpack at all. I decided only to bring what I need."

He rose an eyebrow at all the boxes, "So, this is the essentials, huh?"

She smirked, "And what you need. Like a decent kettle and mugs. And floss."

He snorted in his nose, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his chest. "I didn't see your bike. Doubt you got all this in the basket."

"I got a cab," she sighed, tucking her head into his shoulder. "I'll get another cab tomorrow morning. And move the rest of my things into storage and start cleaning the apartment for a possible new tenant. Though I still have a couple more interviews to get through."

"It'll work out," he promised, stroking her hair.

"How was your day?" she asked softly, pressing her lips to his neck lightly.

He blew out a sigh, "Well, Jocelyn Knight, the Latimers solicitor, briefed Miller and I about a road bump we might be heading for in the trial. The defense will probably try to get the confession I got from Joe Miller excluded from evidence – siting police brutality."

"Police brutality?" Bonnie pulled her head up to look at him. "You didn't beat the confession out of him. You really couldn't have."

"But Ellie had seen him after I told her he confessed," Alec told her solemnly. "She attacked him. I got her out of there as fast as I could, but Knight says the defense will still use it, even if it happened after he confessed."

"That is utter horseshit," she cursed, having already adopted a lot of his language mannerisms.

He grinned at her language, "I agree. And hopefully, the defense will fail to get the confession thrown out in court. But that will still force me to take the stand and justify why I even allowed Miller in the same room as him. Why I didn't reasonably expect that she might attack him. Why I put him in danger under police custody."

"You couldn't have expected what happened, you're not clairvoyant," she said. "Any reasonable person in the jury will see that the confession is legitimate despite Ellie's reaction to seeing him after. I mean, who could be so stupid not to see that?"

"Not everyone is as smart as you," he teased, kissing her cheek.

"Anything about the Sandbrook today?" she asked him. "With, um, what's her name?"

"Claire."

She rose her eyebrow, "Oh? You're on a first name basis, huh?"

He looked at her, "I can't call her Ashworth while I'm pursuing her husband of the same name. She freaks out anytime I so much as breathe anything about him."

Bonnie couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous or suspicious. Alec had never told her about this woman he was keeping in a little house. She was the reason that he moved to Broadchurch. And Bonnie had always thought that she was the reason he stayed. But maybe that was Claire too. And he had such an aversion to first names that he still called Ellie, Miller. Bonnie had thought she was the only one he called by their first name. But that was Claire too. She didn't like sharing intimate gestures with a woman she'd never met and only just heard of.

"Are you two close?" she asked almost hesitantly.

"As close as any cop and witness may be when one is protecting the other," he spoke slowly.

"But you're not a DI anymore and the case she's a witness for was thrown out," she pointed out carefully. "There's no real official capacity to your relationship anymore."

"There's nothing intimate either," he looked into her eyes, unflinching. "That I swear."

She nodded, "I trust you, Alec."

"Good," he murmured, giving her a kiss. While connected, he took her by surprise when he gently tossed her onto her back on the couch and settled above her. "Now, how's about we celebrate our new home and then I'll help you unpack?"

She giggled and leaned up to kiss him passionately, taking him up on his offer enthusiastically.

Bonnie was sound asleep on the couch with one of the books from her designated book box while Hardy sat at his desk, bent over his files. His concentration was interrupted by a rapping knock on his glass front door and he opened it to see a sad or regretful looking Ellie.

"She'll do it. Claire's agreed to meet him."

"Oh, man. I could kiss you," he murmured through his glasses.

"Just promise me that she'll be safe, and you won't do anything reckless," she requested, leaving no room for argument.

"She'll be safe. Nothing reckless," he promised. At her unwavering worry, he added another, "She'll be safe."

"Good night," she said simply.

"See you."

Bonnie was annoyed that she'd have to sit around in court before being called to witness, if and when it happened. She could be waiting around for days while she should be working. She had to call the rest of her interviews to convert them to skype calls she could do from a spot outside the courthouse.

That morning, she woke up still in the arms of her new live-in boyfriend. She was startled to see him awake and still in bed. Still sleepily she asked with a grin, "Since when do you not pop right out of bed to get in a suit the minute you wake up?"

"Since I got a woman enormously out of my league to move in with me," he smiled quickly, giving her a kiss. "How did I get so lucky?"

"Your seductive interrogation skills," she quipped, stretching her arms and sitting up to crawl out of bed. "I can't believe I have to sit around in a courthouse all morning when we all know they're not going to call me until the end."

"You know what they'll question you about, right?" he asked her, following her lead and starting to get dressed. "Our relationship. If I behaved inappropriately or shared any privileged information about the investigation."

"If I used you and our relationship to skirt suspicion," she guessed accurately as she slipped on a yellow sundress with navy geometric shapes on them. He would never get used to her sunny and happy wardrobe. "I know she's going to try and sling mud right in my face hoping something sticks if only it means that she can get a child killer off on the sentencing he deserves. Fucking Sharon Bishop and her cronie."

"You need to keep your cool on the stand," he said seriously as they made their way into the bathroom to brush their teeth and such, weaving around each other like they'd been living together for years rather than less than 24 hours. "You need to answer the questions as concisely as possible. Don't let the defense bait you like they will try to."

"I'm too smart for that," she said after spitting into the sink. "Besides – and this probably makes me sound bad – but given the nature of my... let's call them proclivities, I've been forced to become adept at using doublespeak to skirt the truth without having to lie. I don't like lying."

"I like that last part," he quipped as they left the bathroom for the kitchen while she went right to making tea. "Did you ever appear in court before?"

"For Lila Davidson's case," she sighed as she put the kettle on. "I'd been called by the defense of the pervert who took her. To testify about my mother's involvement with the case and her abilities. They tried to trip me up and say that her abilities weren't real. Even tried to get me to say I believed that I had the same abilities. Trying to get us declared incompetent or, or legally insane or something. I coached myself into staying calm, sounding intelligent, and saying exactly the right words to tell the truth without saying what I couldn't say."

She helped him with his tie as he spoke to her, "Sounds devious. Little minx."

She winked, "You know it. Ready for today? You'll probably be one of the first called, being the lead investigator and all."

"No one's ever ready," he sighed.

Sitting outside the courthouse in her headphones interviewing a twenty-something sociology major wasn't exactly what her mind was set on at the moment. But she made it as quick as possible while getting the information she needed because any moment now court would begin, Beth or Hardy could be called, and both had requested she be present for at least their testimonies. She didn't want to be around for most of the trial – at least not inside. She could still feel the pain Danny went through as he was dying whenever she was near Joe, remembering with excruciating detail what his hands felt like choking Danny to death.

Inside, Hardy and Ellie were sitting on the upper floor at a table, her with a muffin, griping, "I can't believe we have to be here until we give evidence. It could be days. I'll go mad. Are you listening to me?"

He hadn't been – not really. He had caught sight of none other than Lee leaning casually against a post down the stairs, staring right up at them. With a blank face, Hardy stood up and stalked down the stairs, right up to the murdered, "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."

Lee chuckled under his breath, "So she's been with you all along."

"It won't be a long meeting and I'll be watching," the former DI added sternly.

Lee glared, "You don't control us."

"No," Hardy turned, ready to rescind the offer.

"She's beautiful, by the way," his voice made Hardy halt and turn back.

"What did you say?" His voice was low and almost deadly.

But Lee didn't really answer. The now smirking Brit said, "See you later, then."

Hardy stared as he walked off with a skip in his step, spinning on his heel and walking up to Ellie, "I need you to do something for me."

To Jocelyn Knight, being back in court making opening statements felt like an out of body experience. But, to satisfy her conscience facing off with her former employee, Sharon Bishop, she pushed through. Keeping her voice even, "The man in the dock, Joe Miller, killed Daniel Latimer. Then he moved Danny's body to a nearby beach. Forensic evidence places him at the murder scene. Mr. Miller surrendered to the police saying he was sick of hiding. Mr. Miller confessed to police. The facts are clear and will enable you to convict Mr. Miller of Daniel Latimer's murder."

Bonnie had just finished up her first interview when Chloe waved her into the building, saying that Beth had been called in for her testimony. Sitting in the court with the Latimers felt cold and cruel.

Jocelyn made sure her voice was as soothing as it could be as she questioned Beth standing up there with her big belly cupped in her hands. "When was the last time you saw your son alive?"

Beth tried to keep her voice even, but there was a slight shake in it the whole time she spoke, "I looked in on him around nine that night. We'd all had tea together just after six. Mark had gone out. Me and Chloe were watching telly. Danny was in his bedroom. Had music on. I told him he had till half nine then he had to go to bed."

"And Danny gave no indication that he would be meeting anyone later in the night?" Jocelyn asked.

Beth shook her head, "No. Nothing. There was nothing to make me think, I..." she trailed off, her eyes unfocused and emotional, "I replay that moment every day. Shutting the door on him, all the things I didn't ask. How it would have been different if I'd been a better parent."

"Thank you, Mrs. Latimer. Stay where you are, please," Jocelyn said as she sat down.

Sharon stood up and feigned compassion as she spoke. It made Bonnie sick. "As a mum myself, I know it must be difficult. I'll keep it short. How was your marriage at the time of Danny's death?"

Beth was understandably taken aback by the question. "Fine."

Sharon kept her face straight. "Had you or your husband ever had an affair?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Beth asked in frustration. She turned to the judge, "Can she ask that?"

The Judge inclined her head slowly, "Yes, she can. And the court needs you to answer."

Beth bit on her lips before she answered, "My husband slept with Becca Fisher. She owns the Traders Hotel."

"Did Danny know about it?"

Beth tried not to avert her eyes, "Yes. I found out later that he did."

"Did you ever hit Danny?"

"No." This time she answered immediately.

"Did your husband?" Sharon asked. When Beth remained quiet, she nudged, "Mrs. Latimer?"

Beth became outwardly exasperated, "What's going on? Who's on trial here?"

The Judge said, "You need to answer the question."

But Beth wasn't having it, "Is it not enough that my son was murdered by that man there," she jabbed her finger at Joe, "and that I lost my mum three months back because she was broken by this? Now I've got to stand here while you ask me about things that aren't connected."

But Sharon pushed, "Mrs. Latimer, did your husband Mark ever hit Danny?"

After a desperate pause, Beth had to admit, "Once. It was only once."

"Thank you," Sharon said sternly.

Jocelyn frowned as she said, "No re-examination, My Lady."

"Thank you, Mrs. Latimer. You are released."

Bonnie felt a unique anxiety when she watched Alec take the stand. But Jocelyn kept it quick and straight to the facts of the case.

"DI Hardy, you were the arresting officer."

"Correct."

"I'd like you to take us through the events of Mr. Miller's arrest," she requested. "Where did the arrest take place?"

"At Mr. Miller's house."

Unfortunately, as Bonnie feared, Sharon did not keep to facts but to supposition and badgering. "You coerced Joe Miller into saying he killed Daniel Latimer, didn't you, DI Hardy?"

When Alec answered her, he addressed the jury almost directly. "No. I found him in the shed with the phone. And he confessed, as I have recorded in my notes."

With a swagger in her voice, Sharon said, "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."

"What purpose would that be?" Alec asked her blankly, addressing her this time only.

"You were under pressure. You needed a result, didn't you?" she speculated.

"There's always pressure to find a killer," he said.

"Hadn't you just been labeled Britain's worst cop by the national press?" she asked, as if it made her case.

He gaped, "One paper."

Jocelyn stood up to quickly intercede, "Are we letting the media judge this trial? Or are we sticking to facts?"

The Judge agreed, "Stick with the events of the arrest, Miss Bishop."

Sharon enthusiastically submitted, "Absolutely. Let's move to the station." With the look on her face, Bonnie knew she wasn't done attacking Alec. "When was a doctor called for Mr. Miller?"

This confused some people, mainly the Latimers in front of her. But she knew the situation.

"I believe it was around 2:15pm."

"Why did you call a doctor?" Sharon asked curiously.

"Mr. Miller had sustained an injury," Alec explained.

"Injuries, plural," Sharon emphasized. "He sustained a broken rib and bruising to the neck, chest and torso." When Alec didn't immediately reply, she spoke again, "Correct?"

"Yes."

"How did he get these injuries?" Sharon asked. When he hesitated, she nearly shouted, "DI Hardy how did the defendant sustain injuries while in custody at Broadchurch police station?"

Clearing his throat, Alec looked at the jury again, "After DS Miller learned of her husband, the defendant's, confession, she asked to see him."

"Against allowed procedure," she berated him.

"Yes."

"Who allowed this visit?" she asked.

He made a pointed to say clearly, "I did. I supervised, along with two other officers."

"What happened?"

With averted eyes, he said, "DS Miller attacked the defendant."

Sharon scoffed loudly, "She kicked the living daylights out of him, didn't she? And you – you just stood there and watched, didn't you?" She spoke like she thought it was funny.

"No," Alec insisted, "as soon as she started attacking him, I called in other officers and they removed DS Miller." After a short paused, he added, "It was my error. It had been... a long and emotional investigation."

"How many other times was the defendant beaten while in custody?" Sharon assumed wildly.

"None."

"Did you use violence against the defendant at the house in order to get him to make a confession?" Sharon spoke as if it were more of a statement.

"Absolutely not," Alec said sternly.

"Why should we believe you?" Sharon berated him. "An officer who, by his own admission, stood by and watched as a colleague beat up a suspect."

"No, that's not how it happened," Alec denied without pause.

But she powered through his speaking and addressed the judge, "The defense applies to have the defendant's confession excluded pursuant to Section 76 and 78 of Pace."

Jocelyn interjected, "The confession is on camera. The injuries were sustained after he confessed."

"We cannot discount the possibility that the injuries were sustained before his arrival at the police station," Sharon countered.

After a long anxious pause – in where Bonnie reached forward to put a hand on Beth's shoulder and hoped and prayed that the judge wouldn't side with Sharon – the Judge finally nodded and said, "I agree with the defense. I am minded to exclude the confession from evidence." Beth and Mark withered into each other at the news. Bonnie couldn't believe it. "Members of the jury, you are to disregard it entirely."

"She berated you!" was the first thing Bonnie growled as she walked beside Alec out of the room, shouldering her messenger bag weighted down with her computer and books. "She hounded you like the media did, like your boss did. She worded and twisted everything to make the jury think you let Ellie beat a confession out of Joe."

"I know. But it's done. We have to move on," Alec said as he took her elbow and helped her out of the building.

"Let's see you move on when you get strangled near death," she spat at him emotionally, jabbing one finger into his chest and her other hand flinching to her throat where the ghosts of her strangulation still haunted her – the pain, the panic.

He stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing her misguided anger and simply pulled her into him, hugging his arms around her as she sagged into his chest.

She quietly said, "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you."

"I know, even if I shouldn't have let Ellie see Joe so soon after telling her what he confessed," he replied. "Now the confession's thrown out."

"It's a nightmare," she whimpered into his coat. "She's the devil."

He chuckled in his chest, "Perhaps." As the pulled away, he coughed under his breath and regrettably said, "Unfortunately, I have to go."

"Something with Claire?" she asked, still feeling a bit jealous.

He frowned, "Miller and I set up a meet with her and Lee. At Miller's old house. I have to prepare it for her safety."

"Miller will be there then?" she asked.

He nodded, "Guarding the front door while I guard the back and they meet in the living room with cameras. All goes well, we'll get something I can use to move forward."

"Be careful," she said, fingering his coat lapels. "You can't go chasing after anyone if they try to escape. I need you to make it home tonight to help me continue unpacking. And if you feel so inclined, you could pick up something for dinner on your way."

He smirked, "Oh, if I feel so inclined, huh?"

She smiled more freely now, "Yeah. Something tasty that goes well with your tea."

He gave her a quick kiss. "What do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"Two more skype interviews I plan to do from home instead of the store," she said. "Then going over all the applicants and hopefully making a decision by the end of the day."

"Sounds productive, and relatively more exciting than my day," he quipped, walking her to one of the cabs hovering at the curb outside. He promised her that he'd catch another and be home in time for dinner with dinner and bid her off with a kiss, ready to go to work.

When she got home, she tipped the cab driver and situated her messenger bag on her shoulders, not paying attention to the scenery in front of her as she dug out her house key from one of the pockets. She had just dragged out her key ring and picked out the right key when she looked up approaching the house and stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a woman waiting at the front steps. A woman with the same long curly hair as her, same face shape, and figure.

The woman smiled and jumped excitedly upon seeing her approaching the house. "Oh Magpie, you're finally back! I've been waiting here for hours it seems."

Bonnie just stared, gaping, feeling numbness in her bones stabbed with anger, and indignation and most of all, shock. "Mom?"

Dun, dun, dun... more to come soon.

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