Joe was looking uncomfortable.

"I want to speak to my solicitor."

"Fine, do that," Alec replied, gathering the papers into the folder. "Come on Daniels, we have other witnesses to find."

"Hold on," Joe objected. "What's this about anyway? The car park or me allegedly threatening Rose?"

"Both," Alec replied.

"DI Hardy, what has any of this to do with my client?" Joe's solicitor wanted to know.

"Has he not spoken to you?" Alec asked. "I think you two have a lot of talking to do but the most serious charge is threatening someone to keep quiet over what she saw in the car park so yes, it is to do with him."

"Just because she's your girlfriend," Joe remarked.

"Mr Miller, whether Miss Tyler is DI Hardy's girlfriend or not, we'd take the threat seriously," Daniels told Joe.

"Don't say any more," the solicitor advised Joe.

"He didn't like that, did he?" Alec mused when they left the room. "Call Miss Tyler, see when she will be free or if not, leave a message at the ambulance station for her to get a cab down here when she gets back. She can sign that statement she gave to you from earlier amongst other things but he is not to be let go until she's here, understand?"

"Sir, do you think he'll go after her again? Would he be that stupid?"

"Yes Daniels, if he's hiding something else. I want a warrant to search his house for the missing phone and the computer he uses and I know DS Miller will object. If she's still here, do it quietly and don't let her find out, get the key from Joe Miller if you can. If not, she'll have to be told."

"She's not going to like it Sir," Daniels replied.

"I know that but this has gone on long enough and I can't be there to take my girlfriend to work and pick her up every day. Call that cab driver back, I want a word with him, this is partly his fault Rose was confronted this morning."

Daniels dialled the cab driver Lucas's number and passed his phone, Alec making sure the man understood that from now on, he had to stop being lazy and take Rose inside the compound.

"What's all this for?" Lucas dared asked.

"Because she was confronted by someone this morning all for the sake of you saving two minutes, that's why," Alec replied, having already met the other man and not liking him. "We will be calling your controller, if you don't comply. Understand?"

Lucas gave his word and Alec handed the phone back.

"I will try calling Rose, she may be on a break. If Mr Miller won't admit he was there, I'm charging him with obstructing an ongoing investigation."

Daniels knew he'd do it as well.

"Want me to get that warrant Sir?" Daniels smiled.

"We'll see if he gives his agreement first, if not, see to it."

Ellie had gone back to the office and stared at Alec's empty office. She wondered what the hell her husband had got involved in. Why would he go meet Rose at work? Was Hardy actually right? No, she couldn't believe that, Rose was obviously confusing Joe with someone else in the car park and just wanted some attention and an excuse to get Hardy to visit her when he'd been called out early. Besides, how did Joe know what time Rose started work and why was Hardy blaming her?

Alec went back into the interview room.

"Feel like talking now?" he asked Joe, who had a smirk on his face.

"My client denies both claims, that of starting an argument in a car park and threatening a Miss Tyler," the solicitor claimed.

"Right, Joe Miller, I am holding you in detention for obstructing police enquires. Daniels, get the custody sergeant and read him his rights." He turned to the solicitor. "Your client will be released when he co-operates. We are also going to apply for a warrant to search his home in connection with the death of Danny Latimer, namely to search for a missing phone belonging to the victim and for any traces he was contacting the boy via email. Joe, when you hand your belongings over, you can hand your house key over, if you don't want your wife to find out?"

Alec knew she'd find out anyway, one way or another. It would save time getting a warrant if the man gave the key and permission. Joe was being helped up by Daniels, since he was being handcuffed.

"You know Ellie will find out," Joe told him as Daniels led him away.

"I must object," the solicitor stood up.

"Your client will be charged, you should advise him to co-operate, we will have plenty of witnesses to the car park incident when we release the details and Miss Tyler's supervisor and partner will state how she acted when she'd been confronted."

"None the less, she is your girlfriend," the solicitor pointed out.

"Which is why DC Daniels will be asking the questions when she arrives," Alec replied, getting tired of this. "Mr Miller's not so keen on his wife finding out," he added.

"Then what has a missing phone and a laptop to do with things?" the solicitor wanted to know.

"We will get around to that later but I can say that so far, we have reason to believe Mr Miller was corresponding with Danny Latimer before he died and took the boy's phone to stop us finding out."

"These are completely different accusations," the solicitor argued as Daniels came back.

"No, they are connected, Mr Miller has a temper as Miss Tyler already gave a statement to and Danny was killed by someone close to him, who had a temper. I will prove that connection."

"Sir, Mr Miller won't give us his key or his permission to search his house for the items," Daniels informed Alec.

"Then get DS Miller in my office, I will be there shortly, I have to call Rose," Alec replied as the solicitor walked off.

Rose was taking a break just around the harbour, since they'd had a quiet day.

"Your boyfriend?" Steven smiled as Rose got her phone out.

Rose nodded. "Watcha Alec, miss me?" Rose teased him.

"Always but be serious Rose. When you get finished, get a cab to the police station, you need to sign that statement from this morning."

"Yeah, okay. Are you holding Joe 'cos if that idiot Lucas is the driver, he'll make me walk out into the street."

"No, he's been told and no need to worry about Joe, he's been detained," Alec assured her.

"Really? Best news I've heard," Rose replied. "I'll be there just after three but how long can ya hold him?"

"Until his house has been searched and we may have to wait for a search warrant, unless your friend gives permission, since Joe won't."

"So he's got something to hide after all?" Rose mused.

"Rose, we suspected that since you first mentioned about him to me," Alec replied. "I have a feeling your friend will put all this on you so be careful love, okay?"

"She'll be mad with me for getting Joe locked up. Did she know he confronted me this morning?"

"She was told and does not believe he was even there," he replied.

"Yeah, she'll be mad at me then? Shall I ask for you or DC Daniels when I arrive?"

"Ask for Daniels love but I will be present though he will have to take over, to save any speculation. Joe Miller's solicitor was not happy his client was detained but I don't want him going anywhere near you. Just get here when you can eh?"

"Yeah, I will, see ya later," Rose replied.

"Trouble?" Steven asked her as he took the empty paper cups.

"Joe's been detained over this morning and other things," Rose told him.

"Best news I heard as well," Steven smiled. "Good thing we're off Sunday but your boyfriend may be working then?"

"I hope not, he can let Joe stew for a while if Alec doesn't let him go tomorrow."

Ellie was waiting for Alec and Daniels.

"What do you want to see me for?" Ellie wanted to know.

"Sit still Miller. Your husband has been detained for refusing to co-operate."

"What? Why are you holding him?"

"He refuses to admit anything and he's interfering with our investigations. Miller, your boy Tom smashed up his computer, he admitted it was because it had emails on it between him and Danny. We also found Danny's number on your husband's phone, what would he be doing with it?" Alec asked her.

"How would I know? Did you ask him?" Ellie replied.

"He made up an excuse I was not satisfied with. I have reason to believe he's in possession of Danny's missing phone, he refused to let us search the house. Will you allow us to?"

"You think Joe took Danny's phone? Why?"

"I can't say at present. Do I need to bother the chief and get a search warrant?" he asked her, nodding to Daniels, who was standing behind Ellie.

"This is rubbish. Go ahead, we've nothing to hide, I expect you want the key?" Ellie almost lost her temper.

"Daniels, get CSU up there, tell them what they are looking for and only to retrieve the two items, nothing else."

"What else are you looking for?" Ellie demanded to know.

"Your husband's laptop, he could have used it to email Danny," Alec admitted as Ellie got up to get her house key.

"Well I use it sometimes," she admitted.

"Recently?" Alec asked her. "Since you got back from your holiday?"

"No, I've been too busy – Sir," Ellie replied sarcastically.

Daniels tried not to let out a smile, those two really hated each other. He wondered how Hardy's girlfriend kept the peace between them outside work?

Daniels followed Ellie out and she went to get her key.

"I suppose you agree with this?" she asked him as he took the key.

"Sorry Ma'am but DI Hardy's right, your husband is hiding something otherwise he would have wanted to clear things up."

"Is Hardy going to charge him with anything?" Ellie wanted to know.

"Maybe? If your husband admits he bothered Miss Tyler, Hardy may go easy on him and with the car park incident. That depends on what CSU finds at your house."

"Well they won't find a phone, that's for sure, I'd know if Joe or Tom had brought one home. You're both wasting your time finding Danny's killer."

Although Daniels knew Alec hadn't said as much, he'd guessed where this was going and Hardy still owed him an explanation. Between Joe Miller's temper and his reluctance to answer Hardy's questions, they may already have the boy's killer locked up.

Alec decided to take a walk across the road and get a late lunch, though it wasn't the same without Rose being there but at least with Joe Miller locked up, he knew she was safe enough going around. All he could do now was wait for the CSU to get back from the Miller house and hope he'd been right, otherwise the chief would chew him out good and proper.

Then it would all be down to Rose and the other man from the car park incident because he knew he wasn't wrong about who killed Danny. Just after two, things began to go crazy. Ellie had been left at her desk, being given a warning from Alec she was to have nothing to do with what was currently going on and she had been sent to re-interview some witnesses, which she wasn't happy with and Alec got the phone-call he'd been waiting for.

"Sir," Brian from the CSU called him. "We're starting to examine Mr Miller's laptop but we're giving priority to a phone hidden in a dresser drawer."

"Good, do that first and go take fingerprints from Joe Miller, he refused earlier, I want them compared to anything found on that phone. If he refuses to give them, tell him we will get a warrant so he may as well save time. If he does refuse, he has something to hide."

Ellie had seen her boss on the phone and wondered if it was about Joe. What had Rose set him up for and why, when they'd been friends all this time? Was Hardy using Rose to pin the blame on Joe? If so, why was Rose playing along, was it because she and Hardy had got engaged? All sorts of things were going through her mind, most of all her sister coping with Fred and she'd had to send Tom a message to go to her house after school.

Alec was going through what Rose had told them about earlier when there was a tap on his door. It was Daniels, followed by who Alec knew as Brian.

"Sir, we got Joe Miller to give his fingerprints," Daniels told Alec after he'd closed the door.

"They're a positive match for those found on the phone we recovered," Brian revealed. "There was only one number in the phone, it was Joe Miller's."

Alec wondered what the call forwarding was for but was pleased so far.

"Right, go ahead and examine the laptop," Alec told Brian.

"We were going to – Sir," Brian replied, looking at Daniels, who had told him the DI was always like that.

Ellie was trying to find out what was going on when she arrived back at her desk, she'd caught Daniels but he'd said he couldn't tell her anything, which had got her even more annoyed. Alec got up and followed Daniels after calling the custody sergeant to have Joe Miller in the interview room.

"Got tired of holding me?" Joe tried to joke as he was placed opposite Daniels and next to his solicitor, who had been summoned while Daniels waited for Joe.

It was now two forty-five and Alec knew Rose would be there in around half an hour, he was hoping she wouldn't see Joe in the corridor, or her friend. He went into the interview room, the phone in an evidence bag.

"We found this in your drawer Joe," Alec declared. "It has been identified by the phone number as Danny's, from your own phone. You made a big mistake Joe, when I saw your phone, I had an idea that was what the call forwarding was for. There are also some emails on Danny's phone, I traced the email address, it's in your name. Is that what this was about, you and Danny? Were you secretly meeting him Joe?"

"You don't understand Hardy," Joe spoke up.

"Mr Miller, I advise you to remain quiet," his solicitor told him.

"It's no good," Alec persisted. "There are only yours and Danny's fingerprints on the phone Joe, we are examining your laptop, we'll find other evidence you were communicating with him. What happened that night Joe? Did Danny realise what was happening?"

Joe banged his fist on the table.

"None of you understand. I don't even understand so how can I explain it? Danny came to me when his dad hit him, we started talking and I said he could come to me any time."

"What about the night he was killed Joe? Did you meet in the hut?"

Rose had finished work, called for a cab and told the controller the driver was to come into the car park of the ambulance station and no excuses.

"I got a call from that detective," the woman told her. "It's that lazy Lucas, I've had other complaints."

Ten minutes later, Rose was being dropped off and went inside, going up to the desk, just as Ellie came downstairs.

"So, come to gloat Rose?" Ellie confronted her.

"What are you talking about Ellie?" Rose replied.

"He's being held on suspicion of something to do with Danny's death, I know he has," Ellie told her, not that she had been told but it had been pointing to that all day and it was partly Rose's fault.

"That's nothing to do with me Ellie, I just came to sign a statement from this morning," she tried to tell Bob on the desk.

"What's all this about?" Bob tried to keep the peace, since he didn't fancy breaking up a cat fight.

"Ask her boyfriend," Ellie complained. "He's had my husband either locked up or in the interview room most of the day."

That was news to Bob, who had only just started.

"I came to see DC Daniels Bob," Rose tried to tell him.

"He's in an interview, can it wait?" Bob told her.

"Of course he's in an interview," Ellie hissed back. "He's there because of what you claimed happened this morning."

"Ellie, I know you don't want to believe it but Joe did threaten me this morning," Rose told her.

"So you say," Ellie huffed, trying to keep her temper. "He said he wasn't even there, let alone anything else."

"Well he was, the taxi driver saw him," Rose replied, hoping Lucas wouldn't take offense she was always trying to get rid of him.

Just then, Daniels had been sent by Alec to see if Rose had arrived and to get a WPC to escort her to another interview room. He saw the two women were having a stand-off.

"Miss Tyler, this way please," Daniels told Rose. "DI Hardy won't be long."

"Is he letting my husband go?" Ellie wanted to know, which was why she'd come downstairs, since she didn't know Rose had been called in.

"Sorry Ma'am. DI Hardy has charged him with several offenses, including the murder of Danny Latimer."

Ellie exploded, Rose thinking she was going to have to provide some medical assistance. Ellie managed to check herself and went to sit down.

"You're all wrong about him," Ellie insisted as Alec joined them, having handed Joe over into custody again and ordering his clothing and belongings to be examined.

"We're not Miller, he admitted it. He was trying to stop Danny leaving the hut that night and lost his temper. Rose was right, he just erupted like she described happened in the car park that night."

"No, you're just making him say that," Ellie insisted.

"Daniels, take DS Miller upstairs to collect her things and arrange to book her and her two sons into a hotel. I'm sorry Ellie, we have to search the whole house, the CSU are already on their way back."

"Don't you go calling me Ellie," she replied, getting up and brushing Daniels's hand away. "This is yours and your girlfriend's faults, you made him say that."

Alec shook his head.

"He threatened Rose this morning Miller," he replied, thinking it would be safer to continue calling her that. "In her statement, she told us he had her up against the hedge and he told her to remember his temper."

"She's making it up," Ellie was still insisting as Daniels pressed the lift button. "I hate you Rose, for doing this to Joe and my boys."

Rose went to sit down as Ellie was led inside the lift, Alec sitting beside her.

"Sorry love, are you okay?" he asked her, putting his arm around her and not caring who was around.

Rose managed to nod. "We've been friends, all that time. Why does she think I made it all up Alec?"

"I don't know love, sorry. She's refusing to believe her husband can just turn like that but he admitted what happened the night Danny died though we got nothing about the car park or this morning. We will continue to question him but we got him on that at least. Just wait until Daniels comes back, sign your statement and I'll get a patrol car to take you home, I still have a lot to do."

"I know you have Alec, it's okay. I know you can't tell me what happened to Danny. How are you gonna tell Beth and Mark it was their friend?"

That was something Alec was not looking forward to.

"Just stay here Rose, I have to go talk to your friend."

"I know, I'll be fine Alec, you go."

"Rose will be okay here Sir," Bob told him, remembering the day they met at the traffic accident and they had stared at each other.

When Alec finally got home several hours later, Rose had watched him making his statement on TV.

"How did Beth and Mark take it?" Rose asked him after they'd eaten the takeaway Alec had brought back with him.

"Seriously Rose, I am more concerned how it affected you. Yes, they were betrayed by a friend but so were you, you are just as much a victim as they are. They will not have to take the witness stand against him, well not like you will have to."

"Ellie's already mad with me but why is she so insistent Joe's innocent?"

"I don't know love, sorry."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Alec got up to find it was Ellie, since she knew the code to get in.

"Miller, it's not a good idea you being here," Alec told her. "If you have come to apologise to Rose, then come in."

"She wants me to apologise?" Ellie almost shouted, remembering where she was.

Rose had joined him at the door but he was holding her back.

"It's okay Alec, Ellie, I'm sorry but it was all true, why would I lie about it?" Rose asked her.

"Oh, I can think of a few reasons," Ellie replied. "You're going to be the prosecution's star witness, you do know that? How can you live with it?"

"That's enough Miller. Rose has had to live with the knowledge your husband had a temper for over two years and you never even knew," Alec reminded her.

"It's only her word," Ellie replied, not wanting to go inside. "Now everyone will think I knew."

"You mean to say you really had no idea how quickly Joe could lose his temper?" Alec asked her, not believing it.

"Maybe it's other people who bring it out in him," Ellie glared at Rose.

"Hold on Miller, that had best not be aimed at Rose," Alec objected.

"Think what you like Hardy but I'll get Joe a good solicitor, just remember that," Ellie warned them as she left.

"She's just upset Alec," Rose tried to tell him.

"I know but she's on his side, I thought she would go all Bruce Lee on him and beat him up," Alec tried to joke.