Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the wait but I have had a really busy few weeks. This is a little short but I hope you enjoy!

Ellie found Alec sat in a chair looking grumpy as usual. All the other attendees of the wake stood around, eating and drinking, so Ellie did not find it odd that he had sat away from the rest.

Upon seeing her approach, Alec sat up and offered her his best smile. He knew how upset she was about Danny, Jack and even him but she was holding herself up really well. He was so proud of her for that. Also, at that present moment he was a little smug because she was coming over to him and not Joe, who was stood talking to Nige.

"You alright?" Ellie asked him, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Suppose" he replied with a sigh. "The killer is here and I can't see them. It is so infuriating. I was thinking that we should just stay here and observe their behaviour for a while."

"Yes, definitely" Ellie agreed. "Maybe then we can see who is acting out of character."

Alec pretended to scan the room before looking at the man he suspected most. "The Vicar looks out of character today."

"I knew it" Ellie huffed. "Why don't you like him? Is this because he isn't happy about how we, or rather you, treated Jack Marshall? You know what Sir, he's not the only one."

They sat in silence for a while before Ellie apologized. "Things like this make me emotional anyway and the guilt makes me feel twice as bad."

He understood as even though the great Alec Hardy was unable to feel the damage the case was causing to those affected by it, he knew Ellie could. He wished he had seen her before all this as he imagined her eyes to be brighter and her happy personality even more bubbly. The case had killed a part of Ellie and that part was her naivety. Sometimes he saw his bitter, angry self in Ellie's face and that scared him. Of all the people on earth, Ellie was the last person he wanted to be pained by the curse of bitterness and soul-breaking that came with a case like this. For her sake if not the Latimer's, Alec Hardy hoped for justice.

"Nige is acting a bit too happy" Ellie commented which surprised her DI.

"You've changed your tune" he chuckled but stopped when he saw her glaring at him. She was deadly serious.

"He is acting like he does down the pub or if we go round to the Latimer's for sunday dinner. This is a wake so why isn't he acting like it is."

Alec shook his head, rejecting the theory. "The killer would not laugh or cry. They will be in the background, blending in. The last thing they want is attention. The killer has had a lot of time to master the ability to stay in character and they won't want to break it now, not with two deaths on their shoulders. Nige is probably only here because he has too and has no emotional ties to any of this."

Ellie had to accept her boss was probably right. Even though he was an idiot, he knew what to look out for. Getting a watertight conviction was a different thing entirely.

"Are you still leaving after the case?" She whisper, not wanting anyone else, especially her nephew, hearing the subject she wanted to discuss.

Alec was quiet for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders and slouching into the chair yet again. "I don't know, maybe. I may go somewhere a bit more suited to me."

"Will you keep in contact with me?" Ellie asked nervously. She didn't want to know the answer, she needed to know the answer. He did want to run away with her after all so a he had a right to know, didn't she?

"Yes of course." he replied without even a pause to think. "I may even write you weekly letters on how to be a good DI. What I will do is write what I would do in a certain situation and then you will do the opposite."

Ellie giggled and shook her head. "You don't give yourself enough credit. This case is very complex and you are doing your best. Also, you aren't that bad of a person once you take away all the stupid glares and miserable behaviour."

Yet again, silence fell over them before Alec spoke, breaking it once more. This time, she did not want nor need to hear what he said. In fact, she wished he had never uttered a single syllable of what he was about to say.

"You know, until the very moment I leave this place, you will be more than welcome to come with me."

Ellie stood up to walk away but she grabbed her hand and pulled her close enough to whisper to her again.

"I love you, Ellie Miller".

To be continued...