Broadchurch (2.2)
Pt.1
Mr A. Hardy
3 Seafront Lane
Broadchurch
Dorset
DT3 9KA
Dear Mr Hardy,
RE: YOUR PROCEDURE
I am writing to you on behalf of South Wessex NHS Trust regarding your fast approaching procedure I am pleased to confirm your test results came back positive so we are able to continue this process. As you are already aware this is a very important issue which we believe needs to be addressed now to stop the condition from getting worse. We deal with each case individually and try to accommodate each person's needs as best we can. Appointments can be changed however in your case we recommend this procedure to go ahead as soon as possible.
A follow up letter will be sent shortly to discuss what happens next. If you need to speak to an adviser please call the number at the top of this letter ...
Anything that is asked or talked about is always confidential.
Yours sincerly,
The letter had been signed with the loopy signature of someone who mindlessly signs things all day. This person might, or even might not, have written this letter himself and signed before placing it on the growing pile of paperwork that someone else would sort out. Just a normal day at work, nothing special about it.
Hardy had read the letter once, seated on the doorstep of what was now his house, even though he would never call it home. The words were so carefully chosen, so formal, without emotion. It made him feel sick. He needed to take his pills so he went inside, leaving the letter on the coffee table.
When he came back from the beach it was still there, constantly drawing his attention to it. He sat on the couch, staring at it, but not wanting to read it again. Never would he admit that it scared him. Hell, it scared him to death.
Everything seemed to happen in a rush after that. Joe messing up months of work by pleading not guilty, seeing DS Miller break down and Claire... He had told her so many times not to leave the house, and there she was, in court. Something to do with nine missed calls which supposedly were from her husband who, when he last checked, was in France. After having comforted Claire that she was safe he had called his man, just to be sure. Turned out he had a lead on Lee Ashworth, who was back in the country.
As if that wasn't bad enough someone had broken into his house. At first nothing seemed to be taken. It wasn't until after a long time that Alec discovered that the coffee table was empty.
Now, as he was lying on the sofa in Claire's house he thought it over again.
"this is a very important issue which we believe needs to be addressed now"
Now.
Why now?
He wasn't even sure why he had signed up for this in the first place. Life was shit, and, with the full trial and Lee coming closer, it was to become even shittier. Sometimes he really doubted he wanted to live and that confused him.
Turning onto his back he stared at the ceiling where Miller was sleeping in the only guest chamber. She was the first friendly face he had seen in months, and friends, he thought, they had never really been. Friendly face was also a bit of an exaggeration. She had mostly been shouting at him. And then she had broken down.
Never had she answered his calls, nor had she responded to his messages, and here she was. And she wanted to help him.
There was no need to ask her how she had been. He had been following her around, keeping an eye out for her. He wanted to make sure she was all right. She couldn't be. She wasn't. Ellie Miller was broken.
But then, so was he.
Maybe they needed each other. Maybe that was why he had turned to her for help and maybe that was the reason why she had decided to let him back in her life. He cuddled up under the thin covers closed his eyes. Seeking comfort in that thought he fell asleep.
'Miller, I need you to drive me.' He felt guilty for this being the first words he said to her that morning. She was sitting at the kitchen table, in the middle of feeding Fred. It was wrong to take her with him. He knew what they were going to see and that Beth would be there and that there was no change it was going to be good for either of them. But no matter how bad he felt for forcing her into this, he couldn't drive and this couldn't wait.
He watched the men digging up Danny's body. Watching was the only thing he could do when the Latimers made their appearance. Then Beth was shouting at Ellie and the words made his heart bleed for her.
'You couldn't resist, couldn't you?' Mark had to hold her back, otherwise she might have attacked Ellie.
'I didn't know what was happening.'
'No, you never do. This is on you, Ellie.'
She was on the verge of crying, bracing herself for the worst. And it came.
'I hope you rot in hell for what you've done to us!'
Cloë gave Ellie an apologetic look and tugged on her mother's arm, leading her away from the graveyard. The rest of the family followed shortly after and Ellie returned to his side.
'You all right?' Of course she wasn't. But what was he supposed to say?
She was staring at something behind him, furrowing her brow and he turned to see what she was looking at.
Lee Ashworth was watching them. With Purposeful movements he lit a cigarette and looked down upon them.
'Look at him standing there gloating.' He snorted.
Ellie turned her gaze to him. 'Why are you so sure he killed those girls?'
Because all the evidence he had gathered against him. Everything had pointed in the direction of Lee Ashworth and with the last piece he would have won the trial. But he never got that last piece, so he never closed the case and his main suspect had left the country.
Claire was in danger.
'Come on.' He brushed past her and walked back to her car.
Claire insisted they spent another night at her house. Even though she didn't voice it, the poor woman was scared that Ashworth would find her at night. They would have stayed longer, but the next day he had to go back to Broadchurch. While he endured his new job he had his house taken a look at by Brian from SOCO. He had supposed Ellie would drop Fred off at day-care and go back to her apartment. However, after his encounter with Lee, she was at his house, going through his files.
'What the hell are you doing?' he demanded. A flare of anger fed by all frustrations of that morning burned in his chest. He didn't mean to shout but once he had raised his voice it felt so good.
'Nothing.'
Aggressively he snatched the file from her hands. 'Put it away! For God's sake, Miller!'
'Don't you have a go at me!' she stood up to fiercely meet his gaze.
'How dare you, Miller? I ask one wee favour and you start sniffing around.' The shouting eased the weigh on his chest. He didn't realise what he was saying, only that he was saying it. Neither did Miller, as she was yelling back at him at the same time.
'What are you doing with that stuff anyway?'
'That's none of your business.'
'You made it my business.'
His phone rang.
Reaching into his pocket they glared at each other in silence for a moment. He noticed her hands were balled to fists at her sides. A glance at his phone told him it was Jocelyn and he picked up immediately. Suddenly he was thankful for her interrupting or he might have said some not so nice things he could never take back.
On their way to Jocelyn's house he told Miller about Ashworth, just like Ellie had told him about the bluebell. Their encounter at his house seemingly forgotten.
'Ashworth came to see me earlier. Said he's looking for Claire and he's not gonna stop till he finds her.'
'Well, you said that's what you wanted. Now you've got it.'
She was right. He had already been thinking of arranging a meeting between the two. As long as he had Claire he had power over Ashworth. He would have to choose a place and time for their meeting. This could work out the way he wanted.
He didn't have time to think this idea through yet as Jocelyn faced them with a new problem: Miller attacking her husband after having heard his confession. It never should have happened, but since it did happen under his watch he would be the one held responsible for the bruising that was neatly captured in the photograph in Jocelyn's file. Even though the attack found place after Joe's confession happened, this piece of evidence was clearly in advance of the defence.
As Jocelyn pointed out: "All the defence need to do is connect the two events by suggestion."
Of course the woman blamed Ellie for it, she was a DS, she should have known better than assault a convict like that. And of course he was the one the blame was put on next.
'Why didn't you stop me that day?'
That was just not fair. 'Oh, it's my fault now?'
They were sitting at the same bench as before, after the confession. The one they sat on when Ellie had named them the 'Former Detectives Club'. Today was different though. It was afternoon and the sun shone warmly on their faces. Both of them had discarded their jacket's and seen from a distance they could easily be mistaken for being happy tourists sunbathing. The fact that he was still wearing a suit and that they both were far from happy spoiled the image.
'Why did you let me see him?'
'I felt sorry for you. I didn't expect you to go all Bruce Lee on him.'
'Well shit...'
He couldn't say anything that would help her. Last days particularly he seemed to be at loss for words. Eventually he ended up asking what she had eaten so far that day and offered to make her lunch. Surprisingly she accepted without complaint.
They walked the short distance to his house where he started to prepare some healthy salad. He despised the taste but he had a condition and Miller didn't seem to mind. He worked in silence while she sat down at the table and stared out of the window. He studied her worried features and felt a pang of guilt in his chest.
She jumped as he set her plate down in front of her.
'It's not much.' He apologised as he sat down opposite of her in the only other chair.
'Believe me, I've eaten worse.' She almost smiled and picked up her fork.
He poked at his salad, watching her bring a full fork to her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully and shrugged, digging her fork in the plants for another mouthful.
'Aren't you gonna eat?' she pointed at his untouched plate with her fork.
He grimaced and took a bite himself, swallowing quickly not to taste to much of it. She rolled her eyes at this and resumed eating.
'Miller?' he asked softy, putting down his cutlery. 'About what you said earlier...'
'Hmm?' she copied him and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. (He hadn't given her a napkin.)
'You were right. I might have made Sandbrook your business by introducing you to Claire.'
'Where's this coming from?' she eyed him suspiciously. 'What's in that salad?'
He responded by rolling her eyes at her. 'Don't act like I never admitted that you were right about something before.'
She thought about it. 'Maybe once.'
'Right...' He shook his head. 'But that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't fight. We're in this together and it won't help either of us to shout at each other without listening to a word the other says.'
She nodded thoughtfully. 'You had a good reason to be angry at me. I shouldn't have been rummaging through your personal stuff.'
'I shouldn't have yelled at you for that. I've had a lot to endure this morning and all of that just added up.' He sighed. 'I would have said worse things if it weren't for Jocelyn.'
'Well, we all say things we don't mean when we're angry.' Ellie shrugged. 'I would have done the same.'
'Still, what happened this morning is on me.' His eyes darted back to his plate. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. You didn't do anything wrong.'
It took him a full minute before he lifted his gaze to find Ellie's surprised, yet lightly amused expression.
'You're right.' She said eventually. 'We shouldn't fight. I'm sorry too.'
They resumed their meal in companionable silence.
AN: Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews. This is my interpretation of 2x02. More to follow ^^
Huge shoutout to my beta, timeywime-y for putting up with me.
All mistakes are mine. Please tell me what you think?