Day 4
She ran down the stony beach, the waves chasing her but not daring to keep up. She turned to him then, her sandy hair flying around her, and called him to join her, her voice echoed strangely, "Alec, come on!" Then she ran happily into the waves; the young girl disappearing into the foaming depths…
Alec Hardy awoke without a sound, long used to trapping his nightmares in his throat. He grasped at his chest, feeling his heart thud too hard, too painfully. He reached for the pills on the table next to him and ate two, swallowing dryly. There were too many things that he was becoming used too. This hotel for instance, it was starting to feel far too familiar, he should probably do something about that. But first, he had to get over to work.
On the way to the station Alec's mobile rang. He pulled over to the side and searched around for the source. He would have gotten a Bluetooth setup, but he wasn't all that certain he could figure out how to use it. And it just looked peculiar, people talking to midair. His daughter would probably know how to use one. He finally found the phone under his seat and answered brusquely, "What?" An older male voice said hesitantly,
"Sir? It's Bob." Hardy asked back,
"Who?" The voice faltered again as it said,
"Er, you know… PC Bob Daniels?" Hardy congratulated Daniels by saying,
"Bully for you." Daniels continued,
"Er…Sir, there has been a…an incident-you have to get over to the Easthill cemetery right awa-." Hardy interrupted,
"The cemetery? What are you talking about? What kind of incident?" Daniels said slowly,
"Well there's a, a…body." Hardy asked,
"A…body? Do I have to bloody repeat everything? Are you trying to say that a dead body has been discovered at the cemetery?" He added in a low mutter, "How original." Daniels responded to the question,
"We aren't entirely sure Sir. It was found in the Easthill cemetery under an hour ago, it, ah, you really have to see it for yourself, Sir." Hardy snarled,
"Useless, the lot of you!" Then he sighed loudly, and said, "I'll be there." Daniels replied, relieved,
"Yes, Sir." After ending the call, Hardy wondered what he should do next. He couldn't believe there was already another dead body on his patch. This town was turning into a regular Whitechapel. After notifying his superiors, he made his next call with a bit of unusual trepidation.
Ellie Miller, Detective Sergeant, Mother of two, and wife of a confessed child-murderer, slept soundly for once, the alcohol of the previous night having had at least one positive effect. Her mobile rang loudly from the pocket of a jacket that lay on the floor at the foot of the couch she sprawled on. She fell off the narrow sofa as she reached for it. She answered tired and grumpily while rubbing her backside,
"Y'ellow?" DI Alec Hardy's voice answered back,
"Miller? It's Hardy, I know you said that you would think about coming back, and I meant to give you time, but I need you right now." I need you. He never needed her, she must be dreaming. Her clouded head could only churn out,
"Eh?" She could hear her boss struggling to prevent himself from saying something rude, he said instead,
"Miller a body has been discovered, possible homicide, and there isn't anyone else as qualified as you to help me head it up." So it probably wasn't a dream then, she wasn't sure that was a good thing. The word, homicide, worked its way through her fogged brain, stunning her,
"Homicide?" Hardy said with annoyance,
"Miller, You're echoing." Miller shook her head, even though Hardy couldn't see her, and immediately regretted it. She held her swimming head as she tried to make certain she understood what Hardy was saying,
"Sorry, but you mean we have another murder in Broadchurch?!" Hardy said matter-of-factly,
"Who knows, could be, will you come?" Miller wasn't sure what to answer. She barely remembered the conversation of the night before, something about ducks and Hardy staying in Broadchurch for another three months. However she did remember that feeling she had felt when he had said he needed her, and maybe that was enough... Besides, since Joe was being incarcerated until his trial, she had wanted to be out doing something useful. In truth, she still felt guilty, as if what her husband had done had been her fault somehow, and maybe it had been at that. Beth had been right to accuse her, wasn't she a copper, a mother? She was haunted by those words, the same ones she had cruelly said to Susan Wright thrown ironically, right back at her. How could she not have known!? Maybe working again, helping people, helping Hardy, would help to alleviate some of her guilt. It made the decision an easy one to make.
"I…Yes, where is it?" Hardy failed to hide the sudden relief in his voice,
"Easthill cemetery." Miller said,
"I'll be there." Ellie checked to make sure the call had ended. Then she raised herself from the floor with a groan. Lucy Stevens stood behind the sofa and said with resignation,
"So you're going in." Ellie got up and looked at her and said,
"Yes." Lucy shook her head slowly,
"I'm not sure how I feel about that." Ellie stood her ground and said firmly,
"It's not up to you sis." Lucy said,
"No I suppose it isn't. You're leaving the kids here of course." Ellie said with a sharp breath,
"Yeah." Lucy said,
"Right." Lucy paused, and then said, "You know I feel wretched about this whole sorry business. But I'm glad we've gotten close again." Ellie mustered up a small smile,
"Same here. I did miss you Luce." Lucy smiled back saying,
"Yeah, well, that call sounded pretty serious, so you had better get going. I'll see you later, be back for dinner." Ellie said,
"I will and Lucy?" Lucy asked,
"What?" Ellie answered simply,
"Thanks." Lucy smiled and turned her head,
"Forget it." Ellie started moving towards the spare bedroom of the house,
"I'm just going to go say goodbye to the kids." Lucy nodded. Ellie entered the room and saw her children still sleeping. She moved to Tom's bed first. She didn't like to wake him, but she didn't want him to find her suddenly gone later. He still hadn't gotten over his Father's imprisonment, and in particular the reason for it. She hoped he would eventually. Children were usually resilient. She tapped his shoulder. He blinked open his eyes and turned to her,
"Tom, I'm just going to go out for a little while." His voice was tiny and tired as he said,
"Are you coming back?" Her heart broke a little as she answered in the lightest voice she could manage,
"Of course I will darling, I'll be back before you know it." He said,
"OK." Tom went back to sleep as she went over to her little Fred in his crib. She rubbed his head of curls and whispered in his sleeping ear,
"Bye Fred, I'll be back soon." He stayed asleep, his little chest moving up and down in soft breaths. Ellie left the room and closed the door gently. She moved to her suitcase, got her clothes and quickly showered and dressed. She yelled to Lucy while using one hand to brush her hair into some semblance or order, and the other to open the door and get her car keys from her bag,
"See you later Luse." Lucy's voice sounded after her,
"See you soon Ellie." Miller drove off, heading for a crime scene, and who knew what else.
The Easthill cemetery was located on a hill, to the East of Broadchurch… Hardy figured the people of Broadchurch were quite the clever lot when it came to naming places. He'd parked at the bottom of the hill and walked up the narrow footpath to the top. He huffed, but he was determined to get up there even if it killed him. Miller met him halfway. She didn't even breathe hard; he tried not to hold that against her. "So Miller," he huffed, "you made it." She smiled thinly at him,
"I did." They continued trekking, Miller slowing her gait to match his own. When they finally made it to the plateau at the top, Hardy stopped and put his hands on his knees, needing a brief breather. Miller asked concerned, "Sir?" Hardy straightened up and glared at her, as if daring her to contradict him he said,
"I'm fine." Refusing to rise to the bait, she said,
"Never said you weren't." They walked together to the tent that was beside some of the larger tombs and gravestones, nearer the center of the cemetery. They walked past the SOCO's and other detectives and constables. Hardy strutted past them with his head held high. Miller tired to emulate his stride and attitude. She felt their eyes upon her though. The Internal Investigations Division had cleared her of her involvement in the Latimer case. She hadn't known about or covered for her husband. Everyone knew that. But she still felt their eyes like an oil slick on her skin; she shuddered, the words clamoring once again in her head, "How could you not have known." Hardy grabbed her arm suddenly as if needing to lean on her to keep going. He muttered under his breath, "Keep your feet, Miller." Then he said in his normal bark of a voice, "This terrain was meant for a bleedin' goat." Somehow it helped, his words, his grip, it helped keep the eyes off of her and quiet the words pounding in her head. She stood up straighter and bent with him to go under the bone white SOCO tent.
Hardy froze as soon as he entered the tent, so Miller had to force her away around him as he cursed and shouted, "Seriously, this was what all the fuss was about, the body of a dog!" A huge wet mound of stinking gray molted fur lay in the middle of the tent. It looked like it had probably been a wolfhound. Hardy was about to walk right back out of the tent in disgust, when Miller saw something else; she started and said hurriedly,
"Wait Sir, look at the leash." Hardy stopped and looked down at the leash that was still attached to the dog's red collar. He followed it to the handle and gasped out loud,
"A human hand?!" A cold dead hand, neatly severed at the wrist tightly gripped the dead dog's leash.