Day 6

Alec walked on water. He knew that was strange in itself; he didn't like being on the water. He shrugged and walked onwards towards the beach, yet it didn't seem to be coming closer. He began to run, and still the land stayed far in the distance the blue of the sea surrounding him. He stopped suddenly and looked down at his bare feet. He saw her then. She floated beneath the surface underneath him, like a mermaid, her sandy hair flowing freely around her face. She stared up at him with undisguised reproach in her brown eyes. He trembled as she reached through the surface to pull him beneath the waves.

Sometimes Alec Hardy enjoyed waking up, if only to avoid his dreams. Sleeping was overrated, if anything he was more tired now than when he had first laid down. Hardy picked up his mobile to see if anyone had left a message. Of course no one had. He wondered if Dawn had bothered to give Melody his message. He rubbed his face and had a quick cold shower to wake up.

Ellie Miller woke to the sound of her son crying. She ran to his room and saw him sitting on his bed, crying into his hands. "Tom, what is it?"

"I don't have to see him tomorrow, do I?" She was surprised he even knew that she was going to go see Joe tomorrow. She hadn't mentioned it to him, he must have overheard her talking with Lucy. She hated seeing the sadness in his eyes.

"No, of course not." Saying the only thing she could. He picked up his head and looked at her with tearing eyes.

"The guys at school, they don't talk to me, because of him." Tom said forlornly. Ellie wrapped her arms around her son, squeezing him reassuringly.

"Its alright Tom, it'll get better." She said fiercely in his ear.

"It will?" He asked the inside of her arm. She pulled him back from her and looked him in the eye.

"Yes, it will, I'll make certain it will." She said.

"I want to go back home." He said. She wasn't surprised; it was a change to be away from their familiar home for so long, their familiar everything.

"I know sweetie, I'm going to get us a new home, a better home, you'll see." Ellie said. A twinkle began to reassert itself in her son's eyes as he asked.

"Can I have a basketball court?" Ellie smiled and hugged him again. She'd give Tom and Fred the world if they asked.

"I'll make that a requirement!" She said. Tom smiled gladly.

"And an XBOX One?" He added tentatively, a smirk on his face. She pushed him away playfully.

"Don't push your luck bucko! Now why don't you get ready for school?" She asked. Tom began to get out his clothes for school.

"Ok, mum!" He agreed. Ellie Miller left the room and got ready to go to work. Her smile faded when she left her son's room. She hoped she hadn't lied to him about things getting better. She herself dreaded seeing her husband Joe tomorrow. He had called her repeatedly to talk, but she had refused. But now she had to see him, had to know, and she balked at the thought of even seeing him again. The last time she had seen him she had beaten him, and might very well have continued beating him till death if Hardy hadn't stopped her. She was tempted to ask Hardy to come with her for moral support, but he had plenty of his own problems, including the current enquiry, and he might say no. She'd have asked her used to be best friend Beth to come with her, but she couldn't for obvious reasons. Ellie shook her head, straightened her shoulders, and went to work.

Brian Young stood over the body of the dead, dissected wolfhound that lay on his metal exam table. He faced Hardy and Miller across the table. Hardy lent over a tray looking at what lay upon it. "It's hard to believe that that was in its stomach! How did you know to look there?" The tray held the undigested wet remains of a mobile phone.

"Lucky guess." Hardy said wiry, with a glance at Miller.

"Do you think we can get any information off it?" Miller asked.

"I'm sure we can Ellie!" Brian said optimistically.

"I know a guy who can read the drive off anything. I'll send it over to him." Hardy said using what tact he had by not mentioning that it was the same guy he'd used to find out information on Miller's son's laptop, during the Latimer case.

"Thank you, Brian." Ellie said as they were leaving.

"Anytime Ellie. Why don't you come visit me sometime, its always quiet down here?" Brian asked. Miller looked at the various drawers with stiffs in them.

"I'm sure it is, but I've got a lot on my mind at the moment." Miller said, which was true.

"Good for you, Miller." Hardy said within Brian's hearing as they closed the door behind them. Miller thought now might be a good time to ask him if he would come with her to see her husband tomorrow.

"Er, Hardy? I wanted to know if-" She began to ask when Collins came down the stairs hurriedly, almost colliding with them.

"Sir! There's been another!" He yelled at Hardy while breathing hard.

"Another?" Hardy asked, staring back at him unperturbed.

"Another murder!" Collins explained.

"Shit." Hardy said succinctly.

"And now a cat! What is with this freak?" The team stood on the pier wearing their plastics. Hardy had refused the beard net. They were looking at the scene of a dead young woman, seated on a bench, petting a dead cat. The corpse's pale eyes stared sightlessly down at the cat in its lap.

"Hell if I know." Hardy said, reassuring nobody.

"At least he left the entire body this time." Miller said. She felt a sense of deja vous as she stared at the poor dead woman. It took her a full minute to realize that the bench the body was sitting on was the exact one that she and Hardy had been on, only a few days ago, before all of this began. She gave Hardy a sidled glance, wondering if he was thinking the same things as her.

"Hmm." Hardy agreed. Brian Young looked up from his examination of the woman.

"Are no pet owners safe?" Brian asked. Miller looked at him incredulously.

"You do know that that dog wasn't Mary Pacardio's?" She asked.

"It wasn't?" He replied.

"No." Miller stated.

"So this guy takes these people kills them, takes some animals kills them and then puts them together in these strange tableaus?" Bob Daniel piped up from the perimeter he was setting up.

"Apparently." Hardy said.

"That's pretty sick, even you have got to admit that's sick." Miller said, with a disgusted look on her face.

"That's sick." Hardy said simply. The corpse's bent head hid the slit throat that had probably been the cause of death. Hardy couldn't help but wonder why this was happening. His heart pounded faster than normal but he ignored it, aware of all the eyes on him.

"But why was this done?" Young asked, echoing Hardy's thoughts.

"That's what we have to figure out." Hardy said.

"I don't care if we figure out what the crazy motivation for this is, lets just catch the son of a bitch." Miller said angrily, her features tightening. She was pissed that someone would do something like this in her town, especially so soon after the last murder. And she would have to meet that last murderer tomorrow. She squashed down the words reverberating in her head before they began.

"There goes this year's best town award." DC Frank Childs said callously.

"Shut it Frank!" Miller snapped at him.

"I'm pretty sure we already lost that one anyways mate." DC Roy Collins muttered to himself. Alec Hardy threw his arms down in annoyance.

"Looks like I'm going to have to ask Jenkinson for more bodies to work this enquiry. She's going to love this." Hardy said.

"Do you think we're going to solve this one Sir?" Collins asked.

"Well, we did the last time, so why not this one too?" Hardy said.

"Right, Sir." Collins replied, not necessarily reassured.

"Alright, you should know what to do by now, canvas the area, get any witness statements, check CCTV, find out who this girl is…" The constables stared, waiting for him to go on. Hardy glared. "Well get on with it!" He yelled. The officers scrambled and went about their various jobs. Miller stayed with him, as per usual. They both stayed silent and still contemplating the murders, their pasts, and their lives. The world spun into chaos around them.