A/N: Once again thank you to all readers! And more than a million thanks to hazelmist for being so patient and beta'ing again. For those of you who don't remember… according to my head canon Craig Murphy is "What's the point of you"- Craig that Hardy yells at so angrily at the beginning of S2… and with the image of Alec Hardy storming over a green meadow, I'll leave you with the continuation of Alec's 12th day of the investigation…

CHAPTER 14

Hardy shared his boss' feelings about wanting to hide. He hurried to his office, closed the door and leaned against it, gingerly thudding the back of his head against it. He stared at the ceiling and when the tiles started to spin, he plopped down on his sofa. He scrubbed his face down with his hands and let out a long breath. Baxter had finally figured it out. In a way, he was surprised it took him that long but then it hadn't really. His boss had been onto him for a while now and today he just couldn't talk himself out of it anymore. The sense of urgency that had been settling in hit him hard. He knew he was living on borrowed time. If Baxter were to catch him in any other compromised state, he sure as hell would be off the case and out of a job. He was losing control over the situation, but maybe having had any was an illusion to begin with.

He berated himself for spacing out during the interview. He would have to go back and watch the tape. He sat up straight. The tape – what if it had still been recording during the whole encounter with Baxter? He stood abruptly. Ignoring the lingering lightheadedness, he made his way to the AV room and tried not to appear too much in a hurry. He got there, found what he was looking for and rewound the footage. A sigh of relief escaped him when he realized it had been stopped before Baxter walked into the room.

He stared at the last frozen image on the screen. It was a shot of himself, facing the camera. It was scary. His color was grey, there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked haggard. His hair was falling into his face, but it didn't obscure his pained scowl. He sat down, morbidly mesmerized by the image. How could it have come to that? No wonder that Baxter thought he was having a heart attack. He plucked his glasses off his nose and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. There was no way around it. He had to get a handle on his health. Both Baxter and Emily were right, Tess and Daisy needed to know because he clearly wasn't capable of dealing with this on his own. Taking in a deep breath, he made a decision. He would tell them this weekend. No more procrastination, no more hiding.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out only to find a text by his boss asking him where the hell he was. He sighed and left the room to find a rather irate Baxter in his office. Baxter didn't waste time with greetings, a sure sign he was upset.

"Close the door and sit." There was deep frown on his face. Hardy complied and pulled a chair closer to his boss' desk.

"What's going on?" Hardy asked, not able to get rid of the worry in his tone.

"I just heard back from my contact in the Glasgow police force." Hardy grew tense. He dreaded the answer. Baxter hesitated, which raised Hardy's heart rate uncomfortably. Christ, he almost wished Baxter knew the full extent of his heart condition so he would just get it all out there and not make him wait. The anxiety might well do him in considering how this day was progressing.

"And?" Hardy prompted when Baxter still didn't speak.

"It appears that they had a breach of internet security and some case files as well as personnel files were compromised. The Carter case and yours were amongst them. It was a sophisticated job and they believe some of the information might have found its way to the press. They had other officers who were also exposed and ended up in the papers," Baxter revealed, barely able to keep it together.

Hardy lost it. He jumped to his feet and started pacing up and down in the small space in front of Baxter's desk.

"How the fuck could this happen? What are they? Imbeciles?" he shouted, Scottish accent stronger than ever, voice an octave higher than usual. "If this bloody woman puts it all in the paper I'm going to kill her."

"Calm down, Hardy. Can't be good for whatever heart problem you have to get this upset, right?" Baxter tried to be as composed as he could.

"Don't you fucking patronize me," Hardy snapped at him. His rapid breathing betrayed him though. He closed his eyes for a moment, swaying with the dizziness that still hadn't left him since the earlier episode. He realized he had to sit down just at the same moment as Baxter put a steadying hand on him. Baxter pulled him down on a chair and just watched him.

Fan-bloody-tastic, this day was going great. The damn journalist was digging around in his past, he botched up an interview and now he was going to pass out in his boss' office. Spectacular. The urge to bang his head against something was back.

"Alec, please try to pull yourself together. You can't lose it completely over this. I know this is something that stayed with you, but once again, you did nothing wrong. You have a case to work on and whatever was in the past is exactly that – in the past and not important right now." Baxter was kind but firm. He was right as he was so often when he tried to be the voice of reason for Hardy. He breathed deeply in and out, calming down gradually.

"I'm going to ask Craig Murphy to look into it. He's one of the best IT experts that we have on the force and maybe he can find more answers than the guys in Glasgow did. And he will keep it confidential," Baxter added when he saw Hardy's questioning look.

"Fine. If you think it's going to lead us somewhere. Still don't see why someone else other than the people who already know about it needs to be involved," Hardy growled. He wasn't very fond of the idea that more of his colleagues would snoop around in his past.

Baxter sighed. "Listen Alec, this was a deliberate act. It wasn't random. My friend in Glasgow actually thought that the Carter case was the main target of the hacking and the other data have only been taken to distract from that fact. His superiors didn't believe him and that's why we never heard of it. We'll try and see what we can come up with on our end."

Hardy snorted. "So that the whole station can talk about it, right?"

Baxter got annoyed. "Alec you're a bloody idiot. I'm doing this to protect you. If this was indeed a deliberate move to get that specific information, then I'd be very worried that there is more to it than just attempts at slandering your reputation."

That shut Hardy up. He hadn't really thought about that. It had been so long since that fateful November morning. "Why would someone do this now?" he finished his thought out loud.

Baxter tilted his head. "I'm not sure. I wondered about that too. Maybe they saw you in the paper and that triggered something. Whatever it is, we'll try our best to get as much information as we can. I'll deal with that, you focus on the case at hand."

Hardy nodded, mouth open. He ran his tongue over his teeth. "I…"

Yet again they were interrupted by a knock. They both turned their heads to the door, expecting it to open, but this time it didn't. Baxter rolled his eyes and his "Come in" sounded anything but friendly. DC Swenson peeked her head through a crack in the door. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two men.

"Am I interrupting again?" She sounded dismayed, but Hardy swore there was the tiniest bit of exasperation as well. Maybe she was getting tired of her superiors' need for privacy this whole day long. Hardy couldn't wait for the gossip to emerge. Hardy and Baxter – new best mates in town. Don't walk in on them or they'll eat you alive. He put his own frustration aside and tried to be friendly.

"No, you're not. Did they come back with Lee Ashworth?" he guessed.

She nodded. "Yes, sir. He's already in a room, rather angry. He asked for a solicitor to be present, so we are getting one. DS Henchard is there with him. She wanted you to know she needs to speak with you before going in for questioning."

"Tell her, I'll be right there." He tilted his head and glared at her when she didn't leave immediately. Eventually she got the message and scampered out of the room.

Hardy and Baxter sighed at the same time. They looked at each other and despite the day's events they both grinned.

"Wanna bet how long it'll take for some juicy gossip to emerge?" Hardy teased his boss.

"Twenty quid by the end of the day," Baxter offered.

"You're gonna lose. I have faith in her. She's better than that. I wager by tomorrow afternoon. When she can't handle it anymore and needs to tell someone." Hardy grinned.

Baxter's face turned serious. "Are you up for questioning this Ashworth guy? I could sit in with Tess if you…"

"No. That won't be necessary. I'm feeling better," Hardy interjected. It wasn't even a lie. His heart had been faithful enough and besides the lingering lightheadedness there had been no major irregularity since earlier.

Baxter looked him up and down and after a few moments nodded his head. "All right then," was all he said. Hardy could tell Baxter was trying to overcome his doubts.

"I'll be fine, Ed." Hardy didn't even believe himself.

"That's what you always say, Alec. And I have yet to find evidence to support that claim."

"I told you I'm taking care of it," Hardy argued.

"That sure does not inspire confidence. To quote a certain Scottish DI 'I'm shit at that' – your own words, not mine," Baxter countered.

"Fine. You're right. I'm not good at it. But I have a doctor who's on top of me and I'm going to tell Tess. Does that make you feel better?" Hardy snapped back at him.

"Maybe. I'll expect you to keep me in the loop about the heart, is that clear?"

Hardy just rolled his eyes and stood up. Baxter didn't even know about the pacemaker and how tenuous his health really was and he had no intention of telling him more until the case was done. He moved towards the door, but before he left, he addressed his friend.

"Thank you for having my back with the other issue, Ed. I appreciate that. Very much."

"Of course, Alec. You know how I feel about that." Baxter smiled at him. "Go on then, question your suspect."

Hardy smiled back. He didn't have many friends, but the ones he did have were genuine and true. It wasn't something he took for granted and he would always be grateful for having someone like Baxter in his life.

Tess was waiting for him outside of the interrogation room. She was pacing and her face had that glow that it only got when she was truly excited about something. Hardy frowned, not being very thrilled about the idea that her emotions might get the better of her. Maybe he should do the interview without her after all.

He barely had stepped up to her when she blurted out, "Alec, I really think it might be him."

"Slow down, Tess. What makes you say that?" Hardy sighed inwardly. The last thing he needed right now was an overly confident partner while needing to carefully tease things out of Ashworth.

"First thing he told us was that he had nothing to do with Lisa's or Pippa's death. We didn't even get a chance to tell him why we wanted him back for an interview."

"That's not really a good reason to believe it's him. Gut feelings won't get us a conviction, Tess. We need evidence or a confession, or even better both. And it needs to be properly done. Is the solicitor here yet?"

She nodded. "Just came. He's speaking in confidentiality with Ashworth right now. We should be able to begin momentarily. Do you want me to take the lead?" she asked confident that he would say yes.

He hesitated a moment. "No. I just finished talking to his wife and there were some discrepancies. It might be best if you let me do the talking first and add to what questions I have."

She was furious. Her blue eyes were piercing through him and she balled her hands into fists. It wasn't the first time he hadn't let her take the lead in an interview and he had his reasons why. Last time it happened she didn't speak to him for three days besides the absolutely necessary communication at work. He ended up apologizing for something that he felt he shouldn't have to but what else was he going to do? She was his wife, he loved her and he had never been able to see her unhappy. Baxter felt it was unprofessional of her to react that way. She wouldn't act like this if they were not married. Hardy didn't have the heart to tell Baxter that the wounded pride Tess was displaying had not only to do with him being her husband but very much with the person she was. But that would have been disloyal to his wife and companion. He might have been a flawed husband in many ways but he sure wasn't guilty of that.

"Please, don't get upset. We'll both do our part. Let me start and then you can take it away, all right?" he pleaded with her. In all honesty, he wouldn't have minded if he could sit back somewhat as he was feeling rather exhausted from his day so far, but his instincts told him not to.

"Fine," she growled. He put his hand on her elbow and smiled. What he really wanted to do was kiss her, but that would have been unprofessional and she would have been the first to object.

They waited until the solicitor let them know they were ready. The first glance at Lee Ashworth made Hardy cringe inwardly. The man was scowling and had his arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't going to be easy to get him to talk.

They sat and went over the formalities for the tape. Then Hardy addressed Ashworth.

"Mr. Ashworth, we wanted to ask you a few more questions in regards to the night of April 14th as well as in connection with the death of Pippa Gillespie and the disappearance of Lisa Newbery."

"I know nothing about those girls and I object to you dragging me here again. I've already told you what I know about that evening. I don't see the point of this." Ashworth sounded defensive and his annoyance was not only reflected in his voice but very much so in his face.

"I have spoken to your wife and wanted to have some clarification about a few things. Could you tell me what the discussion of your dinner plans was?" Hardy didn't waste any time. Ashworth wasn't anyone for playing games.

"I told you before, we both were tired and didn't want to go out. Claire made dinner while I was in the shower. And before you ask again and waste my time, we had steak and potatoes and salad."

Hardy sat back in his chair and rested one hand on the table, hiding his annoyance behind a stoic face. Ashworth must have talked to his wife then to get their facts straight.

"That's not what you said before, Mr. Ashworth. In your previous statement, you mentioned that she wanted to go out and you didn't. What made you change your story?" Hardy tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, mirroring his question.

Ashworth stayed silent. Then he shrugged. "I don't see why that is of importance."

"It's not for you to decide what's important and what isn't Mr. Ashworth, you're just here to answer our questions," Tess chimed in. Hardy wished she hadn't. There was no use in antagonizing the only person of interest they had so far.

Ashworth looked her up and down and then smirked at her. Hardy had to give Tess credit, she hid her fury at that well. Ashworth probably didn't notice.

"Mr. Ashworth, you didn't answer my question. What made you change your story?" Hardy didn't want to let go.

"I didn't change it. You're just twisting my words around. We both were tired. I don't remember if she mentioned that she had thought about going out or not. Maybe she said it in passing and that's why I said it the other day," Ashworth stated, smirk still on his face.

"So what was it again that your wife cooked?"

"Steak and potatoes."

"What happened to the chicken? Isn't that what you told me yesterday? You're not remembering that right either?" Hardy watched him carefully. It was a rather weak point but still. It all added up to the picture that although they both claimed they had been together, their stories didn't add up.

Ashworth blinked a few times and crossed his arms again. "It was over a week ago. Do you remember what you ate that night?" There was a challenge in his voice.

Hardy's mind drifted off for a split second. That had been the night of the wedding he had taken Daisy to. The corner of his mouth curled up ever so slightly. He leaned forward and looked Ashworth straight in the eye. "As a matter of fact, I do." They stared at each other for a few moments, until Ashworth looked away.

Hardy was ready to switch gears. "Mr. Ashworth, your fingerprints were found all over the Gillespie house. Would you mind giving an explanation why so?"

Ashworth briefly glanced at his solicitor who didn't seem to be of much help.

"So?" he started rather defensively. "I've been to their house often enough. I did some repairs and we also had BBQs and dinners with them. They are our landlords and neighbors. I don't see why that's in any way odd."

Hardy just raised his eyebrows and leaned in. "How often did you spend time with Pippa?"

Ashworth frowned. "I used to drive her around rather frequently as a favor to her parents. She was quite a busy girl." There was brief flicker of sadness in his eyes, but he hid it quickly.

"So you had ample time alone with her then?"

"What are you trying to imply? I didn't do anything to the girl, she's a child for God's sake," Ashworth snapped.

Hardy suppressed a smile. Good, Ashworth was losing some of the smug composure he had been displaying. He took a moment to consider his next question. He glanced at Tess, making sure that she wouldn't interrupt him again.

"Lisa wasn't. Maybe you found her more interesting?" Hardy suggested.

"I've never touched Lisa. I had nothing to do with her, so stop fucking insinuating that I did. As I said before. She's a teenager, I'm not interested in teenagers. I'm a married man." Ashworth was properly angry now.

"Mr. Ashworth, why did we find your hair on Pippa Gillespie's pillow?" Hardy asked quietly. His voice was neutral and did not give anything away.

Ashworth gaped at them. His solicitor bent over to him and whispered something in his ear. Hardy presumed he told his client he didn't need to answer that question. Waiting patiently, he stared down his suspect.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never even been to her room." Ashworth sounded genuinely confused. For a moment Hardy almost believed him.

"We found a strand of hair on Pippa's pillow in her bed. It's not hers and the DNA is a match to yours," Hardy explained. "So how do you think it got there then, if you've never been to her room?"

"I dunno. I sure wasn't there. Maybe somebody put it there?"

"And who would that be? And why? I think you're just messing with us and you know very well how and when that hair got there," Hardy barked at him, tapping his fingers on the table to underscore his words. His heart rate shot up uncomfortably and he tried to take in a few measured breaths. It helped this time. He couldn't lose focus now.

"Isn't that your job to find that out? Maybe it was Ricky, he doesn't like me very much," Ashworth replied defensively.

"How would Ricky have gotten your hair, hm? That's not good enough, Mr. Ashworth." Hardy raised his eyebrows with the question.

"This is ridiculous. I have nothing to do with this and I'm not going to say anything else. Can I go now?"

Hardy leaned back, frustrated that he didn't get any farther with him. He knew when a suspect wasn't going to talk anymore, even without them openly stating it. There was nothing else that Ashworth would say at this point. They didn't have enough to book him either. He had an alibi, even if there were inconsistencies and a loose hair didn't prove anything, even if it was his. He glanced at Tess. The look in her eyes mirrored his own feelings. He abruptly stood.

"You can go. But don't think about leaving town. We will have more questions for you." Hardy didn't bother to wait for what Ashworth had to say and stormed out of the room. He meant to walk off his frustration but didn't get very far. Vertigo spun the world around him and he had to stop. Tess followed him and found him leaning against the wall, eyes closed.

"You all right, Alec?"

His eyes snapped open, only to see her double. It was making him nauseated and he wished he could sit down somewhere.

"'M fine. Just annoyed that we couldn't get more out of him. Wish we could book him," he sighed. His world slowly returned to normal. As soon as Tess' face moved more into focus he could tell she wasn't quite buying that he was all right. In an effort to distract he decided to warn her about Karen White.

"Tess, there is something you should know. I was held up by this journalist this morning, Karen White. She's been digging around in my past and she's also interested in my family. She mentioned you and she knew it's Daisy's birthday today."

His distraction worked. Tess' face pulled into a frown. "Why the hell would she do that? What's so interesting about you? Isn't the case what the story is?"

"My words exactly." He shoved his hands in his pocket and looked to the floor. "Tess, she knows about the Carter case," he added quietly.

She tensed and her face paled. "How?" was all she could say.

"Apparently somebody hacked into the Glasgow Police Constabulary's database and stole some files. Baxter is looking into it for me."

She nodded and looked somewhat relieved. He couldn't share her sentiment. But then she might not remember everything that happened that day considering the amount of drugs she had had in her system. He shuddered with the vivid memory of her limp body in his arms, blood splattered all over them. Tess touched him gently on the elbow.

"Alec, maybe you should go home. It's late anyways. You've had a long day. I can take care of the paperwork." Her voice was soft.

He relaxed under her touch and soothing voice. The day had taken its toll on him and with the tension falling away he could feel the exhaustion creeping in. He nodded, mouth open. "Yah, think you're right. I should get out of here. Do you want me to pick up Daisy on the way home?"

"No she's staying with some friends who are throwing her a dinner party for her birthday." Tess was already starting to walk back to their offices, when Hardy held her back.

"Why did you say yes to that? I would have liked to spend some time with her. You could have asked." He didn't know why he was so annoyed but he felt left out and robbed of an opportunity to see his daughter.

"I thought it was all right because I didn't know when we'd be home. You haven't even slept at the house for most nights this past week. Why would you care today?" Tess was exasperated.

"Why would I care?" His voice pitch shifted. "Maybe because she's my daughter and it's her birthday today and I haven't seen her much lately and it would be nice for a change to have some family life. Maybe that's why I care. What the fuck, Tess? Do you really feel I'm so detached from you and Daisy that I don't even want to spend some time with you guys?" The bitterness in his words was more pronounced than he intendend to.

"Ach, Alec. You're making a scene. Pull yourself together. She'll be home later tonight and if you haven't sagged out on the sofa again, maybe you can actually talk to her for a change," Tess reprimanded him, not even trying to conceal her sarcasm. And with that she walked away, letting him steep in his anger and hurt.

He came home to an empty house once again. He sat in the car for a while, having no motivation to walk in there, just staring ahead. Tess was wrong and she had hurt him more than she might realize. Granted, he had spent too much time at work lately and the case was consuming him, but he was trying to not let it all overwhelm him. He wasn't very successful. His own reflection stared back at him, and just like earlier in the day he was taken aback by how little he recognized the man reflected in the windshield. Eventually he got out of the car.

When he stuck the key in the door, he suddenly felt weak, so weak that his legs were giving out under him. He slumped against the door, barely able to keep himself upright. He turned the key and fell into the hallway with the door swinging open. Everything around him slowed down together with his heart beat. His hands were tingling and his mind was so foggy. He could feel the pauses between every painful contraction of his heart muscle. He managed to find his phone and was about to dial 999 when the black closed in.

"Mr. Hardy, are you okay?" The voice was vaguely familiar. He forced his eyes open only to be greeted by the worried face of his neighbor. Bollocks. What was the man doing in his house? If Tess found out about this, she was going to give him hell.

"Your door was open but there was no light on inside the house, so I got worried that something was wrong. I hope you don't mind me coming in here like this," the man explained insecurely.

Hardy racked his brain trying to remember the man's name. Paul? Or maybe Peter? He cleared his throat, while attempting to clamber to his feet. His neighbor was quick to help him up. He was still a little wobbly but at least his heart was beating more normally now. His eyes fell on the mobile in the man's hand.

"Did you call an ambulance?" Hardy asked anxiously. Bad enough that his neighbor had found him passed out, but he could probably come up with a lie to buy himself silence. If, however, there was an ambulance pulled up to his house, there would be no way to hide this from Tess. But then wasn't he going to tell her anyways? He shook his head and tried to focus on what the man said.

"I was about to, but then you came around. You were out like a light, you know. You sure you're all right?"

"'M fine. Just bumped my head a few days ago and had a concussion." He rubbed the spot on his forehead and put on what he hoped was an embarrassed look. "Erm… would you mind not telling my wife? I had a drink after work and I wasn't really supposed to with the head injury and all. She gets so overly worried and it's a little stifling, if you know what I mean." He shot him a sheepish glance, ears turning red with the lie. For once his tendency to blush easily was helpful.

A broad grin formed on his neighbor's face. He nudged Hardy in the side. "Yea, I know what you mean. They can be so overbearing, don't you think? I've got one of those as well. Always spoils the fun. Don't you worry, I've got you, mate." He gave Hardy a strong shoulder pat and turned to leave.

Hardy felt he should say something else. "Erm… thanks for checking in though. I appreciate that." He actually did. It was a caring gesture, even if driven by nosiness. He didn't want to admit that the man could have potentially saved his life if his heart hadn't decided to do its job properly again.

"Sure thing, mate. You watch out for us all the time, with your job and stuff. So, yah, you're welcome." He grinned again. "And say hello to the missus. Maybe we could all have a drink sometime."

Hardy nodded, forcing a smile on his face. The last thing he wanted was having drinks with his macho neighbor, but he felt obligated to be polite. He closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a long breath. He was so utterly exhausted that all he wanted to do was go to sleep. A nagging pain in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten all day. He mustered his remaining energy to make a sandwich which he took to the sofa with him. Only a few bites and his pills made it into his stomach before his eyes fell shut.

"Dad. Wake up. I've got cake for you."

Hardy groggily propped himself up. He blinked into the light. Daisy was sitting next to him on the sofa, sticking a piece of birthday cake under his nose. He sat up slowly and took the plate from her.

"Thanks darlin'. That looks really nice. Who made it?" He took the fork from her and cut off a small bite. He hoped he'd be able to keep it down. The moment he'd sat up the nausea from the pills had hit him hard.

"My friends did. I had such a good time at the party." She beamed with happiness and Hardy's heart melted yet again for his daughter.

"Why don't you tell me about it," he prompted, taking another bite. It was rather tasty, he had to admit. He slowly finished the cake while he listened to her babbling away about the dinner, the insane amount of food, the crazy outfits everyone wore and the fact that all her friends had put in their money to get her two tickets for a band that she really liked.

"A band?" he asked. That was new. "What band? And who's going to the concert with you?"

She grinned. "I thought maybe you would?"

"Me? What would I do at a concert? I'm way too old for those kinda things, Daisy." And his heart was way too weak to be trusted amongst a loud and noisy environment such as a concert venue.

"Ach, Dad. You're not that old. And besides you might actually like the music. Why don't we listen to it tomorrow morning in the car and you tell me if you want to come." She found his eyes and her hopefulness made him ache. How could he say no?

"Fine. I'll listen to it. But I'm not making any promises. Do you understand, young lady?"

"You'll like it," she said with a smile and breathed a kiss on his cheek. "Good night, Dad. Don't sleep on the sofa again."

"Good night, darlin'. And happy birthday again. I love you." He kissed her forehead and then nudged her to go. After she had left he laid back on the sofa. He didn't have the greatest desire to share his bed with Tess, not after their run in this afternoon. And moving his tired body seemed like way too much work. His eye lids drooped and before he could really make a conscious decision, he had fallen back asleep.