Something had come over him, that was sure. He had been indifferent at the news Daisy was to be Rose's bridesmaid and had only gone at her insistence but his mind had been changed upon meeting Rose. After that, until Rose had called him, he'd had to hide the fact he still carried a torch for her and something had given that night.
He had to get whoever had killed Danny locked up so he could sort things out with her, now he didn't have to pretend any more. He got up and put his jacket on and decided to call at one of the food stalls along the harbour and take something back to his caravan.
Rose hadn't said how long she would stay but he hoped there would be enough room for all her clothes. He had to smile at the thought of having to move his own things to one of the smaller rooms just so she could hang her things up in the double bedroom.
Ellie got home and since young Fred was in his chair, wearing the spaghetti rather than eating it, she asked her husband about what she'd been told about Tom going off.
"What are you talking about Ell?" Joe asked as he wiped Fred's face and getting objection from the toddler.
"What I said. Did you give Tom permission to go off into the woods with Nigel? We had him in today over something else and he said Danny had gone with him."
"Doesn't mean Tom went, does it?" Joe asked her. "Why don't you ask him?"
"I intend to," Ellie replied, still annoyed about being kept in the dark. "Oh and another thing. Did Paul say anything about Tom and Danny falling out?"
"Thought I'd told you?" Joe replied, moving the messy dish out of Fred's grasp. "See, you're working too hard these days," he added with a grin.
Ellie was pretty sure she would have remembered something like that but let it go.
"I asked Tom for his laptop this morning, did he leave it somewhere?" Ellie asked instead.
"Not with me, eh Fred?" he asked the youngster trying to get out of his chair. "What's with all the questions suddenly? Bringing work home with you?" Joe teased her.
"Hardy wants to look at Tom's laptop, to see if there were any messages from Danny on it," Ellie told him.
"Didn't he look at Danny's laptop?" Joe wanted to know as he put Fred on the floor.
"Danny may have deleted them," Ellie replied.
"Tom seemed upset over Danny, to say they'd supposed to have fallen out," Joe stated.
"Then he'd want to help find out who killed his friend," Ellie was a bit surprised.
When she thought about it, Tom hadn't seemed that surprised when he'd been told the news. Maybe it hadn't hit him at the time, she wondered.
"Can you bring Tom to the station in the morning, with his laptop then?" Ellie changed the subject.
"Who's going to look after Fred?" Joe wanted to know.
"I can watch him for a few minutes," Ellie replied.
Joe grunted his reply of he'd have to manage to bring Tom in if her boss insisted and went off to give Fred his bath. Ellie went to find Tom, who had been dreading she wouldn't give up if he said he'd lost his laptop. Had Paul ignored the threat and given the laptop to his mother's new boss?
"You have until morning to find your laptop Tom," Ellie told him when he said he'd forgotten where he'd left it.
"Okay Mum, I'll have it," Tom insisted. "Why do I have to see DI Hardy again?"
"You want to find out who killed Danny, don't you?" Ellie reminded him. "Did you fall out with him?"
"No, why?" Tom denied the accusation.
The next morning, Jake arrived early, being fed by Jackie because she always complained he was as skinny as a certain person they used to know, then he loaded what Rose was taking with her into the back of her car.
"Hey, I won't be away long," she told Tony, who didn't want her to go.
"Will you bring Alec back with you?" he asked her again.
"I'll try but it may not be right away. I'll tell him you want to see him, okay?"
Tony nodded and went to his mother. Jake thought they'd better set off before Rose changed her mind and stayed at home, then the baby she was having wouldn't know his or her father because Rose would back out.
Things were not going to go well when Ellie got to work and told Alec Tom was busy looking for his laptop.
"Did he leave it somewhere else then?" Alec asked Ellie.
"What do you mean by that?" Ellie wanted to know. "I trust him, he wouldn't have taken it anywhere, what are you implying?"
"I'm just trying to piece things together Miller," Alec reminded her, putting his glasses on the desk, a folder in front of him. "This folder contains the messages from Danny's social media."
"I've read them," Ellie reminded him. "I don't even know how Danny got an account, I wouldn't allow Tom to get one," she insisted.
Alec rubbed his face.
"Are you saying he got one and defied me?" Ellie then asked him.
"That is what I will be asking Tom. What time is he coming in?" Alec replied.
"When Joe can get him here, he has to get Fred organised," Ellie told him. "I'll have to look after him when they get here. I just hope Tom found his laptop."
Alec knew her son was never going to find it, the item was in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet. He'd got the results he'd wanted and his suspicions had been confirmed. The two boys had fallen out and that was what Tom was trying to hide from his parents.
If he was right, there were going to be repercussions. Ellie wouldn't want to hear the truth but she had to be told. Having Rose turn up later wasn't such a good idea now but she would have already set off and he couldn't very well ask her to turn back. It had sounded like there was something she wanted to tell him and hopefully it was that now she was going ahead with her divorce, it would be that she wanted to stay with him.
Rose wouldn't travel all that way just to tell him she was having second thoughts about their relationship, would she? Ellie had gone off to await her husband's and sons' arrival so he took a few minutes to go through the results he'd just got back.
Why wasn't he surprised that Danny seemed to have found another friend? Someone obviously older, an adult almost certainly who was turning the boy's head, filling him with promises and maybe that was where Danny had got the money found under his bed from.
That adult was becoming clear from the pieces he'd put together. Everyone in the town seemed to be harbouring secrets and the things that had been revealed during the investigation were astounding. Secret affairs, mothers with sons in denial, a newsagent with a secret past who had been hounded to death by the town turning on him and then there was the vicar himself, who had been trying to hold the town together.
He needed someone to talk to about it other than his friend. Rose was a Torchwood agent, maybe she'd understand but that depended what she had on her mind when she got here.
Rose was quiet once they'd left London behind, Jake thinking she was either still tired or she was planning what she was going to tell Alec when they got there. There was a 50-50 chance she'd refuse to get out of the car once there or that Alec wouldn't take the news very well and she would drive home herself.
"You're quiet Rosie," Jake grinned at her through the mirror as she glanced up.
"What do ya want me to say Jake?" she replied, easing the seatbelt slightly.
"You should get one of those pads for that," Jake advised her. "You're not gonna get any thinner ya know."
"Shut up Jake," Rose joked. "I don't wanna admit it yet, do I? What am I gonna do once I do get bigger? I'll have to try and hide it by wearing loose fitting clothes. Geez, my mum will want to take me to MotherCare," she then laughed. "I'm not gonna be seen dead in those frumpy maternity dresses."
They both laughed then Jake saw a sign for a motorway stop in just over a mile and suggested they pulled in.
"Are ya gonna call Alec?" Jake wondered as he put drinks on the table.
"He's probably busy," Rose replied, taking her decaf tea from the tray. "I'll call him when we get there. Am I doing the right thing Jake?"
"No point asking me," he grinned, drinking his coffee and knowing Rose was jealous she'd had to cut down on caffeine. "Where did ya say he was staying?"
"On the seafront, the caravan park. Should be easy to find," Rose replied.
They set off again then came off the motorway, since it went off in the wrong direction towards Somerset instead of Dorset, then Jake followed the directions from the map on his phone, passing signs for other seaside towns and soon saw a sign for Broadchurch.
They had made good time and were then finally on the road that led to the harbour.
"Gettin' nervous?" Jake teased her.
Rose refused to answer, just smiling to herself but she was getting butterflies in her tummy as well as already feeling off again.
"Ya should have had more than toast before we set off," Jake reminded her, since Jackie had put a plateful of breakfast items in front of him when he'd called and Rose was feeling sick just looking at it.
"Yuck," was all Rose had to say to him.
They drove along the harbour, across the river and Jake spotted the caravan park on the right but turned left to find somewhere to park and spotted a car park on the corner.
"Best call him," Jake told her as he was finding some coins in his pocket to pay for a parking ticket.
He pulled a face as he had to pay nearly as much for an hour as for all day parking and took the ticket back to the car. Rose was waiting for Alec to answer his phone but only got the answering service.
"Alec, it's Rose. Me and Jake are across the road, we just passed the police station. We're gonna go get a drink just opposite so can ya meet us there? Okay, bye then."
"He'd best not be more than an hour," Jake grinned as they set off back to the corner, coming out of the car park and thinking it was funny the car park was sort of just above the café area.
Rose decided to take her chances trying to eat something while she waited for Alec to call her back. Alec had felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and wondered if it was Rose saying she had arrived. He was still interviewing Tom and Joe Miller as the latter had taken his time arriving.
Ellie had gone down to meet them and Alec noticed she was gone for nearly half an hour. What was she doing, he'd wondered as he waited, having set the camera up.
"Tom, did you find your laptop?" Ellie had asked her son as she noticed he was empty-handed.
"I don't know where it is Mum," Tom admitted to her.
"Well DI Hardy's not going to be pleased," Ellie warned him. "Joe, did you help him look for it?"
"I was seeing to Fred," Joe replied as the youngster tried to get to her. "You try getting him ready when he just wants to play."
Ellie had often regretted going back to work, especially now she had a grump for a boss. She hoped Hardy's girlfriend was going to turn up at some point, if the woman was real.
"Well we'd better get upstairs then, before Hardy sends someone to look for us," Ellie decided as she pressed the lift button, Fred trying to reach it.
Joe stopped her as the lift door opened.
"Is this really necessary?" he questioned her.
"If Hardy says it is," Ellie replied, pressing the button to keep the lift door open.
"Kids lose things all the time," Joe reminded her.
"Don't defend him," Ellie snapped back. "Tom's old enough to take care of his things."
"I'm here Mum," Tom objected.
They finally got upstairs and now, Tom was admitting to Alec the laptop had been stolen at school.
While Joe was questioning how that had happened, Alec went into the drawer containing the smashed up laptop.
"You mustn't lie Tom," Alec told him.
"I'm not," Tom insisted, making Joe shift in his seat.
"Is this your laptop?" Alec asked Tom, putting it on the desk.
"Where did you get it from?" Tom nodded.
"From Paul Coates, who you threatened that if you gave it to the police, you would accuse him of all sorts of things," Alec replied.
"You threatened the vicar?" Joe turned to Tom.
"We found the messages you and Danny had been sending each other," Alec continued.
When he read them out, Joe was looking more uncomfortable than his son.
"Did you hurt Danny, Tom?" Alec then asked.
"What?" Joe stood up. "It's just kids messing about."
"I'm talking to Tom," Alec reminded him.
"No, this stops now," Joe insisted. "If you want to question him further, I'm getting our solicitor."
Alec put the laptop and folder back in a drawer and stood up to switch the camera off.
"Fine, do that," Alec told Joe.
Now he knew he had them, he knew he was on the right track. He just had one more piece of the puzzle to solve the case – Danny's missing mobile phone to be switched on. If his suspicions were right, whoever had it was going to panic very soon.
"How did you get on?" Ellie wanted to know as they headed for the lift.
"Not now Ell," Joe replied, trying to take Fred from her as the toddler squirmed.
Ellie looked puzzled as Joe steered Tom into the lift, meaning Ellie wasn't invited to go with them. Ellie stared after them then went back inside but saw Alec was talking on his mobile. He was calling Rose back.
"Hi sweetheart," he greeted her when Rose answered with a 'Whatcha'. "So you are across the road? Give me ten minutes and I will join you. Is Jake still with you?" he asked, not wanting to walk across and find she was on her own.
"Yeah, he says hurry up or he'll have to pay for an all day ticket," Rose laughed as Jake playfully hit her arm.
Alec thought it was a good sign Rose was laughing, she wouldn't have bad news.
Alec said goodbye and started by turning his monitor off and going for his jacket as Ellie came in without knocking.
"Sir, what happened?" she wanted to know as Alec continued. "Joe wouldn't tell me."
"Not now Miller, I have to be somewhere," Alec replied, going to straighten his tie.
"Is it more important than you telling me what you said to Tom and Joe?" Ellie challenged him.
"Tom lied about losing his laptop Miller," Alec replied, wanting to get past her. "He was caught smashing it up."
"What?" Ellie gasped.
"He was caught by the vicar, who handed it to me," Alec told her. "I really have to go now."
Ellie stood to one side but called after him.
"Is Tom now a suspect?" she wanted to know.
"No but he holds vital clues," Alec admitted. "I have something to take care of, when I come back, we have work to do. Go join your family Miller but be careful what you say in public."
Ellie stared after him, wondering what he meant by that. He wasn't going to meet his girlfriend, was he? She had convinced herself he was making it up but maybe now he wasn't. She dashed over to the balcony door and leaned over, just in time to see him crossing the road.
Rose and Jake were sat where they could see anyone coming from across the road, well Jake was anyway, Rose couldn't bring herself to stare in the direction Alec would come from. Jake was teasing her about it.
"Wanna swap places?" he asked without any expression on his face.
Rose kicked his leg under the table in response.
"Stop it Jake. What if he changes his mind?"
"Don't be daft," Jake replied. "I thought you were hungry," he pointed to the food that had just arrived. "It's gonna get cold."
"I'm too wound up to eat," Rose decided. "You have it if ya want?"
"Rose, ya have to eat, ya have someone else to think about now," he reminded her.
"Shush, don't tell everyone," she then hissed at him.
"Ya needn't worry, look who's here," Jake then pointed as he saw Alec looking around for them and waved.
"Jake," Alec recognised Rose's friend. "Rose?" he then looked at Rose who was trying not to look back.
"Want me to disappear?" Jake volunteered.
"No, it's fine," Alec insisted as he sat on one of the chairs and took a menu from the table.
Jake had thought trust Rose to pick a section of the catering area that had tablecloths on actual tables and had chairs instead of benches at the end nearest the road.
Alec could see already that Rose was nervous.
"I will just go order something," Alec told them as he got back up. "Not eating?" he pointed to Rose's plate.
"Yeah, best not let it get cold," Jake answered for her. "Rose, eat up."
Rose pulled a face at him as Alec went off.
"He's gonna know something's wrong," Jake continued.
"Only if you give the game away Jake," Rose told him.
"That won't need me," Jake then grinned.
Rose picked up her fork and dug it into the baked potato with cheese on top. Maybe she should eat something or Alec would notice.
"So, how's the investigation going?" Jake asked as Alec sat down again.
"Well, we have a few new developments, I would say it should be all wrapped up shortly," Alec told him.
"That's good then," Rose then found her voice.
"Yeah, well done mate," Jake agreed as Alec's order arrived.
"How was your journey Rose?" Alec turned towards her.
"Fine, we only stopped once," Rose answered him, picking at her food again.
Alec had noticed. Was she feeling unwell or was it just nerves, he wondered. If she was unwell, she would have put her journey off but something had made her go ahead, something important to bring her here a day early. It didn't take him being a detective to work it out.
"It's good to finally see you again Rose," Alec then told her. "Thanks for bringing her here Jake, I was worried about her driving all this way on her own."
"No worries Alec," Jake grinned. "She just doesn't like me moving the driver's seat, do ya?"
"Is that so?" Alec smiled, patting her hand.
Maybe Jake was giving him some clues, not that he didn't already have his suspicions, what with Rose picking at her food and eating mainly the salad and being quiet when she'd had plenty to say before. That was on the phone, now they were face to face and she seemed very nervous to him.
"I have to go move the car," Jake remembered. "Unless ya can get me out of a parking fine Alec?"
"Not my department," Alec laughed. "I'm sure the car park there is one of the last to be checked," he nodded above where they were seated. "Just drive it into the caravan park opposite and I will tell reception the number, I was not sure how Rose would be getting here. Walk across with me Rose?"
Rose got up when Alec stood behind her and moved her chair and she took his arm when he offered it.
"Are you okay Rose?" he whispered to her.
"Yeah, why?" Rose asked him. "I was just nervous about seeing ya again, that's all."
"You sounded fine when you called me," he reminded her as they reached the road and Jake had gone off.
They walked to the corner and crossed the road just as Jake caught up with them and he found a spot to park just by the reception building. Alec went inside to give the car details, he had already told them his girlfriend was arriving, getting him a funny look. They got into the car and Alec directed Jake to where he was staying.
"Think I'll stay for a holiday," Jake laughed as they got out once he'd backed into the parking space.
"Tony will be jealous," Rose smiled as Alec helped her out of the car, since he'd got in the front with Jake.
Jake started getting Rose's things out of the back while Alec opened the door. Rose looked around once inside, she'd not been in a caravan since in her old world they'd borrowed one of her mother's friend's caravan that shook every time they moved around.
"Leave those there Jake," Alec told him as Jake put two cases and a bag on the floor.
"Where's you're car Alec?" Rose wanted to know.
"In the police garage. Don't worry about it Rose, I can park opposite when I come back later. I have to get back to work, are you staying a while Jake?" Alec asked him.
"I'll have to check the train times back to London," Jake grinned.
"Jake, I really don't need my car, do I Alec?" Rose asked.
"Well, if you want to stay around here, then no and you can always get a cab up into the town," Alec suggested. "Jake, can you give us a minute?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll wait in the car then?" Jake agreed, knowing Alec already suspected something.
Rose watched him leave and sat on the sofa, Alec sitting next to her.
"Got a kiss for me?" he smiled. "It is good to see you Rose."
"I was fine when I set off," Rose began to tell him.
"I'm sure you were. You got more nervous as you got closer then? Why would you be nervous seeing me again?" he wanted to know. "You are getting a divorce from Jamie, are you not?"
"Yeah, he sent papers. Dad said he'd keep it all quiet. The last thing I want is for it to be all over the trashy newspapers in their gossip columns," Rose replied. "There's something else Alec and ya might not want me to stay."