"Beth?" Emma called as she entered the Latimer house. "I came as soon as I saw your text-"
She broke off as she saw who was sitting on Beth's sofa.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma demanded, striding toward Connelly angrily.
Beth stopped her in the middle of the living room while Connelly just sat and waited as Beth pleaded, "Em, wait, just listen to him."
"No, I'm calling the police." Emma answered as she pulled out her mobile and pressed a button.
"Em, just listen!" Beth insisted, trying to stop Emma and Emma turned on her friend incredulously.
"Beth, why're you listening to this man? He's a liar!"
"He's not. Okay?" Beth insisted while Connelly stood up slowly. "I've listened to him without prejudice and he's told me things that were all true, apparently he told the police about evidence that they ignored and now it's shown up damaged, he has useful information that'll help us with Danny. I just want him to be heard out."
"I just need to be taken seriously." Connelly added and Emma threw her hands in the air.
"Oh, my God! You want to know why you're not taken seriously? Because you're not worth that." Emma told him sharply. "Look at you, you could be doing something respectable, putting in hard work to do an honest living but instead you're here cheating and scamming."
"He's not, Em." Beth interrupted firmly. "He's getting nothing from me, why would he-"
"Beth, listen to me. Okay?" Emma asked, forcing herself to speak calmly and clearly to her friend, and not killing the man on the other side of the coffee table for worming his way this far into her friend's trust. "I know his kind of people, I know what he's promised and I know what he's going to do. He's going to stick close, pick up more clues and hints from you, make you think he's the real deal, and he's just going to hurt you."
"No, we won't give him anything and I just want him to be heard out-"
"He's a con-artist, Beth, this is his expertise!" Emma cried and Connelly protested, "I am not!"
"Shut up, I don't want to hear from you."Emma snapped at him before turning back to Beth. "Con-artists are adept at reading people, they pick up the smallest things from you, Beth!"
"He knew about the boat." Beth insisted. "That's the evidence he told the police about, which they ignored and now I hear they've found it."
"Oh, my God, Beth." Emma groaned. "Assuming he's not lying about telling the police about it before, Danny was found on a beach, far from anywhere he was determined to have been killed. It's not hard to guess a boat was somehow involved! This is what I mean, this is what they do! They gather hints, weave it together into something probable, get close to you and get more details to become more and more authentic! Did he say any rubbish that made absolutely no sense to you, then say it was mixed signals?"
Beth paused and Emma knew she'd hit the nail right on the head. Connelly saw the doubt creeping back onto Beth's face and he said quickly, "That's not how it is, I swear, I'm telling the truth, I know things-"
"You know nothing!" Emma yelled at him. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Who do you think you're trying to fool? I told you, I know your kind of people and I'm not going to let you hurt Beth like I was!"
It was at that moment that Alec came storming in with Ellie right behind him. Both Beth and Connelly looked shocked as Alec strode in and pointed at Connelly.
"You, out. Now." Alec ordered.
"W-Wait, h-how-?" Connelly stammered, looking at the police in confusion. "How did you know to come here?"
"That's not for you to know." Alec answered sternly, refraining from mentioning that Ellie had received an urgent text from Emma. It seemed she had had the text prepared to send immediately if she needed it. "I warned you what would happen if you kept pursuing Beth. Now, come on, out!"
Beth was still looking overwhelmed, having not expected Emma's strong opposition and now with the police suddenly coming into her house. Connelly however was not going to go quietly and he cried, "Why won't you believe me? Why do you believe her?"
He gestured at where Ellie had an arm around Emma firmly. Emma's face was tight and still flushed with her anger that only grew as Connelly continued to protest, "It's something I can't control! I told you about the boat, what more should I do to make you believe me?"
Alec scowled at the man, when Beth found her tongue again.
"Wait, please, just wait." She pleaded, looking from Emma and Ellie to Alec to Connelly. "Em, I understand you're worried for me, but you haven't listened to him. Can we just sit down and listen calmly? Please?"
Alec glanced at the harrowed woman and he sighed before looking at Ellie.
"Miller, tell them what we found."
Ellie grimaced but she turned to Beth gently as she informed Beth and Emma, "We checked Steve's record. He's bankrupt with previous convictions for vehicle theft, petty theft and conspiracy to defraud."
Beth reeled back in shock. "What?"
"No." Connelly gasped. Alec strode over and grabbed Connelly by the scruff of his neck
"Okay? Now, out. Out!" He ordered as he pulled and pushed the man out.
"No, no, no, Beth, Beth!" Connelly protested but Alec was harsh now that Beth knew the truth and wasn't trying to protect the man.
"Come on!" Alec yelled as he dragged the man out adding to Pete as he dragged Connelly passed, "And you're a bloody idiot for letting him in."
"Beth, it's got nothing to do with this. Beth!"
Connelly shouted the entire way out and Emma let out a shaky breath when the door slammed behind him as he was dragged out. She tried not to think of greying red hair, of tantalizing whispers that haunted her memories as she focused on Beth who was still somewhat shell-shocked by what had transpired in her house in the last twenty minutes.
"Why would he do it?" Beth asked as she looked to her friends and Ellie let go of Emma to go over and place a comforting hand on Beth's arm. "Why would he lie? He's got nothing to gain, I haven't given him money-"
"Beth, do you know what books there are in the library?" Emma asked tiredly now that Connelly was gone. "How I solved the Lancolme Estate murder. How I cracked the Essex serial murders."
Beth stared at her and then at Ellie as the detective explained heavily, "In two weeks, he'll speak to the press. In six months he'll write his own book, How I solved the Broadchurch murder, just like the others."
"He doesn't get money directly from you, Beth, but there's a whole business that can grow out of you." Emma mumbled, watching sadly as Beth's face crumpled with understanding. "All he has to say is that he solved the Broadchurch murder before the police and he can earn thousands."
Beth stared at her friends and she swayed a little bit as the reality hit her hard.
"Oh, my God." She whispered. "I'm so alone."
"You're not, Beth." Emma urged as she also joined Ellie in holding Beth up. "You've got Chloe, and you've got Mark-"
"Mark!" Beth scoffed, angrily shaking Emma off as she stared into space and rubbed her forehead.
"Beth?" Emma asked, glancing at Ellie questioningly as Beth's behaviour worried her.
Ellie looked helpless but she urged Beth, "Beth, just talk to Mark. Okay? You've got to."
"I can't." Beth shook her head.
"What's going on?" Emma whispered to Ellie as Beth shook her head violently against Ellie's suggestion. Ellie looked upset but before she could answer, Alec was back.
"Miller, we should go." He said grimly, before looking at Beth. His tone softened slightly as he informed the stunned woman, "I'm sorry you ever had to go through that, Beth. He will not be bothering you again."
As Beth didn't respond, he finished heavily, "Let us know if we can ever do anything to help."
He gestured to Ellie to leave but also gestured at Emma to step away with them. She followed, glancing at Beth worriedly as she went, but she listened as Alec took her into the hallway and said in a low voice, "You did right to call us."
"Thank you both for coming so quickly." Emma muttered tiredly as she looked at Alec and Ellie. She glanced at Beth worriedly. "I'm just scared it was still too late."
Ellie looked forlornly at Beth as well, while Alec sighed. He then reached into his pocket and handed Emma a card.
"Here. My number." He explained when she looked at it blanky. "In case you need it. I don't like the fact that you confronted Connelly so directly, he may try and come after you now that his plan is ruined. Contact me if that happens."
Emma nodded and Alec patted her shoulder.
"Be careful."
He nodded at Ellie to follow him and the pair left after Ellie gave Emma a sympathetic squeeze on her hand. Emma barely noticed and she missed the sorrowful look in Ellie's eyes as she watched Emma briefly before she left. Emma's attention had turned back to Beth and she approached the woman while giving Pete a look to leave them alone.
The cop had some tact for once and did as he was silently bid, leaving the room quickly while Emma pulled Beth into her arms gently and tugged her to the sofa to sit down.
"Beth? I'm sorry, I was just so angry with him-"
"Why would someone do that?" Beth whispered. "I trusted him, and..."
She was shaking and Emma rubbed Beth's shoulders anxiously.
"Beth, what's going on?" She asked in a low voice. "You know you're not alone, right? You might feel that way, but even not counting me and Ellie, you have your family."
Beth shuddered and Emma's heart constricted. "Beth?"
"Mark's cheating on me."
At Beth's words, Emma's whole world turned.
Old memories, already struggling to rise to the surface from their encounter with Connelly, burst through. Emma could vaguely hear Beth still talking but she couldn't hear her. All she could hear was her mother screaming, the hideous red stain on her father's oak study floor and splashed on the armchair he'd sit in and she'd crawl onto when she was a child.
"Em? Emma?"
Beth's call broke Emma from her thoughts and she struggled back to reality.
"Sorry, I'm just… shocked." She said dazedly before refocusing on the woman opposite her with great effort. "Beth, are you sure?"
Beth nodded, too shocked herself from the day's events to really register her friend's odd behaviour and she explained numbly, "He was held for questioning about Danny, the police said he'd been arrested. He wouldn't tell them where he was."
"I didn't know this." Emma mumbled and Beth shook her head in despair.
"I didn't want to tell. I didn't know who to tell." Her shoulders shook again as she fought back sobs or angry screams, Emma wasn't sure. "Then, he got out. And that night I saw him with Becca Fisher."
"No." Emma gasped. It had been hard enough to picture Mark cheating on Beth but now that there was another face opposite him, one Emma knew well to boot, it was hard for Emma to keep her emotions under control. "Oh, God, Beth, I'm so sorry."
Beth shook her head, the words spilling out of her fast and thick now that she had started talking.
"I asked Ellie if that was where he was Thursday night. If that was why he was held for questioning." She struggled to take in a breath. "His son was killed and he was off, doing that, that whore while Danny was… while Danny was..."
Beth's voice broke and she started to sob. Emma pulled her friend into her arms, at a loss as to what to say. She could only say the same thing over and over again.
"Oh, Beth… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
It was very late by the time Emma left the Latimers, feeling utterly exhausted. Mark had returned later that afternoon and Emma hadn't been able to look him in the eye. Thankfully, at Beth's sharp and biting remarks, he'd retreated to his bedroom while Emma stayed with Beth. Chloe had likewise shut herself in her room but Emma's first priority had been her distraught friend.
"Beth, I think you should talk to him." She'd told her friend at last but Beth had shaken her head vehemently. Emma hadn't dared to mention the baby Beth was carrying; things were starting to make so much more sense, Beth's reluctance to tell Mark and her strong hatred for her new unborn child. It was more than just the fact that she'd lost Danny, as if that wouldn't be enough to cripple a mother: she no longer trusted the father of her child.
Emma rubbed her face tiredly. To say she'd been shocked was an understatement; she had no idea how Beth was going to work through this on top of everything else.
'It's all a bloody mess.' Emma thought morosely when she turned a corner and shrieked as she bumped right into someone in the dark.
"Bloody hell!"
"Oh, my God!" Emma screamed although she was immediately relieved when she heard the familiar Scottish voice. "You scared me!"
"Sorry." Alec grumbled, although his words were slurring just a little bit. Emma squinted at him in the dark.
"Are you okay?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Alec muttered but his voice was definitely slightly slurred. Emma regarded him.
"Are you drunk?"
"No, but I have had a bit to drink." He admitted, rubbing his face. "Had dinner with Miller. Uh, both, both of them. She, they, uh, invited me."
"Would it kill you to just call her 'Ellie'?" Emma asked with faint amusement. Alec and his usual awkwardness outside of his job was definitely doing wonders on her dour mood. "I'm surprised she managed to wrangle you into going though, to be honest. Didn't think you'd be the type."
"Didn't really give me the option of not." Alec explained, which made Emma smile. He squinted at her. "Anyway, what are you doing out so late?"
"I'm, um, just leaving Beth's place." Emma answered, the amusement instantly drying up.
"Oh."
They stood awkwardly, not sure what to say, and Alec cleared his throat.
"Um, do you… want to walk back? If you're headed home, it's in the same direction."
"So, you do know where I live." Emma remarked with forced lightness. He snorted and they started off together. Another awkward silence threatened to consume them so Emma cleared her throat.
"You're still living at the Traders, then?"
He grunted in affirmative and Emma asked curiously, "Can I ask why?"
"Wanted to get to know the area before I got anything more permanent. I moved in a bit of a hurry." He admitted and Emma paused.
"Oh. Hey, that reminds me, you never did answer me: are you married? Any kids or close relations?"
He didn't answer and Emma asked dryly, "Do you really hate the question that much?"
"No, not married." Alec answered brusquely. "Not anymore. And one daughter."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Emma hesitated; Alec really wasn't making it easy to make small talk but she also didn't want to be left alone to her thoughts if she didn't have to be. "Um, your wife, was she ill or-?"
"Divorce." Alec answered and Emma moved on quickly, sensing he didn't want to talk about it.
"How old is your daughter?"
"Fifteen."
"Wow, that must be tough for you and her. What's she like?" Emma asked and Alec shrugged.
"Beautiful, bright, witty. My worst nightmare." He added and Emma smiled a little in relief he was starting to open up to conversation. Although she supposed it could easily be the alcohol, he was starting to sway just a little bit.
"Well, at least she has a great dad to fight off all the guys chasing her, right?" She asked and Alec seemed to pause.
"What about your dad?" He asked abruptly and Emma blinked at the abrupt question.
"Oh, he was a great dad too." She answered, only to be confused when Alec asked, "Did you love him? Do you miss him a lot?"
"Uh… yes. Yes, I loved him a lot, he was a great dad and I miss him." Emma replied, confused but honest.
He stopped walking and regarded her. Emma frowned a little bit as he seemed to sway again but he didn't seem to notice as he apologised to her softly. "I'm sorry."
"About what?" Emma asked, baffled.
"I know. I understand now why you hate people like Connelly, why you get so angry with Oliver."
Emma stared at Alec, dread starting to pool in her stomach. He wasn't talking about what she thought he was… was he? Of all people, he would have the resources to find what she didn't want to be found, but he wouldn't have. Would he?
"What?"
"I know you weren't born Emma Symons." He clarified, staring at her with sympathetic brown eyes.
"What?
It was the same word but said very differently as anger flared inside her. Emma demanded, "How can you know that?"
Alec didn't answer, averting his gaze, and Emma narrowed her eyes.
"Have you actually been prying into me? Why? Was it for the case?"
"I was worried there might be a link."
"You liar, you just looked, didn't you?" Emma demanded, her temper snapping.
Images from her teenage years, the darkest period of her life, sprang to mind. The images she'd been repressing all afternoon flooded her mind again: red stains on oak wood, her mother's screams, bright lights as flashes popped, the mind-numbing pain that followed the initial agony of losing someone she loved, the greying red hair and whispers.
"Why would you do that? Why would you look?! Have you really got nothing better to do, to go snooping into my background when you have a murder-!"
She was interrupted but not voluntarily. Alec suddenly stumbled as though he'd lost feeling in his legs. He was also breathing heavily, his breaths coming quicker and Emma reached to him in concern despite herself and her anger with him.
"Inspector Hardy?"
"I'm fine." He mumbled, pushing away her hands as he tried to stand straight and she frowned.
"You don't look fine-"
She screamed as he abruptly collapsed, going crashing to the ground where he hit his head before she could catch him.
"Inspector! Alec!"
*A/N As part of my summer special week, updating every day this week with an extra chapter this month for some of my stories! Hope you enjoy this small surprise and happy summer but stay safe!