The Jurassic cliffs stood tall and defiant as the waves crashed on the beach below. Upon those cliffs stood a woman looking out to sea, breathing in the salt air, the afternoon wind fanning long tendrils of light brown hair across her face. She brushed the hair away and closed her blue eyes, wanting to take in the moment fully.

This was Broadchurch. Her new home.

Chapter One

In the small town below, life hustled and bustled all around. It had been several years since Danny's murder, and a couple of months since Trish Winterman's rape, and the community had again settled into a new type of normal. It was late summer, the tourist season was beginning to wind down, although the weather was continuing to put on a good show and the town seemed to glimmer and shine brightly under neverending blue skies.

The woman made her way down the well worn cliff top trail to the town, eager to explore and familiarize herself with the place. Meandering along the high street she spotted all of the usual places - a bookshop, butcher, post office, charity shop, hairdresser and a very charming Parisian style cafe. She stopped at the window and stared at the deliciously decorated cakes, biscuits and buns. She decided to go in.

As she sat at a table next to a large window overlooking the street (the perfect spot for people watching), a young waitress approached.
"Hi, can I take your order?" she asked, notebook and pen in hand.
The woman looked up at the waitress and gave her order, "A pot of tea for one and one of those Devonshire splits, please."
She smiled at the waitress, a pretty blonde teen with big blue eyes, her hair tied up in a ponytail. She smiled back.
"Won't be long" she replied. While she waited the woman opened her bag and pulled out a well worn paperback. Flipping to her bookmarked page, she continued reading. Bliss. She was beginning to feel at home already.

The woman returned to that small cafe for the next few mornings, forming the beginning of a routine in her new home of Broadchurch. She appreciated routine.
A small anchor of normality in a still unfamiliar place. It calmed her. Each morning the same young waitress took her order and delivered her tea. Each morning the woman would read her book at the table by the window before going about her day.

On the third morning, as the waitress placed the small teapot on the table she plucked up the courage to ask where the woman was from.
"Are you from Australia? You sound like you're from the telly."
The woman smiled at the young waitress, wondering what TV show she might be referring to. "Yes actually, I am. From Australia, not from the TV."
"Are you here on holiday?"
"No, I've just moved here. I'm the new nursery teacher at the Wessex primary school. I'll be living here for the next year."
"Wow, that's a long way to come for work."
"Yes, I suppose it is." replied the woman with a chuckle before pouring herself a cup of tea.
The girl furrowed her brow for a moment before asking, "Why would you want to live in Broadchurch though?" The thought of leaving a place so exotic and far away to move to a place like Broadchurch was puzzling to the girl.
The woman took a sip from her cup, flashes of her mother in her head.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." worried the girl, interrupting the woman's thoughts.
"No, it's fine." replied the woman, again smiling warmly at the girl. She really did have a very pretty face, the woman thought. "My mum actually grew up here before she moved to Australia with her family. I wanted to see what her hometown was like."
"Is it still the same as when she lived here?" asked the girl curiously.
"I'm not really sure. Maybe. She died a while ago."
"Oh god, I'm sorry." replied the girl, her eyes widening in awkward surprise.
"No really, it's fine." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I guess I'm hoping being here will make me feel closer to her."
The girl nodded, thinking to herself what it must feel like to not have a mum. She was glad, most of the time, that her mum lived in Sandbrook but she wondered what it would be like to never see her again.
"My name is Anna, by the way. I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other. I really like this cafe."
"Oh, I'm Daisy." said the girl, pushing the grim thought from her head.
"Well it's nice to meet you Daisy. You're one of the first locals I've met so far."
Daisy wanted to answer that she wasn't really a local. She had only been living here with her dad for six months or so. She still felt like an outsider. She still was an outsider. Instead she smiled at Anna and went back to work. Anna pulled a pen from her bag and began to scribble down a list on a serviette of all of the jobs she had to do in the next fortnight before work began.