Alec Hardy was furious, not that it was doing his heart condition any good, though he wouldn't admit to himself it was a 'condition'. His soon to be ex wife hadn't helped, he'd not even bothered telling her, it would make no difference since she obviously wanted to be with that over-weight loser Dave.
He sat at his desk, wondering how long it would be before they palmed him off to another department or worse still another division in some backwater town. It had taken months of painstaking work gathering evidence to convict Lee Ashworth of killing his neighbour's daughter and having something to do with the disappearance of her older cousin.
Now, it had all been for nothing as the judge had said those two words case dismissed. How exactly had that happened? Oh yes, he thought as he took off his specs and rubbed his eyes Tess had stopped on her way home to meet that loser and had her car broken into, the stupid cow.
Of course, he'd taken the blame, he was in charge and how could he face his daughter and say that about her mother, unless Daisy already knew? He answered his mobile when it buzzed, it being the chief.
"Alec, we need to talk," Chief Reynolds told him when Alec answered with a gruff 'what' as he'd not looked at the screen.
The chief was used to him these days and let him off again, thinking Hardy had probably not looked to see who was calling again.
"Don't tell me? You are going to move me back to Glasgow? When do I leave?" Alec asked dryly.
"You should be so lucky Alec," the chief almost laughed. "Mind you, they may not have heard the news up there yet?"
Alec thought since it was only two days ago, maybe not but they'd soon find out and even they wouldn't want him back. Why had he moved away after meeting Tess at a conference? Now he wished he'd never got talked into going, well except for Daisy but her mother was turning the now teenager against him.
"So, what are we talking about?" Alec asked, needing a drink and wondering if he'd been found out because he'd refused medical help back when he'd found Pippa in the river.
"I wanted to talk about Ashworth. We believe he's already left the country, there were no restrictions put on him. Do you know what happened to his wife?"
"How would I know? I got her to turn on her husband, she's hardly likely to want anything to do with me now he's free, is she?" Alec asked, wishing he could go home, well to his tiny one-bedroom flat.
It was now just somewhere to live until he got out of the town.
"Never mind then, it was just an idea if we want to have another go at Ashworth. I was just letting you know all resources have now been pulled from the case, understand? Without any new evidence, he's gone and if his wife won't talk again, we have to forget it. I got your request for a transfer, it will go out to any station who needs a detective inspector."
"I doubt there will be a queue," Alec replied, going in his jacket pocket for the strip of pills his own doctor had recently put him on. "Just don't send me by any water, I had enough being in that river."
"Yes, I know you did Alec, you should have got checked over afterwards."
Alec didn't need reminding of the fact. He'd given in and gone to see his friend and been told he had a serious heart problem and he'd tried to hide it ever since.
"I'm fine. Was there anything else?" Alec wanted to know.
"You might want to put out an alert if Ashworth returns," the chief suggested.
"You just told me the case was closed," Alec reminded him.
"Since when did you ever take notice Alec? You may also want to find out where his wife went, if he comes back to bother her, who's the first person she'll turn to?"
Alec ended the call and thought about it. Maybe it was worth a shot unofficially.
So without anyone knowing, he put his plan into place. He'd talked Claire Ripley as she now wanted to be known as into staying where she was although she wasn't happy at going to work in a hair salon instead of having her own business but she agreed on the provision if her husband came back, Alec would protect her.
Finally, after being harassed several times by an angry Ricky Gillespie for letting his daughter's killer get away and complaining his ex wife was still letting Claire live next door, mainly because no-one else wanted to rent it considering it had been the home of a suspected child killer, Alec's chief had some news for him.
"What?" Alec asked after being told there was a chief willing to take him as the commissioner for the area had made it top priority to move him after several newspaper articles by a certain London reporter had churned up the past. "Where the hell is Broadchurch?"
"Calm down Alec. It's in south west Dorset, it comes under Wessex police. The chief there needs an experienced DI and there's only a DS who has put in for promotion. I don't expect it will bother you? You wanted to be out of the press if I remember correctly?"
"Not by that much," Alec replied, thinking it would be just his luck it was by the sea. "Well if that's the only offer?"
"Yes, I'm afraid it is and if Ricky Gillespie comes in one more time or contacts the local paper about you still being in town, the chief constable will make you go on administrative leave, until someone will take you. What I don't get is why he's so mad at you personally?"
"We did not get on right from the start," Alec reminded him. "Well, I'd best take it then? It should just suit Tess, she'll finally be rid of me."
"What about your daughter?" the chief asked, thinking Alec would have put up more of a fight.
"I already lost her, it does not matter. When do I leave?"
"You start the first week in July, personnel will make the arrangements and put you up in a hotel until you find somewhere to live. That will give you time to sort things out. Alec, I'm sorry the way things turned out but maybe you need a fresh start? Your daughter may even have more to do with you?"
Alec thought if only. At least it would get Ricky Gillespie and Karen White off his back maybe he should introduce them to each other? As he went home, he called in to see Claire.
"What? You're leaving?" Claire shouted, Alec wishing she wouldn't but Cate was probably already off her head drinking anyway.
"Claire, listen to me. Lee's gone, we have people watching for him coming back. The only thing I can do is help you relocate, if you want?"
"Where are you going Alec?"
"Over to Dorset," he replied, not wanting to say where. "I'll find a cottage or something for you to rent, you should easily get a job."
"Oh great. You mean you're just going to dump me in the middle of nowhere?" Claire wanted to know. "Why can't I go to the same place as you?"
"Do I have to remind you Claire? You can't be seen anywhere near me, think what it would look like eh? What if Lee comes looking for you, or even me? Think about it, if he looks me up, he may guess, you being a few miles away will throw him off."
"Well if that's the best you can do? I don't want to stay here on my own Alec. You promised Lee wouldn't come after me. I often wonder why he just went off like that, after he heard me testify against him in court."
So did Alec. When he thought about it, Claire must still have something on her husband, for him not to go after her and just leave her. What it was though, he had no idea.
The final touches were being put together over the next few weeks. Alec had taken Claire to a row of cottages a few miles outside Broadchurch and got her settled, having borrowed a plain police car and getting her a new pre-paid phone so Lee couldn't try to contact her.
He went to see his daughter the day before he was leaving, Tess leaving them to it.
"Will you come back for visits Dad?" Daisy asked him as they sat in the kitchen of where he used to live.
"As often as I can Daisy. I have no choice where I'm being sent so we'll have to make the best of it. Maybe I'll be able to come back at some point?"
"You mean when mum stops seeing that loser Dave?" Daisy tried to joke.
Alec had learned the hard way he should never have taken the blame for what Tess had done and losing the only evidence they'd had that Ashworth had killed Pippa. At least he'd been cleared by the police commission, who had though failed to convince the families of the two girls.
So as Alec checked everything in the flat he was leaving, thankful it had been furnished, Claire was trying to settle in her rented cottage and got an interview at a hair salon in the nearest town, not knowing where Alec had gone, Lee Ashworth had found himself somewhere with a French woman much younger than he was and then, there was Rose Tyler.
Rose had followed the Sandbrook case, feeling sorry for the parents of the two girls and had tried to get Torchwood involved in finding the missing older cousin. Pete had to refuse, saying her disappearance was not mysterious and to leave it to the police. After it was all over though, Rose couldn't get it out of her mind and Jake had noticed as she had her monitor on a page that a certain Alec Hardy, double of someone she used to know, was being transferred.
"I suppose having police access has its advantages," Jake laughed when he saw it, Rose not even trying to hide the information. "How long have ya been keeping an eye on him?"
"Stop it Jake. He had a tough time, okay? That reporter really tore into him, then when he gets cleared by admitting he covered for his ex wife, she doesn't even apologise," Rose replied.
"Maybe 'cos they never revealed it?" Jake suggested. "It was only internally released he wasn't to blame, I expect if the press got hold of it, it would make it worse for the families? So who picked the short straw?" he asked, trying to see the screen.
"That's not fair Jake. I expect he had his reasons for covering for her? Anyway, he's divorced now so why did he take the blame?" Rose wondered.
"Maybe to try to salvage their marriage? Maybe to save embarrassment? Who knows? Why are you interested then?"
"It just came up," Rose tried to bluff, knowing he'd never fall for it.
"Missing Mickey?" Jake laughed, getting ready to duck if she threw something at him from her desk, probably a paperweight.
"Shut up Jake, it was his choice. If he'd waited, he'd have known, wouldn't he?"
"That the Doctor's clone or whatever didn't want to stay here when you and your mother were brought back?"
Rose considered picking up the paperweight but decided against it.
"Maybe he knew I could never accept him, not that he gave me much time to think about it, since the Tardis was screeching they should leave. All that time I waited for a chance? Why did ya have to bring it up again Jake?" she asked as she stared at a now bearded Alec Hardy, who had decided this was his new look.
"Maybe because you're considering going to see what that detective's like, now he's divorced and in the clear?"
"Stop it Jake. Anyway, I'm glad he's finally getting away from that place, I hate to think how it's been for him, staying in the same town as the two families and his ex wife."
Jake already knew Rose had a soft spot for the now divorced and bearded detective.
"He doesn't look like he's relieved to be leaving," Jake noted.
"Yeah, I noticed. There's something about him Jake, I'm surprised no-one's noticed."
"Maybe it's because that's what we do study people," Jake mused. "So, when are ya packing?"
"Why are ya asking? It's not like Pete will let me just pack up and go, is it?" Rose asked him, wondering why she was even looking Alec Hardy up.
"Who are ya tryin' to fool Rose? Why don't ya just go down there? It's not like his ex wife's gonna object is it?" he reminded her.
Was that what had been stopping her before? She sat back in her chair, thinking about when she'd first seen Alec Hardy on TV. Her mother had noticed at the time she was paying a lot of attention to the case that had been going on.
"Stop seeing him everywhere Rose," her mother had roused her from waiting to see if there had been any updates.
"I'm not Mum, I was thinking of that poor girl's family. If the Doctor had been here, well do I need to draw a picture? We'd have been out there trying to find her faster and still out there looking for her cousin. Actually, I don't think he looks that much like the Doctor anyway," she had tried to deny.
Her mother had wondered who she was trying to fool ever since the Doctor's clone had whispered in Rose's ear, then they had kissed and he'd said he couldn't stay, that he didn't deserve to be happy after what he'd done. She blamed the real Doctor for that, him saying his twin was dangerous and trying to palm him off on Rose. Hadn't he taken her feeling about it into account?
When the case had been dismissed, Jackie had changed her mind about secretly thinking the clone had come back and disguised himself.
Jake was offering her another mug of coffee.
"Wake up Rose," he grinned. "I bet your mum always thought the clone had come back."
"Why would he hide Jake? He had his chance, he left. Well, back to work then?" she half smiled.
Jake knew she still hurt from being rejected again. She'd never said exactly what had happened on that beach for a second time but hadn't the clone taken into account he'd left her there before? After Jake left, Rose stared one more time at the picture of Alec Hardy and bookmarked the page for if there were any updates. What she wanted updates for, she had no idea but little did she know she was going to find out very soon.