A Difficult Explanation (Broadchurch+Torchwood)

Chapter 1- The Discovery

D.I. Alec Hardy felt the soft ocean wind blow his bangs to the side. He stood on the beach at Broadchurch, memories swirling around in his head. He took a deep breath and turned to his right, starting to walk to the body laid on the shore. As he walked, he felt the soft sand squish and shift under his weight. "Oh God." The D.I. whispered to himself. "Don't do this to me." He finished his statement when he had seen the splayed out child.

Alec walked over to the paramedics and let out a loud, noticeable sigh. He tilted his head back slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes with the same motion. He stared down at the small boy, who looked to be about eleven. He turned around when he heard the voice of a women behind him. "Oh God...I know him!"

Alec turned around to see a women with short, curly brown hair. She wore a suit and looked quite pale. "Get off the beach." Alec's Scottish voice was filled with annoyance as he tried to herd the women off the beach.

"No, hold on!" She quickly whipped out her badge, "D.S. Ellie Miller." She had nearly shoved the badge into Alec's face.

"D.I. Alec Hardy." Alec said, still frustrated. "I know." He heard Miller reply, "You got my job."

"Do you really want to do this now?" Alec growled, rolling his eyes slightly.

"But I know who he is." Miller continued, frantic and out of her mind. "Then tell me." Alec stared at her, hoping she would just finish.

"Danny... Daniel Latimer, he came over to my house for tea, best friend of my boy, son of Beth and Mark Latimer." Miller watched as they draped a grey cloth over the body of a boy she saw regularly. Alec nodded softly.

"Sir?" A paramedic called.

Alec sighed and looked at the sand for a second, "What?" He asked and quickly spun on his heels. His hazel eyes darted to the paramedic who was now kneeled on the sand, staring out at the waves. Alec took a few steps forwards having no clear idea why this man would leave his post. "Sir." The paramedic repeated again. "T..theres something in the ocean." He paused, clearing his throat. He looked at Alec, avoiding eye contact, "It looks like a body."

Alec rushed to the paramedic and helped him haul the body out of the water. "What the hell." Alec sighed and stared down at the new body. He looked over his drenched clothes. The D.I. heard Miller rush over, but he was still caught in the moment. He felt his mind flash back to the Sandbrook murder, remembering the pond. He drew in a shaky breath, focusing back on the task at hand.

The paramedic was feeling for a pulse on the man dressed in a navy coat. He wore braces and a belt, for what it seemed to be no apparent reason, but he also wore what looked to be quite dressy pants. Alec had started to search for an ID that must have been hidden within the mans many pockets. When no verification was recoverable, his eyes turned to the paramedic who had stopped holding the mans wrist. "Dead." He paused, letting the word sink in. A mysterious man had just washed up on the beach, lifeless.

Alec sighed slightly and stood up slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt the stress cloud his brain. He took a deep breath and opened his brown eyes, watching the paramedic cover the mysterious man with a grey cloth, similar to the one over Danny's body. "How was he killed?" Alec heard Miller begin to ask the medical man that stood beside them.

"Drowned, but it is unsure if it was suicide or a forced attack. Personally I would say he had been in the water all night, but only dead for about thirty minutes."

Miller looked quite confused. Her gaze turned to Alec, trying to find his eyes, but noticed him avoiding locking eye contact.

Alec shrugged, not having anything to say. This job was going to get quite stressful. He looked at the sheet Danny was under, then looked at the one next to his feet. He could have sworn it moved. Alec blinked and stared down at the motionless body beside him. I need to get some actual sleep. He thought and rubbed his eyes.

The two detectives had dealt with the body of Daniel Latimer, after they were rudely interrupted by the kids screaming mother. Alec now stood over the blanket that covered the drowned man. He looked out over the beach, thoughts racing through his head. He heard what sounded like a gasp and jumped slightly as he felt a hand grip onto his ankle.