Broadchurch: Across the Pond

Chapter 1

TW: none

Detective Inspector Alec Hardy was sound asleep when his mobile buzzed. He considered ignoring it; after all, it was three in the morning, they'd just solved a case, and he was bone tired. But he knew it would bug him if he didn't, so he groped around on the nightstand, swiped 'answer', and mumbled, "Wot?"

It was a roller coaster of a call, interesting enough that he actually sat up.

"If I go," he told the person on the other end, "I'm not going alone. My partner and I are a package deal. No, not like that! Look, I'll phone you tomorrow with my answer. And you bloody well better be paying us a bundle!"

DS Ellie Miller was sound asleep when her mobile buzzed. Both her boys were home, her sister was on a date, and Alec—well, Alec was probably still at the station filling out paperwork and drinking his body weight in herbal tea. No reason at all to worry about a text.

Except, one text became two. Then two became three. She groped around on the nightstand and dragged her mobile into her blanket nest to read.

fancy a trip?

it'll be fun.

MILLER ANSWER ME.

Yup, that was Alec. And if she didn't reply, he'd keep texting, maybe even call. Honestly, the man was higher maintenance than her kid. She typed out: No.

no, what? came the response

no I don't fancy a trip. go 2 sleep b4 u have a heart attack.

haha see you in the morning.

"Knob," Ellie muttered. She silenced her phone and went back to sleep.

Ellie had scarcely sat at her desk when she heard a familiar voice bellow, "MILLAH!" Alec Hardy never pronounced the R at the end of her name. Something to do with his Scottish burr.

She trudged into his office.

"Shut the door," Alec ordered. "And sit down."

She did both, then spotted the mug at the edge of the desk. "Did you...make me tea?"

"I did. Two sugars and no milk, right?"

"Right." She tried it. It was perfect, which made her more suspicious. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Alec took off his reading glasses and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure you're wondering what last night was all about."

Ah, there was an ulterior motive behind the tea. "Just a bit."

"I got a call from a Detective Sanchez," he explained. "There's been a series of murders in his precinct that are similar to the Broadchurch and Sandbrook cases. The local police are coming up with nothing. So they want to call in a specialist. That's me."

"'Course it is," Ellie griped. "But Broadchurch and Sandbrook were isolated cases. Why call us?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "They're making a big show of international cooperation. Honestly, I think it's a publicity stunt. I told Sanchez that the case sounded interesting, but that I wouldn't go without my partner."

"Your part—you mean me?

"No, Dirty Brian. Yes, you!"

Ellie considered the idea. "All right. Say I'm interested, hypothetically. Where would we be going?"

"Here's the interesting part." Alec leaned forward, folding his hands neatly on his desk. "We'd be going to Los Angeles."

Alec munched on his toast whilst he waited for Ellie to finish yelling at him. He didn't hear all of it, just something along the lines of What am I supposed to do with my kids and Are you crazy followed by the classic YOU WANKER. He'd started on his second piece of toast when she ran out of steam. "You done?"

She plonked back onto the couch. "Yes. When do we leave?"

Welcome to my new work! Actually, I did this BEFORE my Good Omens pieces, but just now got the confidence to post it. My friend who introduced me to Doctor Who introduced me to this. If you haven't seen Broadchurch, it's on Amazon Prime. It's set in Dorset, England and stars David Tennant, Arthur Darvil, and Olivia Coleman. I am American, and I had great fun creating the hijinks that you just KNOW are coming.